The Nazi Mind

After my effort to make sense of the Trump mind, it seems appropriate to follow up with a just published book by the British historian Laurence Rees The Nazi Mind – 12 warnings from history (2025). Its a long book based on several hundred interviews (both victims and perpetrators)

In this book, for the first time in my work, I explore how psychology as a discipline can help us understand the mentalities of the Nazis, and aspects of neuropsychology and behavioural and social psychology have all offered me valuable insights. Before talking to academic psychologists and studying relevant scientific papers, I had not been aware of the immense advances that have been made in these areas in recent years. In particular, the relatively new field of evolutionary psychology has been of considerable value. We sometimes forget that our brains evolved while our ancient predecessors were hunting on the savannah, and insufficient time in evolutionary terms has passed since then to allow much change.

His chapters are headed

1. Spreading Conspiracy Theories

2. Using Them and Us

3. Leading as a Hero

4. Corrupting Youth

5. Conniving with the Elite

6. Attacking Human Rights

7. Exploiting Faith

8. Valuing Enemies

9. Eliminating Resistance

10. Escalating Racism

11. Killing at a Distance

12. Stoking Fear

Anthony Scaramucci has linked up with Alastair Campbell to run a Rest in Politics 

US and has just interviewed the very articulate Rees about his book - 

12 warning signs that democracy is dying. 
Another interview on the book was with an American I’ve never heard of, Matt 

Lewis but its a great interview.

At one time, to attribute human motives to Hitler was lese-majeste – but the past 

few decades have seen a significant change – with his personal attributes being 

celebrated 

• Hitler - abridged version Ian Kershaw (2008 – 550pp)

• The Charisma of Hitler – leading millions into the abyss Laurence Rees (2012) only 250pp

• and even a novel - Look Who’s Back Tibur Vermes (2014 180 pp)

• Hitler – only the world was enough Brendan Simms (2019 1250pp) 

• Hitler – a Biography Longerich (2019 1380pp) 

Out of the Darkness – the Germans 1942-2022 Frank Trentmann (2023) is an important book which just happens to begin its account on the year of my birth for the reasons the author explains here

And why did I start in the middle of the Second World War? There's a big moral turmoil 

that is spreading, beginning in the winter of 1942, 1943, the time period we now call the 

Holocaust. A growing number of Germans started asking themselves troubling questions 

about their own possible responsibility for the plight that they were now being exposed to. 

So I choose this as an opening partly because it allows the reader to get into the heads 

of Germans at the time who don't know yet that the war is lost. 

Its a big book - 1077 pages - and presented in videos here and here

Laurence Rees is also a documentarist and this is one of a series he’s produced The Nazis – a view from history