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The Sanity Inspectors
How can you tell who's insane when the world has gone mad? Originally translated into English by Robert Kee in 1957, the new edition includes an Introduction by Sinclair McKay and an Afterword by Chris Maloney. Who can tell exactly where the difference lies between those of us who imagine ourselves sane and those we call insane? As Dr Robert Vossmenge tries to practice psychiatry in Germany in the early 1930s, he finds himself at odds with his profession as it increasingly falls under the influence of the Nazi regime and its aim to rid German society of those it considers undesirables. He tries to stay out of trouble by keeping a low profile, but when he strikes up a friendship with a Luthern pastor, he begins to question his assumptions about what constitutes sanity in a world where the people in charge seem to be insane. Though he quietly wages a one-man campaign against the German war effort while serving as a Luftwaffe doctor, Vossmenge is ultimately forced to chose between survival and standing for his beliefs. The Sanity Inspectors is a gripping account of the challenge of trying to be a good man in an evil system. "Always amusing and often frightening."--The Boston Globe "Clear and fast moving, with humor that refuses to be repressed."--The Indianapolis Star Fiction.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 27, 2021
Bereits im Mai gelesen. 2,5 🌟
Ich war richtig skeptisch - so ein alter Schinken (1969), aber die erste Hälfte fand ich doch recht unterhaltsam. Die Szenen in der Klinik und die Fallbeispiele fand ich wirklich spannend und die Briefwechsel zwischen "Windarzt" Vossmenge und "Apfelsinenpfarrer" Deggendorf waren durchaus amüsant, weil so schön zynisch. Auch die gegenseitigen Spitznamen mochte ich. Die zweite Hälfte hingegen hat mich leider verloren.
Ich war richtig skeptisch - so ein alter Schinken (1969), aber die erste Hälfte fand ich doch recht unterhaltsam. Die Szenen in der Klinik und die Fallbeispiele fand ich wirklich spannend und die Briefwechsel zwischen "Windarzt" Vossmenge und "Apfelsinenpfarrer" Deggendorf waren durchaus amüsant, weil so schön zynisch. Auch die gegenseitigen Spitznamen mochte ich. Die zweite Hälfte hingegen hat mich leider verloren.
December 26, 2021
"Windarzt und Apfelsinenpfarrer. Aufzeichnungen eines Psychiaters." von Friedrich Deich - ebenfalls eines der Bücher aus der Buchclub-Wanderbuch-Aktion und eine echte Herausforderung... an dem Buch konnte ich ehrlich gesagt nicht so viel Gefallen finden und empfand mitunter doch auch als anstrengend. Für den ein oder anderen könnte es aber ein interessante Ergänzung sein, im Bereich Psychologie- insbesondere wenn man das Thema mal aus einer ganz anderen zeit behandelt erfährt.
December 24, 2021
2,5 Sterne
April 14, 2025
Jeg synes den var skikkelig bra.
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January 1, 2025The Sanity Inspectors, written in 1955 in Germany, first published under a title that translates to English as The Wind Doctor and The Orange Parson, reflected on the experiences of the author, Friedrich Weeren, writing under the pseudonym, Friedrich Deigh, in the Nazi regime and in World War Two Italy.
It has relevance now, 70 years later, as the US president-elect foments fascist ideas of power and control.
The story hangs on the debates by two friendly antagonists, Dr. Robert Vossmenge, a psychiatrist, the Wind Doctor”, forced by the politicized milieu to join the Luftwaffe and “escape” Germany for the front in Africa and then Italy, and Kurt Degenbrück, a Lutheran pastor. They debate, as one might expect, the scientific and the morality values of life and death, and an individual’s circumstances in a regime that seeks to control individuals’ personal decisions.
The descriptions of military rule and decision-making remind me of Heller’s Catch-22. And there is some humor that Deich communicates in these descriptions.
The pastor raises the the question of the Nazi eugenics program, as psychiatrists were central to determining who was mentally “unfit” and needed to be sterilized. The psychiatrist’s answer is vague, not claiming responsibility, not claiming total ignorance of the program either. This brief part of The Sanity Inspectors is a good example of The Banality of Evil—working within a system without questioning its ultimate actions and goal.
Vossmenge, the psychiatrist, has several more “tests” of his morality and how he can exercise his personal power over circumstances. It shows his growth as a character and his savvy where the personal is political.
There is a passage about midway through the book that I found curious. Vossmenge gives professional testimony is a court-martial of a soldier accused of making “homosexual” advances on a colleague. The circumstances, extenuating, in most cases, involve copious amounts of liquor, a dark, late night, and a mistaken billet. I found Vossmenge’s testimony radically tolerant of homosexuality (for 1955, for a Nazi-era court-martial). Vossmenge speaks scientifically, without condemnation or encouragement. His statement speaks indirectly to the harm repressive measures inflict on those with another sexuality, though his suggestion of how this specific group reacts under repression is negatively speculative. Within the book, the psychiatrist’s words, in a Nazi combat area, have little effect on the fate of the accused soldier. I wonder about the effects on the reading public.
It has relevance now, 70 years later, as the US president-elect foments fascist ideas of power and control.
The story hangs on the debates by two friendly antagonists, Dr. Robert Vossmenge, a psychiatrist, the Wind Doctor”, forced by the politicized milieu to join the Luftwaffe and “escape” Germany for the front in Africa and then Italy, and Kurt Degenbrück, a Lutheran pastor. They debate, as one might expect, the scientific and the morality values of life and death, and an individual’s circumstances in a regime that seeks to control individuals’ personal decisions.
The descriptions of military rule and decision-making remind me of Heller’s Catch-22. And there is some humor that Deich communicates in these descriptions.
The pastor raises the the question of the Nazi eugenics program, as psychiatrists were central to determining who was mentally “unfit” and needed to be sterilized. The psychiatrist’s answer is vague, not claiming responsibility, not claiming total ignorance of the program either. This brief part of The Sanity Inspectors is a good example of The Banality of Evil—working within a system without questioning its ultimate actions and goal.
Vossmenge, the psychiatrist, has several more “tests” of his morality and how he can exercise his personal power over circumstances. It shows his growth as a character and his savvy where the personal is political.
There is a passage about midway through the book that I found curious. Vossmenge gives professional testimony is a court-martial of a soldier accused of making “homosexual” advances on a colleague. The circumstances, extenuating, in most cases, involve copious amounts of liquor, a dark, late night, and a mistaken billet. I found Vossmenge’s testimony radically tolerant of homosexuality (for 1955, for a Nazi-era court-martial). Vossmenge speaks scientifically, without condemnation or encouragement. His statement speaks indirectly to the harm repressive measures inflict on those with another sexuality, though his suggestion of how this specific group reacts under repression is negatively speculative. Within the book, the psychiatrist’s words, in a Nazi combat area, have little effect on the fate of the accused soldier. I wonder about the effects on the reading public.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews