Walter Charles Langer
Walter Charles Langer (February 5, 1899 – July 4, 1981) was a psychoanalyst from Cambridge, Massachusetts who prepared a psychological analysis of Adolf Hitler in 1943 for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), that predicted his suicide as the "most plausible outcome" among several possibilities identified.[1] Well before the assassination attempt in the summer of 1944, Langer's report also identified the possibility of a military coup against Hitler. The report is available online and, along with collateral material including a foreword, introduction and afterword, was published in 1972 by Basic Books as The Mind of Adolf Hitler.
Biography[edit]
Langer was born on February 5, 1899 in South Boston to Charles Rudolph and Johanna Rockenbach, recent immigrants from Germany.[1] His mother was born to a Lutheran household in Zweibrücken, Germany,[2] and his father was a member of the Moravian Brethren from Silesia, Germany.[3] His older brother William became the history department chair at Harvard University, and took a leave of absence during World War II to serve as head of the Research and Analysis section of the Office of Strategic Services. Walter Langer, who for a time was also a professor at Harvard, held a Ph.D but not an M.D. and was the first person admitted to the American Psychiatric Association who lacked a medical degree.
Retired to Florida, Langer died in Sarasota in 1981, aged 82.[1]
In popular culture[edit]
- The Military Channel program Inside the Mind of Adolf Hitler is based on The Mind of Adolf Hitler, and dramatised scenes connected to Langer's investigation.
Publications[edit]
- The Mind of Adolf Hitler: The Secret Wartime Report Basic Books (1972) ISBN 0-465-04620-7
- Psychology & Human Living (1945) ISBN 0-89197-517-9
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Waggoner, Walter H. (July 10, 1981). "Walter Langer Is Dead At 82.". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
Dr. Walter C. Langer, an American psychoanalyst who produced a secret and prophetic psychological study of Hitler for the Office of Strategic Services in 1943, died July 4 in Sarasota, Fla. He was 82 years old.
- ^ William L. Langer, In and Out of the Ivory Tower, p. 32.
- ^ William L. Langer, In and Out of the Ivory Tower, pp. 1-2.
External links[edit]
- "Langer's Wartime Report to OSS" from University of the West of England
- "Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler" from Cornell University Law Library
- An excerpt from The Mind of Adolf Hitler
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