Customer Reviews

The Psychopathic God: Adolph Hitler

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is the first and only book that I have read that actualy attempts to understand the mental inner-workings of the greatest political mind in the past hundred years, and through that,understand how he was able to accomlish his goals. Robert Waite's thorough analysis of Hitler's beleifs, personality, mindset, and methods finally explains the inexplicable; how can one man convince an entire country, nay, a continent, to abide by his childish whims and maniacal will, to accomlish what certainly must be considered one of the most horrific, if not the most horrific, acts of all time. The question is a burning one that begs for an answer, and Mr. Waite strives mightily to do just that. Through intense and delicate research, as well as some speculation on his part, he traces Hitler's family origin, the sources of his beliefs, and most importantly, his psyche, and molds them into a very viable theory that is at once enlightening and sickening. This is an excellent book, written by a first class historian. It is without question required reading for any individual that wants to know the "how" of the Holocaust. My only small complaint is that in his immense dislike for his subject, Waite finds it impossible to refrain from sarcasm and showing his disdain at certain points in the reading. I might add, however, that these instances are usually very entertaining.

Robert Waite approaches his subject, the distorted mind of Adolf Hitler with all its historic consequences, from two directions. Firstly, he gives a revealing picture of the murky side of German culture that flourished since German unification in 1870: the baleful complex of hyper-nationalism, pan-germanism and anti-semitism. Secondly, he gives a psychiatric analysis of the mind of Adolf Hitler.

Even if the author does not succeed in substantiating every detail of this analysis, much of it is convincing. Particularly elucidating is the suggestion that the reason why Hitler frenetically tried to surpass everyone else in his anti-semitism was that he felt the need to suppress in his own mind the lingering suspicion (unsupportable for many people in Austrian society at that time) that he himself might be partly Jewish (for a quarter of his genes). Waite finds convincing evidence that Adolf Hitler's grandmother, Mrs. Anna Schicklgruber, who later was to marry a certain Mr. Hitler, conceived her son, Alois (Adolf Hitler's father), while she was serving as a maid in the household of a Jewish medical doctor, Mr. Frankenberger, who might have been the father of her child. In fact, Mr. Frankenberger in subsequent years was paying money to Mrs. Schicklgruber. The child was eventually to be "posthumously recognized" by Mrs. Schicklgruber's deceased husband (or rather his brother) and thus got the family name "Hitler". His son Adolf seems to have been aware of this part of the family history.

This is a very useful book for those wanting to acquire a deeper understanding of the mind that was to a large degree responsible for the monstruous derailment of German history in the period 1933-1945.

Everything Candace scott said in her review reflects my sentiments precisely. Hence, I will not add anything save that, in addition to reading John Toland, one might also explore Alan Bullock, both of whom will give you a much more intelligible and studied read of Hitler, the man who would be god.

It's usually best to take so-called "psychobiographies" with a grain of salt, especially when they are heavily Freud-dependent (like this one.) Nevertheless, this is a classic that presents a kalidescopic array of facts and speculations about its terrible subject. You may not buy it all, but you won't be able to stop reading. Waite's interpretations of the art produced by, enjoyed by, and inspired by Hitler are quite illuminating, including the haunting portrait on the cover.

The Negative Aspects

Firstly, the organization of the information in this book could have been more effectively structured. The author runs circles in his various dissections of Hitler at certain points, creating a sense of deja vu for the reader, and somehow thinks that Germany's history deserves its own section at the end of the book, after many references to Hitler in history have already been made.

Secondly, the book's implementation of its goals gives the sense that the author is doing someone else's job: the author's style and presentation of facts lends to the idea that he decided to become a pyscho-analyst on a whim and thus produced this book, and would have been more comfortable presenting his knowledge under some other pretense.

The Positive Side

Assuming one can keep in mind that they are not reading actual psycho-analytical literature written by an actual psycho-analyst, the book is a gem.

