The Psychopathic God
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Robert G. L. Waite |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Adolf Hitler |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | |
The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler is a 1977 book by Robert G. L. Waite. It was republished in 1993 by Da Capo Press of New York.
It is a psychohistorical examination of German dictator Adolf Hitler explores the events "by documenting accounts of his behaviour, beliefs, tastes, fears and compulsions." (Da Capo Press, publisher)
Jewish ancestry
While questions have lingered as to whether Hitler had Jewish ancestry, and subsequent history has cast great doubt on the idea, Waite proposes that Hitler's own doubts as to this question was a fundamental catalyst of the dictator's political actions. The author attempts to show that Hitler was unaware as to the truth of this matter, made great efforts to covertly shed light on his ancestry, and was deeply affected by the lingering question. Waite's presents a plethora of evidence to consider: Hitler's fixation on blood (both his own and in his speeches on the topic of purity), craniometry, a law banning Jewish employers from having pre-menopausal German handmaidens (as was the situation of Hitler's grandmother), etc.
Origin of the Title
The title is taken from a passage in W. H. Auden's poem, "September 1, 1939":
- Accurate scholarship can
- Unearth the whole offence
- From Luther until now
- That has driven a culture mad,
- Find what occurred at Linz,
- What huge imago made
- A psychopathic God:
- I and the public know
- What all schoolchildren learn,
- Those to whom evil is done
- Do evil in return.
The title of Auden's poem refers to the date that Hitler's tanks rolled into Poland. This date is generally acknowledged as the beginning of World War II.
Citation
- Waite, Robert G. L. (1977). The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-06743-3