Wounded Monster

Few authors who have written about Hitler have understood the deeply damaging effects of psychic trauma on his private life and the way he functioned in the public sphere. Nearly all major biographers have neglected the importance of Hitler's childhood trauma and his later combat trauma during World War I. In Wounded Monster, Theo Dorpat demonstrates how extreme emotional and physical abuse from his father, and his unusually long combat service during the Great War became the most formative influences of his life, resulting in severe psychiatric disorders. This psychiatric biography of Hitler discusses the central importance of his vulnerability to shame emotions, as well as the trauma-induced construction of an extensive repertoire of mainly unconscious mechanisms for the avoidance of feelings of shame. Dorpat provides deep insights into Hitler's shame vulnerability as a prime cause of his suicidal behavior, including his suicide threats, two failed suicide attempts, and his final completed suicide. This work will assist those attempting to explain Hitler and his actions, through an examination of the influences that shaped his psyche.

Theo L. Dorpat is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine.