HITLER: A STUDY IN MEGALOMANIA"ALFRED SLEIGH, MD.
'History has seen many examples of men whose lives were characterized bv a driving lust for power. Adolf Hitler was one of them and it is not an exaggeration to term him a megalomaniac. Al-though it is difficult to make a 'psychiatric diagnosis', Hitler seems to fit the category of a paranoid personality. In the following historical note, the life and personality of 'that man' (as Winston Churchill called him) will be explored to reveal something of the meaning of this desire for power. Seven days before the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, on April30th, 1945, the man who was the architect and supreme dictator of the Third Reich probably met death by shooting himself in the mouth. The story is that Hitler and Eva Braun, his wife of one day, suicided and that their bodies were covered in gasoline and burned. Thus, ended a strange saga for Germany and the whole world. How did it begin? Hitler was born in 1889. At the age of thirty-five, he began his Mein Kampf by stating: "It stands me in good stead today that fate decided that Brauna on the Inn should be my birthplace. That little town lies on the frontier between the two German States, the re-union of which we younger one’s regard as a work worthy of accomplishment by all the means in our power." His family was of peasant stock and his father had shown some ambition in rising from a peasant beginning to being a customs official. This large, brusque man married three times and from the third union came° post-graduate seminars in the history of psychiatry (Prof. Edward L. Margetts). Department of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia ‘Vancouver, Canada. Seminar 2 May 1962. 'revised Nov. 1965.'Resident in psychiatry (1961-2), University Health~~crew, the University of British Columbia, Vancouver,218Adolf. Adolf's mother was a quiet, dutiful person, some twenty odd years younger than her husband. She had repeated difficulties with childbirth and her first three babies died in infancy. After Adolf she gave birth to another boy who died at an early age and then in 1896, she had her last child, Paula. The young Hitler was well cared for and possibly even pampered by his sacrificing mother. There is evidence that she regarded him as a sickly child and probably made him feel that he was pre-coins and different from other young fellows. However, his father did not cater to his young son and his thought was to bring him 'up right' and see that he got into the honorable job of being a customs official. Adolf, a self-centered, stub-born child, soon was in conflict with his stern father over 'his choice of vocation, however, and steadfastly maintained that he was destined to be a great artist. In 1903, when Adolf was almost four-teen his father died and by this time it must have been settled that Adolf would be an artist. He continued at school until sixteen. His marks were always unpredictable and he was described as a lazy, undisciplined scholar who could show promise if he desired. In 1908, Hitler's mother died. As with the death of his father, it is difficult to ascertain Adolf's reaction to the loss. In any case, after that he went to Vienna and spent the years from nineteen to twenty-four living in squalor and poverty, but this was really of his own choice. Hitler never did any manual work to speak of, and remained convinced that he had the talents of an artist or an architect, despite being rejected at the Art Academy in Vienna. These were lonely years, but also years wherein the youthful Adolf June, 1966 HISTORICAL NOTE 219could read, wander about the city, dream, conceive of fanciful plans for Wagnerian-like operas or for rebuilding towns and even cities. These were years also for thinking about politics and observing the political happenings in that cosmopolitan city. He gained much in his understandings of the 'in-fighting' of politics, of mob psychology, and here began his terrible prejudice tow.
KR IRS 6126
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I agree , Sir ,that people’s cooperation matters, but I see this primarily as a leadership issue rather than a people problem. People usually respond to clarity, trust, and conviction from the top. Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji inspired discipline through moral authority, not control.China progressed not merely because people surrendered freedoms, but because its leadership pursued a clear, long-term national vision beyond popularity or personal legacy. Control without solid trust promotes resistance; compliance without conviction does not long last.India’s challenge is the lack of bold, statesmanlike leadership that places national interest above politics, power, and name. Ex: kamaraj, Rajaji, Atalji etc as i remember Freedom and discipline are not opposites — the real test is leadership that can balance both for lasting progress overlooking personal agenda of my nature.I stand to be corrected..
Namaskaram"KNOW THYSELF .SELF KNOWLEDGE IS REAL KNOWLEDGE.ALL OTHER KNOWLEDGE IS IGNORANCE AND THEY ARE NO KNOWLEDGE "~~~ Bhagavan Ramana
On Thu, 8 Jan 2026, 9:25 am Rangarajan T.N.C., <tncran...@yahoo.com> wrote:The problem is the people. How can any leader achieve anything if the people are not prepared to do what he thinks will improve the country? Remember the time when Sastry was PM.It is essentially a question of compliance and control. If the people are not willing to comply with the law which gives stability, they need to be controlled. Then of course the leader will be called an authoritarian and our country seems to think that freedom of speech is more important that the security or progress of the country. It is a trade off. The Chinese are willing to give up something for getting better.On Wednesday, 7 January 2026 at 09:40:40 am IST, Chittanandam V R <chittan...@gmail.com> wrote:The core difference between China and our country is that China doesn't have a judiciary like ours and there are no opposition parties.The government is trying to lay an elevated railway line to connect Velachery Station to St.Thomas Station a distance of less than 5 kms. This project is lying in ruins for the past nearly 20 years because of litigation.Meanwhile cost has shot up hugely. Who cares?Chittanandam
"When governance is fair and firm, compliance follows; when it is weak, disorder spreads." ?!
"When governance is fair and firm, compliance follows; when it is weak, disorder spreads." ?!