Book cover of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist

Book description

In 1945, after his capture at the end of the Second World War, Hermann Goring arrived at an American-run detention center in war-torn Luxembourg, accompanied by sixteen suitcases and a red hatbox. The suitcases contained all manner of paraphernalia: medals, gems, two cigar cutters, silk underwear, a hot water bottle,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Nazi and the Psychiatrist as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Pop culture portrays Nazis as the ultimate bad guys—and for good reasons. From 1933 to 1945, they committed history’s worst crimes against humanity. It’s understandable why millions believe a unique mental disease must’ve inflicted Hitler and his henchmen. But as El-Hai describes in this well-researched nonfiction book, many perpetrators of the Holocaust may have been … normal. 

U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley studied 52 high-ranking Nazis, including Luftwaffe Commander Hermann Göring, as they awaited post-World War II trials at Nuremberg. The American captain’s conclusion?

Most were simply ambitious. Subsequent studies, such as the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, appear to back…

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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