A Peek into the Psychopathology of a Nazi

"Set in 1945 and 1946, the recent film Nuremberg tells the story of Reich Führer Hermann Goring (Russell Crowe), the most powerful Nazi in the world, after Hitler's suicide and Germany's surrender. The film also depicts Dr. Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), an American Army psychiatrist, who must assess the mental and physical fitness of 22 Nazis accused of war crimes before they face trial at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg."

"The Tribunal was the first audience outside of the military to see the films of the Allied forces arriving at the concentration camps; they came upon massive numbers of murdered Jews, others barely alive, and tractors moving hundreds of bodies into pits because of widespread disease. Goring and the other Nazis witnessed the film. Each prisoner faced four main charges: conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity."

"Goring, like the other Nazis, received a whole battery of psychological tests from Kelley. Both men had prominent, engaging personalities. Kelley entertained Goring with card and coin magic tricks. His friendly approach brought a human touch to the evaluation. Diagnosing Goring, using today's terms, he would have had a narcissistic personality disorderwith psychopathic features: an inflated self-importance, aggressive competitiveness, a need for adulation, and a lack of empathy."

Set in 1945–46, the story follows Reichsführer Hermann Göring after Hitler's suicide and Germany's surrender. Dr. Douglas Kelley, an American Army psychiatrist, evaluates the mental and physical fitness of 22 accused Nazis before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Allied footage of liberated concentration camps confronted defendants and judges with mass murder, corpses, and widespread disease. Each defendant faces charges of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; prosecutors must establish Göring's awareness of the death camps against his denials. Kelley uses psychological testing and a personable approach while entertaining Göring during evaluations, and modern diagnostic terms suggest narcissistic, psychopathic traits.

Read at Psychology Today