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Summary: From reader in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Review: A difficult book to read, not only because of its sickening subject matter, but for one who lacks a knowledge of the depth psychology described/postulated, as causes for this aberrant behaviour.My experience is that the reader needs some knowledge not so much of abnormal psychology, but of depth psychology and philosophy.
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Summary: Within its context, a Masterpiece
Review: Any serious study of the Third Reich leads inevitably to the Holocaust. My interest started well over 40 years ago when I lived in Germany and discussed the wartime years with individual Germans freely. I asked myself, "How could these intelligent and decent people have been taken in by Hitler?" And when one considers the Holocaust the question becomes, "How could they have done that?" While Lifton's study considers only medical professionals, I think his explanations, "doubling" (division of the self into two wholes so that one acts as the entire whole), "numbing" (getting so used to horror you don't notice it anymore), and "genocidal bureaucracy" (normalizing murder), can be made to apply to everyone involved with the Nazi concentration camp system. This becomes apparent if you have read Gitta Sereny's examination of Franz Stangl, commandant of Treblinka, or the memoirs Rudolh Hoss, commandant of Auschwitz (superbly edited by Steven Paskuly). But everyone everywhere uses these psychological devices on occasion and for good reason. Police officers, for instance, are taught that they must compartmentalize themselves into a "street self" and a "private self," so the private self, the self that is revolted by criminal behaviors, does not assert itself on the streets and cause an officer to take the law into his own hands. Lifton does not seem to realize this when he tries to draw comparisons between Nazi genocidal murderers and the experiences of Vietnam combat veterans and the arms race. I think having figured out why A-B-C & D went wrong, he thinks he can apply that formula to everyone else in the alphabet. This applies to many psychologists who spend their lives trying to quantify human beings. Well, in combat you kill to survive. The other guy, after all, is trying to kill you. And the arms race was undertaken because of the very real threat the Soviet Union presented to the freedom-loving peoples of the world. When it came to murder and concentration camps, the Stalinists were second only to the Nazis. I lived through all of Vietnam and the Cold War and I say, thank God for strong men armed. But despite Lifton's left-liberal biases, I gave this book the five stars it so richly deserves. First, Lifton deserves credit for having the courage and endurance to write this book and second, his explanations work, within the context of his subject here, and he is correct that given the proper circumstances, people can be led to condone murder.
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Summary: For the last time, there were no gas chambers
Review: Anyone conducting serious research into the so-called "final solution" will find that while Nazi Doctors DID commit horrendous acts against helpless subjects, and should be rightfully villified, there were absolutely NO GAS CHAMBERS at Auschwitz or any other camp. Look at the pictures of this so-called gas chamber at [...], and tell me who would work in this place to gas human beings? They would die along with the prisoners! There were no seals on the doors and the crematorium was adjacent to the room with no barriers of any sort! Did you know that the commendant of Auschwitz, Rudolph Hoss, was tortured and deprived of sleep and admitted to "crimes" that were patently impossible? That the old story of his wife having lampshades made of human skin were a fabrication? That the story of the germans making soap out of jew fat is absurd and admittedly, even by jewish authorities, false? The sign that used to read that 4 million had perished at Auschwitz now reads 1.0 million, which will probably be downgraded to 750,000 or less soon. Which is it, 6 or 2 million, or even less? How many (like Anne Frank) died of Typhus? Are my views popular? Am I a Nazi supporter? Of course not! But popularity is less important to me than the truth.
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Summary: Fascinating insight into the darkness of war.
Review: Fascinating looks at the psychological make up of some of the most infamous people who, in absolute hatred of Jews and other so called undesirables, committed unforgivable crimes against humanity during the Second World War. The author gives a good case study of each of these doctors, and attempts to give an explanation as to why they believed their experiments were in the name of medical research. Chilling but real.
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Summary: AN EXCELLENT BOOK!
Review: For somebody just interested in what went on in the "Nazi bio-medical vision" or the researcher, I highly recommend it. Robert J. Lifton gives a highly detailed account from survivors and even medical personnel that were present. His book steers clear of fabricated stories and really tries to underline the truth behind this tragedy. I bought this book 2-3 years ago, and I still cannot put it down. The true-life stories behind this book really leave an impression no one can deny. So like one reviewer on this book commented, I also must say if this is the only book you'll ever read on this subject, this is the one to read.
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Summary: Absolutely Brilliant
Review: I bought this book several years ago, and I keep reading it over and over. Many people have never heard of the Nazis' "bio-medical vision," and think that the Holocaust began in 1942 with the implementation of the Final Solution. _The Nazi Doctors_ provides detailed, yet concise, information about such aspects of the Holocaust as the children's euthanasia program, T-4, and horrible medical experiments. It also covers what went on in the camps from a medical perspective. This book is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn about often ignored aspects of the Holocaust.
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Summary: A disturbing account of Nazi Germany
Review: I have not picked up "Nazi Doctors" in years, but just seeing it on my book shelf awakens the images that the book produces. It was so disturbing and descriptive that I was unable to finish it. The book was handed down by my father, a medical doctor, whom couldn't finish it either. It's excellently written, but not for the weak.
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Summary: Not for the faint of Heart
Review: I heard many stories about the Nazi Doctors in the war but I had always wondered why they were the way they were and how could they live with themselves. Well this book gave a pretty good explanation on how these Doctors were. I found each of the Doctors facinating and peculiar in their own manner. I was surprised that the Doctors did all the selecting and treated the people as cattle. They thought they were being the least cruel in this manner because the people suffered less. I also learned that typhus was one of the biggest diseases at the time. It was interesting to find out that only 15% of the people even had a chance to survive and the rest went straight to the gas chambers. Some of the Doctors were vicious while others were able to get away with not being cruel and inhuman. I have to admit I thought Mengele was quite a character in the way that he treated people. He thought he was so superior and the story of the eyes that people had that were different colors that he set out to other colleges in Germany, well that was pretty twisted. Also the part about him asking the kids if they wanted a ride in his car and he would drive them to the gas chambers was pretty psycho. Overall this was a well written book but it was also very graphic so you should take care when you decide to read this one.
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Summary: Not for the faint of Heart
Review: I heard many stories about the Nazi Doctors in the war but I had always wondered why they were the way they were and how could they live with themselves. Well this book gave a pretty good explanation on how these Doctors were. I found each of the Doctors facinating and peculiar in their own manner. I was surprised that the Doctors did all the selecting and treated the people as cattle. They thought they were being the least cruel in this manner because the people suffered less. I also learned that typhus was one of the biggest diseases at the time. It was interesting to find out that only 15% of the people even had a chance to survive and the rest went straight to the gas chambers. Some of the Doctors were vicious while others were able to get away with not being cruel and inhuman. I have to admit I thought Mengele was quite a character in the way that he treated people. He thought he was so superior and the story of the eyes that people had that were different colors that he set out to other colleges in Germany, well that was pretty twisted. Also the part about him asking the kids if they wanted a ride in his car and he would drive them to the gas chambers was pretty psycho. Overall this was a well written book but it was also very graphic so you should take care when you decide to read this one.
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Summary: blah at times but overall a good read
Review: I read quite often about world war II, both about the battles and the genocide that occurred. There are portions of this book where it may get tedious but the reward outweighs the early "slow" areas. Mr. Lifton details how the nazi party passed legislation to single out certain types of people with the purpose of demonizing them. As the years go by and these groups have been de-humanized, the next step (slavery and extermination) is put into place. Mr. Lifton also explains the types of torture and lethal force used. If you have a strong stomach, you will find this book interesting and insightful.
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