The Mind of Adolf Hitler: The Secret Wartime Report

By Walter C. Langer

Book Overview

In 1943 William Donovan the director of the Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner to the CIA) approached Harvard psychologist Walter Langer and asked him to construct a psychological profile of Adolf Hitler.

Despite his reservations regarding the reliability of the data upon which his analysis would be based, Langer set about this unprecedented task by putting together a team of psychologists and researchers. Langer and his research team had just five months to produce their findings, in which time they interviewed key informants who knew Hitler personally and drew upon over 1000 pages of background research from a document known as The Hitler Source Book.

In order to try and understand Hitler as a person and the motivations underlying his actions, Langer presents his psychological profile within five specific sections

1. Hitler as he believes himself to be.

2. Hitler as the German people know him.

3. Hitler as his associated know him.

4. Hitler as he knows himself.

5. Psychological analysis and reconstruction.

Freudianism at its Height

In constructing a psychological analysis of Hitler, Langer drew heavily upon the ideas of Sigmund Freud, most notably the developmental influence of early childhood experiences. As such the report provides the reader with a fascinating window into the mechanics of Freudian analysis. Among the issues discussed within this paradigm are:

Hitler's character as influenced by his father.
Hitler's mother and her influence.
Hitler's attitude towards love, women and marriage.
Hitler's early conflicts expressed in symbolic form.
The Messiah Complex.
Desire for immortality.
Hitler's Sexual development.
A Classic in The History of Psychology

Langer's report on Adolf Hitler not only showcased the dominant discourse of psychological analysis at the time, but it also served as the catalyst for the development of political profiling as a discipline.

Psychology Gets Political

Without doubt the greatest legacy of Langer's report was the influence it had on the field of political profiling. Dr Jerrold Post cites Langer's analysis of Hitler as the inspiration for the profiling unit he established at the CIA in the 1970s; which would subsequently go on to profile every important world leader up to and including Saddam Hussein.

In discussing Langer's psychological profile of Hitler during an interview with the BBC, Post stated:

"We must understand the leaders we are contending with - you can't deter optimally a leader you don't understand - and to relegate be it a Hitler or a Joseph Stalin or a Saddam Hussein to a crazy evil madman really degrades our capacity to deal with them optimally because we're not thinking about what pushes them, what makes them tick."

While the value of political profiling remains open to question, the seminal importance of Langer's psychological study of Hitler in influencing the discipline is not.

A Psychological Analysis of Adolf Hitler has been produced as part of an initiative by the website All About Psychology to make important psychology publications widely available.

www.all-about-psychology.com

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1481110853
• ISBN13: 9781481110853
• Release Date: November 2012
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

"First Book of Profiling"

This is the "Book" that started it all folks. Written at the express order of the President, for the War effort. O.S.S., Father of the CIA, was a collector of information, and detained German Deportees for interviews with Doctor Langer. Every fact and prediction, written by Langer, about Hitler, and the German Leadership came to pass. Written and completed 2 years before Hitlers death, the book told how and why Hitler would kill himself, his sexual deviations, and nothing since comes close to Langers work. Brilliant. A must read for any student of History.

The Mind of Adolph Hitler

What lead me to read this book was my curiosity as to what sort of man could justify his murderous crimes committed against humanity with the sanctimonious claim that he was appointed to Universal leadership by divine power. I highly recommend that people who are interested in this book consider to read the currently published "Bush on the Couch" by Justin A Frank.MD. as I have, and was alarmed by the estounding parallel in these two individual's personality and behavioral traits. They are frightening, if not eerie. I am a Holocaust survivor

this is a very helpful book

although i am no professor, i feel this book gave me a good insight and understanding of hitler, as well as life altering events that may have contributed to such monstrous actions.since i have read this book i am now able to give my own opinion on why he became such an evil and unhappy human being.

One of the Most Interesting Books I've EVER Read!!

This book was soo interesting!!! I would recomend it to everyone who's ever thought, "Jee, I wonder why Hitler was the way he was." I can now truley understand why Hitler killed 11 million people. (I don't agree, of coarse, but I understand why he did it.) It tells all about his childhood, personal life, and later military life. I couldn't put it down, and I am going to start reading it for a second time. This is definatly worth buying. -Kelly

facts you didn't know about Hitler

I'm somewhat of an history buff, especially WWII, but when my Mom bought me this book at a yard sale, I didn't know what I was in store for upon reading it. There are lots of little known facts about Hitler's secrets and his personal life. We get a glimpse inside of Hitler's head to see what makes him tick - it wasn't just his hatred of the Jews that drove him. The book was just a conglomeration of interesting information, and contains many rare photos. If you like reading about Hitler or similar topics, this book is worth buying.