Hitler: A Pathology of Evil (Review)

I just finished this lovely (not really) book on Hitler called Hitler: The Pathology of Evil by George Victor. This is not a book most would venture to read, but I’m really glad I did.

In short, if you’re looking for a book that gives a full and thorough account of how sin can corrupt an individual and a leader, leading to countless atrocities – this is your book. It’s not a biography, but rather an analysis of what forces shaped Hitler’s infamous life and leadership. It serves a biography though, however the emphasis is on Hitler’s pathology as the title suggests.

I found it fascinated to read accounts of Hitler’s childhood and the dynamics traced back his grandparents, which combined with his family life, personal choices, and probable mental illness all contributed to his perspective of the world. Despite all these forces, there’s no excuse for what Hitler did in his lifetime. As Victor argues, he was arguably the most evil person to live in the 20th century.

Many have avoided looking into Hitler’s life with this kind of approach because of a fear of seeing such an evil man as a victim. In some ways he was, but that does not absolve him one ounce of responsibility for what he did. I found it fascinating to see how in many ways Hitler was working out his own pain and shame from his childhood on a national level. I had studied some of the political dynamics before that led to Hitler’s rise – however, this book provided so much more insight. I still wonder though how a guy who was a complete loser, living on the streets within 10 years became a major political player on the national scene and then another 10 years later he was in charge as an unopposed dictator. Hitler was a loser in all senses of the word, but somehow he managed to manipulate people and the times to fit his twisted will. It was the perfect storm.

Anyway, it’s a fascinating book from a leadership perspective, from a historical perspective, from a political perspective, from a sociological perspective, and from psychological perspective. So, chances are you’d really be into the book for one reason or another.

The challenge of the book is that it really is heavy material and as one living 65 years later, it felt at times to me as I was processing the events of the holocaust for the first time. I’ve studied it before and read reflections and accounts, but this felt different to me because I was confronted with the personal and irrational origins of the events. It’s sobering and grievous. The other difficulty with the book was that the print was fairly small so it took a little more work than the average book.