Adolph Hitler: A Psychoanalysis and Application of Psychological Perspectives

Abstract

Adolph Hitler is surely one of the most reviled historical figures. However, this does not exclude him from personality analyses. In fact, Hitler requires psychoanalysis more than many other historical figures, so that others can avoid ending up as he did. The factors that affected Hitler are numerous, but it is possible to apply two primary personality perspectives to him: the psychoanalytic perspective, and the trait perspective. The psychoanalytic perspective deals largely with childhood and early-life experiences and how they affect the adult for the rest of their life. Considering the number of traumatic experiences Hitler experienced in his youth, this personality perspective is easy to apply to him. The trait perspective, as its name implies, deals with breaking down a person into numerous, specific traits that make up his or her unique personality. Hitler was a complicated man, with many different feelings and ideologies, and applying the trait perspective to him helps to understand some of these factors and how they turned him into the man he was. While it is simply not possible to truly understand just what went on in Hitler's mind, by applying these personality perspectives with what is already known and has been documented about Hitler, it is possible to at least attain a general idea of how his brain works, and hopefully work to avoid these individual factors in the future. These conditions are what primarily make up Hitler's Psychological profile, and are what will be examined today.

Adolph Hitler: A Psychoanalysis and Application of Psychological Perspectives

Although Adolf Hitler, the leader of the now-infamous Nazi Party, is considered a generally horrible human being, it is difficult to attribute his numerous heinous actions to mere "evilness." Just like all things in the universe, when broken down into psychological parts, it is possible to examine the individual actions, events, and feelings that made up Hitler's psychological profile and turned him into the dreaded figure we all know today. The main thing to keep in mind is that Hitler did not instantly decide he wanted to eliminate the Jewish from Germany. He underwent a lifetime of conditioning and perfect storm-type conditions to harbor such hate for them.

Personality Profile

First, it is necessary to attribute a personality profile to Hitler so that it is easier to categorize him into the two psychological perspectives. Hitler's personality, it is generally agreed among Psychoanalysts at the time, to be of the Counteractive type (Murray et al, 1943). Essentially, this means that his personality is that of a disagreeable narcissist. Further evidence of this can be seen in the book written by Hitler himself, Mein Kampf which describes many of the adversity Hitler underwent, but, among other things, helps to reveal how Hitler felt about numerous subjects, especially himself. The book also described Hitler's now infamous plan to breed Germany's exclusive master race. Further, much of the book suggests genocide to achieve these goals and others, which implies that Hitler cares little for others in his goals. This is, of course, a textbook quality of those with a narcissistic personality. Hitler was so convinced that he was morally and politically in the right that he was ready and willing to commit genocide to see his goals come to fruition.

Overview of Theory #1

The first theory to be discussed is the psychoanalytic perspective and that it shaped Hitler's psyche profoundly from a very early age. In fact, evidence of this can be seen even within Hitler himself. Hitler once said that "the direct result of [my childhood] was: first, I became a nationalism; second, I learned to grasp and to understand the meaning of history...so that at fifteen, I already understood the difference between dynastic patriotism and popular nationalism" (Erikson, 1993). These characteristics lend themselves well to the psychodynamic theory, which is supported by many psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud and deals largely with the subconscious. The psychoanalytic perspective is one of Freud's most famous and is largely the origin of the cliché, the "Freudian slip," which states that one's subconscious actions, like slips of the tongue, reveal much about one's personality. Likewise, this concept can be extrapolated to much of Hitler's behavior and writings at the time, which show that his subconscious was full to the brim with propaganda, patriotism, and hate, which led to the personality we all know today.

