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Anatomy of Malice: The Enigma of the Nazi War Criminals by [Joel E. Dimsdale]

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Joel Dimsdale

Anatomy of Malice: The Enigma of the Nazi War Criminals Kindle Edition

by Joel E. Dimsdale (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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An eminent psychiatrist delves into the minds of Nazi leadershipin “a fresh look at the nature of wickedness, and at our attempts to explain it” (Sir Simon Wessely, Royal College of Psychiatrists).

When the ashes had settled after World War II and the Allies convened an international war crimes trial in Nuremberg, a psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley, and a psychologist, Gustave Gilbert, tried to fathom the psychology of the Nazi leaders, using extensive psychiatric interviews, IQ tests, and Rorschach inkblot tests. The findings were so disconcerting that portions of the data were hidden away for decades and the research became a topic for vituperative disputes. Gilbert thought that the war criminals’ malice stemmed from depraved psychopathology. Kelley viewed them as morally flawed, ordinary men who were creatures of their environment. Who was right?

Drawing on his decades of experience as a psychiatrist and the dramatic advances within psychiatry, psychology, and neuroscience since Nuremberg, Joel E. Dimsdale looks anew at the findings and examines in detail four of the war criminals, Robert Ley, Hermann Göring, Julius Streicher, and Rudolf Hess. Using increasingly precise diagnostic tools, he discovers a remarkably broad spectrum of pathology. Anatomy of Malice takes us on a complex and troubling quest to make sense of the most extreme evil.

“In this fascinating and compelling journey . . . a respected scientist who has long studied the Holocaust asks probing questions about the nature of malice. I could not put this book down.”—Thomas N. Wise, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

“This harrowing tale and detective story asks whether the Nazi War Criminals were fundamentally like other people, or fundamentally different.”—T.M. Luhrmann, author of How God Becomes Real

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257 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Yale University Press
Publication date

28 May 2016
File size

6627 KB
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“Since before the Second World War ended psychiatrists and psychologists have been trying to understand the minds of the Nazi leadership. Dimsdale takes a fresh look at the nature of wickedness, and at our attempts to explain it. This is a must read. - Sir Simon Wessely, Royal College of Psychiatrists"This harrowing tale and detective story asks whether the Nazi War Criminals were fundamentally like other people, or fundamentally different. Compelling and well told, it reexamines a historical period we must never forget, and its central question is at the heart of what it is to be human." - T.M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back“In this fascinating and compelling journey into the depraved minds of some of the Nazi leaders, a respected scientist who has long studied the Holocaust asks probing questions about the nature of malice. I could not put this book down. - Thomas N. Wise, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine“Exciting, provocative, and surprising, this compelling book explores the diverse personalities that contributed to the evil of the Nazi regime. Collecting and integrating their stories, Dimsdale explores the frequently unsolved challenges of psychiatric and psychological assessments and the role of the assessor. - Winfried Rief, University of Marburg, Germany “A masterful and rigorous portrayal of the trial of the Nazi war criminals. Superbly written and meticulously researched, this is a riveting narrative of the trial, the Nazi criminals, and the psychologist who analyzed them. - Irvin Yalom, Stanford University "In Anatomy of Malice, [Joel Dimsdale] provides a meandering, thoughtful . . . overview, for the layman, of the minds of Nazi leaders, the differing views of the doctors who examined them, and psychology's possible contribution to explicating the causes of evil." - New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Joel E. Dimsdale is distinguished professor emeritus and research professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. He lives in San Diego, CA. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01EUYN6BG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (28 May 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 6627 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 257 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 121,034 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 26 in Forensic Psychology (Kindle Store)
- 54 in Forensic Psychology (Books)
- 113 in Holocaust History

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Joel Dimsdale

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Dr. Dimsdale is the author of >500 publications and is the author of Dark Persuasion: a History of Brainwashing from Pavlov to Social Media, Yale University Press (forthcoming August, 2021). He obtained his BA degree in biology from Carleton College and then his MA in sociology and MD degree from Stanford University. He obtained his psychiatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital and then completed a fellowship in psychobiology at the New England Regional Primate Center. He was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School from 1976 until 1985, when he moved to University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

Dimsdale is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the department of psychiatry at UCSD. His clinical subspecialty is consultation psychiatry and his research focuses on stress, sleep, and quality of life. He is a former career awardee of the American Heart Association, and is past-president of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, the American Psychosomatic Society, and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He is on numerous editorial boards, including editor-at-large Journal Psychosomatic Research, is editor-in-chief emeritus of Psychosomatic Medicine, and is a previous guest editor of Circulation. He has been a consultant to the President's Commission on Mental Health, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academies of Science, NASA, and NIH. He was a member of the DSM5 taskforce and chaired the workgroup studying somatic symptom disorders.

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Tom Woroby

an insight into these creatures, but, a book more tuned for academic references

Reviewed in Canada on 27 August 2018

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Well written, but, more attuned to references work and professional insight than a "fireside read" , getting a little too deep into the psychology of these people...i found it a good read, but more aimed for professionals than the average reader..
tom

One person found this helpful

Max

Très bon livre

Reviewed in France on 7 January 2021

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Très bon livre.

