Homicidal and suicidal impulses in the Nazi leaders.

Abstract

Miale and Selzer (1975) have published the Rorschach protocols of 16 Nazi leaders who were tried at Nuremberg. Kendra (1974) and Lester, ec al. (1975) have derived linear discriminant functions which utilize scores from the Rorschach Ink Blot test to discriminate completed suicides from attempted suicides and nonsuicidal persons and to discriminate murderers from other criminals. These linear discriminant functions were applied to the published Rorachach protocols of the Nazi leaders to categorize them. Twelve of the Nazi leaders1 were classified as murderers (Fritzsche, Funk, Go-ring, Hess, Keitel, von Neurath, von Papen, von Ribbentrop, Rosenberg, Sauckel, von Schirach, and Seyss-Inquart) and four as non-murderers (Frank, Kaltenbrunner, Schachc, and Speer) (binomial p = 0.04). Eleven of the Nazi leaders were classified as completed suicides (Frank, Fritzsche, Goering, Hess, Keitel, von Papen, von Ribbentrop, Rosenberg, Sauckel, von Schirach, and Seyss-Inquart), two as attempted suicides (Funk and Echacht) and three as non-suicides (Kaltenbrunner, von Neurath, and Speer) (y-' = 9.13, d f = 2, p < 0.02) . The presence of homicidal impulses in the Nazi leaders is perhaps not surprising. The presence of suicidal impulses is of interest. Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels completed suicide before they could be captured, Goering killed himself prior to his execution, and Frank attempted to kill himself after capture. It may be that the suicidal impulses detected were a result of the capture, trial and impending sentencing, or alternatively perhaps the brutality of the Nazi regime may be atrributed to the displacement of the self-destructive impulses combining with the homicidal impulses.