Profilers - Notable Profilers - Walter C. Langer

Walter C. Langer

In 1943, William J. Donovan, chief of the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), asked Dr. Walter C. Langer, a psychoanalyst based in Boston, to develop a "profile" of Adolf Hitler. What the OSS wanted was a behavioral and psychological analysis for the construction of strategic plans, given various options.

Dr. Langer used speeches, Hitler's book Mein Kampf, interviews with people who had known Hitler, and some four hundred published works to complete his wartime report, which was eventually declassified by OSS and published by Langer (along with certain collateral material) as The Mind of Adolf Hitler in 1972. This work contains a profile of possible behavioral traits of Hitler, and his possible reactions to the idea of Germany losing World War II. Dr. Langer’s profile noted that Hitler was meticulous, conventional, and prudish about his appearance and body. He was robust and viewed himself as a standard-bearer and trendsetter. He had manic phases, yet took little exercise. Due to a lack of evidence, Langer believed that Hitler was in reasonably good health, so it was unlikely he would die from natural causes, but he was deteriorating mentally. He would not try to escape to a neutral country, nor would he (in Langer's opinion) allow himself to be captured by the Allies. Hitler always walked diagonally from one corner to another when crossing a room, and he whistled a marching tune. He feared syphilis and germs.

Langer's profile also pointed out Hitler's oedipal complex, with the effect being the need to prove his manhood to his mother, and his masochistic coprolagnia and urolagnia. He detested the learned and the privileged, but enjoyed classical music, vaudeville, and Richard Wagner's opera. He showed strong streaks of sadism and liked circus acts that were risky and dangerous. He tended to speak in long monologues rather than have conversations. He had difficulty establishing close relationships with anyone. Since he appeared to be delusional, it was possible that his psychological structures would collapse in the face of imminent defeat. The most likely scenario was that he would commit suicide, although there was a possibility that he would order a henchman to perform euthanasia.