Je suis effrayé comment nous ont menti tout au longue des années.
Le nazis se sont sorti très bien de la deuxième guerre mondial accueillis par des gouvernements dits démocratiques.
Nuremberg à été une farce .

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polyglot

watch out!

Reviewed in France on 26 January 2020

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Par ce que le livre est neuf et est arrive a temps, 5 etoiles. Mais pour avoir des empreintes de graisse/sueur sur la couverture ca fait 1 etoile; et la moyenne 3. Le vendeur ou le depot de depart s'en foutent?

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Peter S. Bradley

Thoughts on the nature of the mysterious nature of human evil.

Reviewed in the United States on 5 September 2016

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Anatomy of Malice by Joel E. Dimsdale

This book was inspired by author Joel E. Dimsdale’s interest in understanding what made the Nazis evil. The question is undoubtedly more a philosophical than technical question, but the technical tools of psychology might provide some insight. In this case, the insight would seem to be slight, albeit the story is very interesting and informative.

Dimsdale examines the backgrounds and psychological history of four Nazis in particular, namely Robert Ley, Herman Goring, Julius Streicher and Rudolf Hess. However, before getting to those details, Dimsdale describes the history of the Nuremberg trial and the appointment and conflict between the psychiatrist appointed to examine the Nazi defendants. The conflict between these psychiatrists – Douglas Kelly and Gustave Gilbert – takes up a large part of the narrative. We are also introduced to Burton C. Andrus, the warden of the Nuremberg facility. Dimsdale makes these characters and their quirks engaging. We also get background on the cutting edge psychological tool of the Rorschach test, which frankly comes across as “mumbo jumbo.”

The debate about the Nazi war criminals was whether they were uniquely depraved in a way that psychology could identify as outside the norms of human nature – a position advanced by Gilbert – or if they were simply human beings, but perhaps more depraved than the norm – Kelly’s position. It is not clear that there is an answer, but my sense is that Dimsdale inclines toward Kelly’s position. The Nuremberg defendants selected by Dimsdale were odd, but were they odder than most people who had been defeated in war, were being held by their enemies and faced a death sentence? At some point, Rudolf Hess slipped the bonds of sanity, certainly by the time that he flew to Scotland, but much of his performance was either a habit formed to avoid interrogation or an act. Julius Streicher was an unpleasant person, who probably talked himself into his death sentence. (In my review of Julius Streicher: Nazi Editor of the Notorious Anti-semitic Newspaper Der Sturmer I wondered what Streicher had done to merit a death sentence, inasmuch as he was out of power by the time of World War II, and the answer seems to be that he was a jerk during the Nuremberg trial.) Robert Ley was an alcoholic and had a neurologically induced stutter who committed suicide before the trial. Finally, Goring was the most effective of the Nazis but was also addicted to pills and had the greatest claim to being a true psychopath.

Dimsdale seems to imply that the traits that these men exhibited could be found in most people. The difference, of course, is that these people were in a position where their lack of internal restraints, and indifference to transcendental concerns, allowed them to permit or assist in heinous acts.

For me, what characterized the cadre of Nuremberg defendants was that they were opportunists. They were most willing to adopt those moral values that would enable them to achieve the success they wanted. Nazism was particularly well-adapted to such people since it had at its core the “Fuhrer Principle” which held simply that a follower had to follow the Fuhrer wherever he led.

Dimsdale acknowledges that his quest was inconclusive in his conclusion:

“I was of course disappointed, but then I started to reflect. Would any archives have answered my questions about malice? The Bible says pointedly “The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty” (Ps. 74: 80). The poet Pablo Neruda concludes more hopefully: “The earth is a bed / blooming for love, soiled in blood.” 8 Kelley found some darkness in every person. Gilbert found a unique darkness in some. They were both right.”

Nonetheless, don’t let that prevent you from reading this book. It provides a glimpse into the lives of the Nazi high command, some thoughts on the development of psychology, a sketch of international justice, and some philosophy on the dark issue of human evil. The book is well-written and easily accessible to those with an interest in any of these subjects.

26 people found this helpful

Marigold

"The heart of man is evil and desperately wicked." Jeremiah

Reviewed in the United States on 2 April 2017

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Am reading this fascinating book right now....
I've been interested in the Holocaust since the age of fifteen when I came home from school one day and my mother had put a copy of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK in my room for me to read. Later, she gave me a copy of EXODUS by Leon Uris.
Upon discussing the books with my Jewish friends (this was the Sixties), I was astonished to learn that they all had near relatives who had died in concentration camps. I mean I was astonished. Here I was, a cossetted Southern girl who was surrounded by so many healthy, vibrant, loving, extended family and naively assuming so were all my friends.
The man who catered my wedding was a Holocaust survivor and his tattoo was plainly seen. A wonderful, dear man who was admired and respected by the many, many people who knew him.
The question of "How? Why?" the Holocaust could have happened has haunted me all my life.
ANATOMY OF MALICE reminds me of another book that attempts to understand the evil among us which is PEOPLE OF THE LIE by M. Scott Peck.
Professor Dimsdale's book, however, appears to be THE book that delves into this dreadful mystery of human evil and does so with insight and balance...not throwing the baby out with the bathwater and indicting the entire German people.
I had not intended to write this review before finishing the book but I was perusing the other reviews and decided to join in.
I really appreciate having found this book.
Sally in Virginia

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