The Psychopathic God

The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler is a book by the Canadian historian Robert G. L. Waite, in which Waite examines Hitler's life and psychopathology with the aid of psychological professionals.

Originally published by Basic Books in 1977, a mass market paperback edition was published in 1978 by New American Library. The book was republished in 1993 by Da Capo Press.

Origin of the title

The title is taken from a passage in W. H. Auden's poem, "September 1, 1939":

<blockquote>

Accurate scholarship can

Unearth the whole offence

From Luther until now

That has driven a culture mad,

Find what occurred at Linz,

What huge imago made

A psychopathic God:

I and the public know

What all schoolchildren learn,

Those to whom evil is done

Do evil in return.

</blockquote>

The title of Auden's poem refers to the date that Hitler's tanks rolled into Poland. This date is generally acknowledged as the beginning of World War II.

See also

• Psychobiography
• Psychohistory
• List of Adolf Hitler books