domenica, gennaio 02, 2005
:: 'The Making of the Führer by David Lewis - A Review (Part I) ::This is a rather interesting book which reveals that Hitler (or Heitler) ‘…lacked the personality ever to become a leader!’ until he was temporarily blinded and possibly suffering from hysteria during a gas attack in WWI. He was treated by one Edmund Forster, who whether consciously or unconsciously, unleashed such power in the man, a man, who would destroy his own life eventually. This book talks about Hitler’s and Forster’s origins and early days, as well as Hitler’s soujourn at Pasewalk, where he became Forster’s patient and was eventually cured of the hysteria that had caused him to become blind. It also illustrates the development of psychology, neurology and psychiatry in the 1910s.
I was quite surprised that neurology/psychology/psychiatry were viewed as one of the most worthless of medical sciences. Physicians shunned the topic, and thought that it contained no room for research. Then, mental diseases were believed to be caused by either malingering (faking ill) or a weakness of willpower. Thus, the treatment focused on instilling willpower in such patients by forceful talking-tos, bullying and rather painful measures. These included applying electric shocks (to those who have paralysed limbs), hydrotherapy (immersing the patient into hot / cold water for days), isolation, forcing a metal ball-bearing into their larynx (for those who were dumb), exposure to sudden loud ringing of a bell (for those who were deaf)… Here’s something interesting to share about why the Babinki’s test is so painful! (just a joke)… Felix Babinski was known to use electrotherapy as well as ‘bullying’ in order to treat his patients. In addition, he would request that all male patients be presented to him naked and all female patients to be dressed only in their underclothes. This helped to establish the doctor as the master/controller/domineering figure. In short, the doctor-patient encounter was essentially a battle of wills.
There was an interesting chapter about various poisonous gases used in WWI. They had such nice names like Red Star (chlorine), Yellow Star (70% chlorine 30% chloropicrin), White Star (50% chlorine 50% phosgene) and Yellow Cross (mustard gas). That chapter was solely to discuss which type of gas Hitler had suffered from because there was a discrepancy in his records as well as that of another officer serving in the same regiment. Basically, I think Hitler was hit by the White Star, which explains the immediate onset of symptoms from which he recovered within days of leaving the battlefield yet was beset by hysteria, causing him to lose his eyesight for about a month. However, Hitler probably didn’t want others to view him as ‘weak-minded’, thus changing his account to being hit by mustard gas (which should not have such an immediate onset of symptoms, yet has a longer lasting effect). Interestingly, Haber, a Jew, was the man in charge of developing such toxic gases for use in the world. I wonder how he felt when these same gases were used to exterminate his race in WWII.
More to come… when I finish the book! ;)
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francesca chiu
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