Psychoanalytic Personality Theory Analysis: Adolf Hitler - Coursework Example

Psychoanalytic Personality Theory Analysis: Adolf Hitler Introduction Each individual has a unique personality. Some have personalities which are more dominant than others; and we come to notice them more than others because they stand out in a crowd. Others tend to blend more with other people, remaining unobtrusive and unnoticed by everyone else. And these manifestations in personalities make possible a variety of reactions to similar situations. This paper shall discuss the Psychoanalytic Theoretical Approach based on Adolf Hitler’s personality manifestations. Psychoanalytic theory: Adolf Hitler Based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, there are three structural models of personality: the id, ego and the superego. We are born with our id. The id is a part of our personality which allows us to assuage and fulfill our most basic needs. The id seeks fulfillment for immediate and pressing needs (All Psych Online, 2004). Like any other human being, Adolf Hitler too was born with an id. He cried when he was hungry and he sought immediate satisfaction of his needs which was immediately provided to him by his parents. The next aspect of the personality is the ego. The ego is usually developed as the child interacts with other people and the world in general. “The ego understands that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run” (All Psych Online, 2004). The ego is responsible for fulfilling the needs of the id within the realms of reality. The ego develops within the first three years of the child’s life. Following the development of the ego, the superego soon develops. The superego, according to Freud follows the stage of resolution of the Oedipus complex. Freud points out that the “superego is the moral part of us [that] develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our caregivers” (All Psych Online, 2004). The superego is also known as our conscience and moral meter which dictates our sense of right and wrong. In a well-adjusted person, the ego is strong and works to satisfy the needs of the id while not upsetting the superego. The id, ego, and superego coexist in the psyche of a person, balancing the person’s reaction to events in order to display a healthy and well-adjusted person. In some instances, if the id becomes too strong or dominant, a person’s impulses and selfish desires would take over his life. On the other hand, if the superego becomes too strong, a person’s rigid morality would take over his life creating a person who is too unbending and judgmental in his relationship with the world (All Psych Online, 2004). In the case of Hitler, historical accounts narrate that he was the 4th child born of his mother and was the first who survived beyond two years of age. As a result, his mother poured attention and lavished care upon him. Based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, too much of the id being indulged would result to a child who is used to getting what he wants. The superego becomes ignored when it comes to indulging and fulfilling the needs of the id. Hitler’s id was overly indulged from a very young age, and consequently, he grew up to be a selfish and self-indulged adult. When his father retired and later died, his family enjoyed a healthy pension. Hitler grew up in a middle-class family; as a result, he did not suffer great poverty in his life (Giblin, 2002). Again, this upbringing would explain how Hitler’s id was well indulged by his parents, especially his mother. This upbringing gave rise to a selfish egoist who was used to getting what he wanted. It is important to note that Hitler also had a difficult childhood in the hands of his father. His father often got drunk and beat his children up. His father beat his half-brother more than he did Adolf. However, undeniably, Adolf was exposed to violence at a very young age. He learned to endure and bear pain from the beatings he got from his father. Some psychoanalysts set forth that adult pathologies find their roots in one’s childhood. They advocate the theory that “the child is father to the man” (Hastie & Dawes, 2001). Alice Miller emphasizes that traumatic events in a child’s life can have significant impact on the child’s future and on his personality. Miller reasons that an abused child rationalizes that as he has endured physical abuse for his own good, he is then supposed to accept it unquestioningly as part of his adulthood. Miller also mentions repetitive compulsion wherein a child often repeats what he sees or what he experiences in his childhood as a normal part of life (Loewenstein, 1993). Hitler’s experience of abuse in the hands of his father followed the same pattern. He found it a normal act to visit a variety of cruelties on other people. He ordered the execution of Jews, of Polish people, and other racial minorities in Europe, and his sense of morality about these acts was almost non-existent. Freud psychoanalytic theory also sets forth defense mechanisms that are displayed by individuals whenever their ego is threatened. These defense mechanisms help an individual cope with daily situations and problems. Freud described some of these defense mechanisms; they are: denial, repression, suppression, displacement, sublimation, projection, intellectualization, rationalization, regression, reaction formation, compensation, and avoidance (Wagner, 2009). For this paper, a few of these defense mechanisms shall be discussed based on their relevance. Denial is perhaps the most commonly used defense mechanism. This is seen when a person refuses to accept an obvious truth. In the case of Hitler and his allies, at some point, they denied responsibility for the torture chambers and camps used during the Second World War. He instead blamed the Russians for coming up with concentration camps which the Germans imitated in order to prevent being put in said camps. In relation to the denial defense mechanism is projection and rationalization. Projection