The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII

(PublicAffairs Books)

“If you liked Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt, try The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai.”

- Psychology Today

“Ace reportage on the unique relationship between a prison physician and one of the Third Reich’s highest ranking officials… El-Hai’s gripping account turns a chilling page in American history and provides an unsettling meditation on the machinations of evil.”

- Kirkus (starred review)

The Nazi and the Psychiatrist explores the complex relationship between the American psychiatrist Douglas M. Kelley and his 22 Nazi patients awaiting trial as war criminals in the 1945-46 International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.  As Kelley develops an especially close relationship with the former Reichsmarshal Hermann Göring, he launches an investigation of the essence of evil that eventually proves to be the physician’s undoing. Set amid the post-war ruins of Europe, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist is the first book to tap Kelley’s vast collection of personal and professional papers and artifacts from Nuremberg — including medical records of the Nazi defendants — which until now have been hidden for decades.

French, Mexican, Chinese, Norwegian, Danish, Brazilian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, and Italian publishers have released foreign-language editions.

Praise for The Nazi and the Psychiatrist