Historian Brandon Gauthier looks at the lives of six murderous dictators to assess the role of childhood trauma on their adult barbarity. But he finds other, surprising influences.
Before Evil — Part 1
How did the great monsters of the 20th century devolve into monstrosity?
Apr 15, 2022
I would argue that if Adolf Hitler had a doting mother, and I take this conversation to imply doting to mean emotionally healthy, she would have had the courage to protect her son from his father by taking Adolf and leaving, to keep Adolf from experiencing the myriad levels of chronic dysfunction presented by the father. Rather, she was an active participant herself in the dysfunction, most likely blindly supposing that food and a roof over the head, provided by the father in that early 1900’s era, was the gold standard of responsible parenting. For almost the entirety of the human species, humans have been geared to believe that would provide a good enough base to grow a healthy family.
Infant mental health is the core to healthy, human evolution. Brain research from the last 40 years has elucidated the journey to a healthy human being. It is complex, based primarily in emotional regulation of the infant, which is distinctly tied to a co-regulating pattern developed between a caregiver and infant. Without that stable relationship in place, the pyramid of dysfunction begins. And that is just the beginning.