is the defense mechanism where blame for something is deflected to another person or to a convenient scapegoat. “When the ego cannot tolerate its own negativity, it projects negativity onto the other to rid itself of intolerable thoughts” (Morris, 2001). This defense mechanism is related to the process of casting out or of expelling something unpleasant. In the case of Hitler, Jews were unpleasant; Hitler thought the Jews were Christ killers, bloodsuckers, and cannibals and they should be cast out from society. However, the truth of the matter was that Hitler was the one who was in a dark and hateful place, and he projected this darkness on to the Jews (Morris, 2001). Hitler also projected his own tainted blood to the Jews. He was actually inbred because his mother married her uncle, and his mother often referred to her husband as her uncle. Consequently, Hitler was obsessed in his own unclean and foul blood. Historical accounts make mention that he often put leeches onto his body in order to purify his blood (Schikelgruber, n.d). He spurned the Jews as an unclean race, projecting his own unclean blood and roots onto them. He also rationalized his behavior towards the Jews as necessary, blaming the actions of the Jews during the time of Jesus as a reason for their annihilation. He saw them as an unclean race, and he felt that his actions towards them were necessary in order to rid the world of their race. In truth, his rationalization was skewed and lacked moral credence. Again, this is typical of the dominant and uncontrolled id, where the subject’s selfish desires over and beyond his sense of morality. Freud also makes mention of the different developmental stages of a person. Freud’s theory in each of development is that there needs to be a resolution for each stage of development; unresolved issues in each stage surfaces in the adult as limited coping mechanisms. The first stage is the oral stage. The oral stage is the infancy stage where the baby is interacting with the world primarily through his mouth. The issue to be resolved in this stage is the weaning stage. Too early weaning may cause unresolved issue with oral needs. An orally fixated child may later have issues with dependency and regression. They often have issues with drinking, eating smoking, or nail-biting as grown-ups (Wagner, 2009). Hitler’s oral stage was much indulged because his father was away during most of this time and he became very close to his mother in the process. His mother often took him with her to bed for company; and some speculate that Adolf felt close to his mother, but also wary of his father. Some say that he actually feared his father; and the more he feared him, the more he clung to his mother (Waite, 1977). As an adult, his oral fixation was seen in his late night speeches and his monologues (Wrightsman, 1994). In the anal stage, the focus is the bladder and bowel movements. Toilet training is a pivotal activity during this stage. Proper toilet training can bring about a well-adjusted adult who finds fulfillment in his work and in accomplishing his activities. A rigid training during this stage can produce a child who is obsessively clean and orderly; and a lenient training will produce a person who is the complete opposite (Wagner, 2009). In the case of Hitler, he was considered anal retentive in his habits. Analysts claim that his mother was rigid about his potty training; and this produced a man who was obsessively clean and who had a phobia for bacteria. One analyst opined that Hitler’s “phobias and the repression of his anal retentive sessions have been royal ways to anal phantasms, to the need to be soiled or to soil, to the urge to destroy, to humiliate and to sadistic practices” (Schikelgruber, n.d). In his speeches, Hitler had a lot of allusions to dirtiness, to bad odors, and to cow manure. At one point he likened the German people to cow dung and Vienne as a repulsive conglomerate of ethnic mixes where the Jews flourished. He called the city “an incarnation of incest” (Schikelgruber, n.d). His obsession with order and cleanliness transcended the physical realm, he now saw the gathering of races as unclean, and this drove his obsession to rid society of the Jews and other minority peoples. He considered the Jews a blot and bacteria in society, and his anal retentiveness drove him to annihilate over 6 million Jews during World War II. Works Cited Freud’s Structural and Topographical Models of Personality (23 March 2004) All Psych Online. Retrieved 17 July 2009 from http://allpsych.com/psychology101/ego.html Giblin, J. (2002) The life and death of Adolf Hitler. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Hastie, R. & Dawes, R. (2001) Rational choice in an uncertain world. California: Sage Publications In the Hands of a Charlatan (n.d) Schikelgruber. Retrieved 17 July 2009 from http://schikelgruber.net/health.html Loewenstein, A. (1993) Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women. New York: New York University Press. Ludwig, A. (2002) King of the Mountain. Kentucky: University Press Kentucky. Morris, M. (2001) Curriculum and the Holocaust. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Personality Synopsis: Chapter 4: Psychoanalytic Theory (23 March 2004) All Psych Online. Retrieved 17 July 2009 from http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/drives.html Wagner, K. (2009) Defense Mechanisms. About Psychology. Retrieved 17 July 2009 from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/ss/defensemech.htm Wagner, K. (2009) Freuds Stages of Psychosexual Development. About Psychology. Retrieved 17 July 2009 from http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/ss/psychosexualdev.htm Waite, R. (1977) Summary of Robert Waites Use of Psychoanalysis in The Psychopathic God. HSSE. Retrieved 17 July 2009 from http://www.hsse.nie.edu.sg/staff/blackburn/waitepsychopathicgod1.htm Wrightsman, L. (1994) Adult Personality Development: Theories and concepts. California: Sage Publications. Read More