Overview of Theory #2

The second theory deals with the trait perspective of personality, which breaks down the individual into parts, which are then examined individually. By breaking Hitler down into psychoanalytical parts, it is possible to put the pieces back together to form a picture of his true self. The trait perspective of personality focuses on sixteen personality traits that make up an individual, although not all individuals share the same traits, obviously. Some lack these traits altogether (as Hitler does, which will be examined in the application of the theory). The second focus of the trait perspective is what is called the three dimensions of personality. Developed by British Psychologist Hans Eysenck, these describe three unique traits: extraversion-introversion dimension, emotional stability-neuroticism, and psychoticism (Wiggings, 1996).

Application of Theory #1

Applying the first theory, that Hitler's childhood and subconscious had a profound effect on him, from a psychoanalytic perspective, is very easy because it almost seems like the psychoanalytic perspective was designed especially for him. For starters, it is widely reported that Hitler's father was abusive to both him and his mother. One of the tenants of the psychoanalytic perspective is that infancy is a state of powerlessness and that the infant, on some level, is aware of this. Thus, frustration is placed on whoever must care for the child, and, when this person becomes outwardly frustrated and violent, as Hitler's father clearly was, it becomes embedded in the child's psyche (Flax, 2003). The results from this are clear, judging by Hitler's behavior and overall demeanor. In fact, if one were to compare the personality of Hitler and his father, it seems likely that they would be very similar in nature. Furthermore, the psychoanalytic perspective dictates that any experiences, especially traumatic ones, have a profound effect on the subconscious, and manifest themselves in extremely subtle ways. For example, Hitler's failed career and subsequent criticism he received as an art student are generally seen as one of the largest catalysts into the Hitler known today. Although many like to think his failed career as an artist simply made him angry at the world, it is far more likely, by applying the psychoanalytic perspective, that this destruction of his own ego by both his failure as an artist, the abuse of his father, his poor living conditions, and many other factors, negatively impacted both his conscious and subconscious mind. This explains why he is never able to see his own plans and designs as anything but perfect. Perhaps this is why his ideal Germany was a perfect utopia; because it echoed the ideals he saw in himself.

Application of Theory #2

The trait perspective helps us to apply the theory that Hitler's arrogance and lack of empathy are all part of a larger whole. To this end, psychoanalyst Raymond Cattell developed sixteen personality factors that make up an individual, many of which can be applied to Hitler (Cattell, 1956). For example, one of the criteria, called Perfectionism, can be seen easily in Hitler in what is called the higher range of perfectionism (Cattell, 1956). Symptoms of this high range perfectionism include being organized, exacting willpower, self-sentimental, self-disciplined, and control (Cattell, 1956). However, it is possible to also use these sixteen personality traits to determine what traits Hitler does not have, such as Warmth. An individual who lacks the personality trait warmth is impersonal, reserved, formal, and aloof; terms that describe Hitler and his distant personality perfectly (Cattell, 1956). Applying Eyesnck's three traits makes sense here as well. Hitler was clearly more of an introvert since he focused so much on personal experiences but could be an excellent extrovert if need be, as evidenced by his energetic speeches. He was obviously emotionally unstable on some level, going by the reports of his infamous temper tantrums. This is defined by Eyesnck as neuroticism and can be seen clearly in Hitler (Wiggings, 1996). Finally, Hitler shows textbook cases of psychoticism by being delusional, especially about himself and his "creations."

Conclusion

While it makes little sense to attribute all of Hitler's crimes to mere psychological phenomena, it is clear, from these studies that they played at least a considerable role in his development and, thus, his adult life as well. They serve as good reminders of what to avoid, especially in one's early stages of life.

References

Cattell, R. B. (1956). Validation and intensification of the sixteen personality factor questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Erikson, E. H. (1993). Childhood and society. WW Norton & Company.

Flax, J. (2003). Political philosophy and the patriarchal unconscious: A psychoanalytic perspective on epistemology and metaphysics. In Discovering reality (pp. 245-281). Springer Netherlands.

Murray, H. A. (1943). Analysis of the personality of Adolph Hitler.

Wiggings, J. S. (Ed.). (1996). The five factor model of personality: Theoretical perspectives. Guilford Press.