As his jacket states, the author's "ultimate aim is historical", and in the historical sense, the book excels: every chapter is a joy to read, looking at Hitler in many light as a little boy, an angst-ridden teen and a political thug, while being supplemented by historical facts, anecdotes and personal insights.

The Final Say

The Psychopathic God is a valuable addition to any modern history, Holocaust, WWII or Hitler literature collection. I would recommend it to anyone who may be interested in learning about Hitler and his various realtionships in depth.

Waite strips Adolf Hitler down to the core, revealing in his childhood explanations for not only why Hitler was who he was, but also revealing in general the reasons the German volk followed him down the fiery path of the Holocaust. His fascinating analysis of the routine and horrifying abuse that passed for normal child-rearing methods in middle European countries tears away the the curtain that has shrouded the motivations of Hitler and his countrymen, and makes it clear that the Holocaust was not an abberation in Germany--it was an inevitability. Read this with Alice Miller's "For Your Own Good" and Wolff's "Child Abuse in Freud's Vienna," and you'll get the picture.

of engaging in physcoanalysis of people removed in time and place. Wow. I'd like to see Waite's take on other historical figures. Exciting reading if nothing more.

I've read this book twice to make sure I had a reasonable impression of it. I am a historian of Hitler since my Junior High days. This review may not help you because I will not belabor the absurdities and distortions contained therein; I only give it two stars because there are some interesting facts
about Hitler buried within the falsehoods that predominate.
A good historian will be able to pick these out and laugh at the rest...

Waite's book is (amazingly) still in print after a quarter century. It's sobering to think so many people put credence in his ridiculous Freudian notions. There is nothing revelatory in this book and the errors are predictable and redundant. Putting Hitler on the couch is nothing new, Walter Langer and the OSS produced the first psychological profile of Hitler in 1943. It is still in print and available on Amazon and is much superior to this effort.

The main problem is that Hitler is dead and putting him through psychoanalysis is problematic, to say the least. I have an innate distrust of non-Germans (or non-German speakers) writing biographies of Hitler, so Waite has a leg up in this department since he does speak and read german. The vast majority of Hitlerian documents have never been translated and a non-German speaker tackles the project with a severe disadvantage. But does Waite use his innate advantage? No, he relies on discredited information, outdated sources and throws in some psychological treatises of his own, which lack credibility.

Hitler was an extraordinarily complex, complicated personality and the vast majority of historians have missed the mark in interpreting him or understanding him. Waite utterly misses the mark in explaining Hitler's relationships with women. He was hardly a sexual pervert and maintained a monogamous, though neurotic, relationship with Eva Braun for the last thirteen years of his life. The stories in this book of his "perversions" are stale and the product of propaganda from WWII.

If you want a steady, readable and reliable biography of Hitler, I urge you to consult John Toland's masterful 1976 book. Nothing has surpassed it in the 25 years since its publication.

Robert Waite's The Psychipathic God is one of the most fascinating portraits I have read on Hitler, or indeed, any historical figure. Rather than giving the narrative account of Hitler's life, what he did and when, Waite goes deeper into the tyrant's mind and experiences, to determine what made him the way he was, and the implications it had on German, and eventually world history.

The most interesting part for me was chapter four: Hitler and History. Here, Waite looks back through German history and constructs a convincing narrative that suggests Hitler was not - as is sometimes claimed, a dictator who rose out of nowhere - but a continuation of where German history had been heading for some centuries. It is worth reading this against the work of other historians, notably Joachim Fest, who say Hitler shared more in common with other totalitarian leaders of his lifetime than he did with the German past.

The rest of the book deals with various aspects of Histler's personality, tastes, beliefs, and decisions as leader. The one criticism I would have of the book is that quite a few of Waite's claims are suspect, and difficult to either prove or deny. For example - Hitler's right arm salute was supposedly to make up for his apparent missing left testicle, by showing the public his virility. What you think of such claims will depend on what you think of Freudian psychology in general. My personal opinion is that such arguments are interesting, worth debating, but often inconclusive.

I would still highly recommend this book though, simply because it effectively gives an analytic, non-narrative account of one of history's greatest tyrants.