Understanding Nuremberg and the Nazi Psychiatrist Book

Foreward

What is Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city in Germany. It has 2 important meanings today.

First, Nuremberg is where the world held a court in 1945-1946 to punish Nazi leaders after World War II.

Second, Nuremberg is now the center of Europe's security and law.

In February 2026, more than 19,000 security leaders from 50 countries came to Nuremberg to plan how to keep Europe safe from modern dangers like cyber attacks and wars.

Why the Nuremberg Trials Matter

After World War II ended in 1945, the Allies—America, Britain, Russia, and France—captured the top Nazi leaders.

They decided to hold a court instead of just executing them. This was important because it created a new rule in the world: even if you are a government leader or a general, you can be punished for killing innocent people.

These trials created something called the Nuremberg Principles.

These principles say:

(1) You must follow international law even if your government tells you to break it.

(2) You cannot say "I was just following orders" to escape punishment.

(3) You must protect innocent people during war.

(4) Leaders cannot hide behind their government position.

The International Criminal Court in the Netherlands uses these principles today.

Whenever anyone is punished for genocide or crimes against humanity, they are using ideas that came from Nuremberg.

The Nazi and the Psychiatrist Book

This book tells the story of Dr. Douglas Kelley, an American psychiatrist who examined the Nazi leaders in prison.

Kelley wanted to find something different about Nazi psychology—something that would prove they were crazy or mentally sick.

But Kelley discovered something shocking: the Nazis were not crazy.

They were normal people.

They had normal intelligence. Their test results looked normal.

They could think clearly and explain their actions logically.

Kelley realized the Nazis had only 3 normal characteristics:

(1) They wanted power very badly.

(2) They did not care much about right and wrong.

(3) They loved their country so much they would do anything "for Germany."

These 3 characteristics are not unusual.

You can find people like this in any country.

This means normal people, not crazy people, can become evil if their government allows them to do whatever they want.

Hermann Göring's Story

The book focuses on Hermann Göring, Hitler's top assistant.

Göring was intelligent and charming. He told Kelley the truth: he joined the Nazi party because he wanted power. He wanted to be the most important person. He was willing to kill people to gain power.

Göring was addicted to a drug but was still intelligent.

Kelley used Göring's pride to help him stop taking the drug.

Göring's drug addiction did not stop him from being smart or from committing terrible crimes.

What Happened to Kelley

After the trials, Kelley returned to America and warned that ordinary people can become evil.

But understanding this destroyed Kelley's own mind. He became sad, angry, and started drinking.

In 1958, he killed himself using the same poison—cyanide—that Göring had used 12 years earlier.

This is significant: discovering that evil comes from ordinary humans broke Kelley's mental health.

Why This Matters Now

Nuremberg's lesson is clear: we cannot find "evil people" by looking at psychology.

We cannot find a "dictator gene."

Instead, we must focus on government systems.

We must have laws that check power. We must hold leaders accountable in court.

When governments have no rules and no accountability, ordinary people do evil things.

Today Nuremberg hosts the Enforce Tac conference.

European nations meet there to work together on security.

They do this because Nuremberg teaches that nations must cooperate, follow international law, and hold leaders accountable. Without these principles, normal people given power become dangerous.