‘In Pursuit of the Nazi Mind?’ the Deployment of Psychoanalysis in the Allied Struggle Against Germany

Abstract

This paper discusses how psychoanalytic ideas were brought to bear in the Allied struggle against the Third Reich and explores some of the claims that were made about this endeavour. It shows how a variety of studies of Fascist psychopathology, centred on the concept of superego, were mobilized in military intelligence, post-war planning and policy recommendations for ‘denazification’. Freud's ideas were sometimes championed by particular army doctors and government planners; at other times they were combined with, or displaced by, competing, psychiatric and psychological forms of treatment and diverse studies of the Fascist ‘personality’. This is illustrated through a discussion of the treatment and interpretation of the deputy leader of the Nazi Party, Rudolf Hess, after his arrival in Britain in 1941.

Double Dealing Homunculus, Jung, and Fascistic Proclivities

“…In the end of course the selected way of execution was hanging, as the firing squad, it was supposed, might be appreciated as a more honorable style of assassination. But the appeal to conduct a probe in the brain is telling: as though the answer to Nazism might lie in some biological lesion or anomaly [7]. In the present article, Fascism, as a political dogma in the spectrum of authoritarianism, has been looked over psychosocially, along with some remarkable standpoints of some of the most known intellectuals, who were studying Fascism, Fascists, and masses in close proximity.…”

“…It is remarkable that a range of studies of Fascist psychopathology, concentrated on the conception of "superego", were mobilized in postwar planning, military intelligence, and strategy approvals for 'denazification'. So, Freud's philosophies were sometimes supported by particular army physicians and government organizers; at other times they were mixed with, or substituted by other psychiatric and psychological methods of management and various studies of the Fascist 'personality' [7]. For instance, Ernest Jones noted how the ordinary morality, which is directed outwardly, can be brutal and persecutory.…”

“…For instance, Ernest Jones noted how the ordinary morality, which is directed outwardly, can be brutal and persecutory. Also, the idea of the superego flourished in many creative ways in Freud's own thought and beyond, particularly in the work of Klein, as an ego-destructive superego [7]. On the other hand, as said by some scholars, Fascism is not a political ideology.…”

War Criminals and Other “Ordinary Men”: A Case Report†

“…Or, instead, were they part of some new breed of psychopath, the characteristics of which were hereto uncharted in the annals of psychiatry? (Joyce, ; Pick, ; Zillmer, Harrower, Ritzler, & Archer, ; Kinder, ). Zillmer et al .…”

“…Or, instead, were they part of some new breed of psychopath, the characteristics of which were hereto uncharted in the annals of psychiatry? (Joyce, 2009;Pick, 2009;Zillmer, Harrower, Ritzler, & Archer, 1995;Kinder, 1996). Zillmer et al (1995) provided an exhaustive interpretation of the personalities of 200 Nazis held at Nuremberg, and their work was intended as a definitive and comprehensive study of the psychological functioning of Nazi war criminals, encompassing both the elite and the rank-and-file.…”