The Professionalization of Psychology in Nazi Germany

It has been widely believed that psychology in Germany, faced with political antipathy and mass emigration of its leading minds, withered under National Socialism. Yet in The Professionalization of Psychology in Nazi Germany, Ulfried Geuter tells a radically different story of how German psychology, rather than disappearing, rapidly grew into a fully developed profession under the Third Reich. Author Geuter makes it clear that the rising demands of a modern industrial nation preparing for war afforded the field with a unique opportunity: to transform itself from a marginal academic discipline into a state sanctioned profession. This opportunity was mainly presented by Wehrmacht (the German army), whose demand for psychological expertise led to increasing support for academic departments. The relevance of this book goes beyond the history of German psychology. Its conclusion--that psychology in Germany grew through its alliance with the interests of the army, the industry, and the ruling regime--points toward the larger issue behind the particulars: the tangled relations among science, professional expertise, and state power in modern society. Based on previously restricted archival material and extensive interviews with participating psychologists of the era, The Professionalization of Psychology in Nazi Germany was universally hailed as a benchmark work in the history of psychology upon its publication in Germany. Now, ably translated by Richard Holmes, it is finally available to an English-speaking audience.