Work of alice miller on emotions, unhealthy relationships and. The untouched key goodreads meet your next favorite book. Breaking down the wall of silence by alice miller kirkus. Her insights into the hidden or unrecognized abuses that go on in families are tremendousbut not everyone can accept what she writes. Outwardly, alice miller stood for the empathetic and nonviolent education of children, thereby becoming a star of pedagogy. Her book the drama of the gifted child caused a sensation and became an international bestseller with the english publication in 1981. T he most famous psychobiography of hitler in child abuse studies is miller s chapter adolf hitlers childhood. Religious apologists, particularly those of the christian variety, are big fans of what i have dubbed, the atheist atrocities fallacy. Toward a kierkegaardian understanding of hitler, stalin, and the cold war. Today there can be no possible doubt that evil exists and that there are people who are capable of extremely destructive behavior.
She draws from her discoveries the conclusion that human beings are not innately destructive, that they are made that way by ignorance, abuse, and neglect, particularly if no sympathetic witness comes to their aid. Why did hitler and stalin become tyrannical mass murderers. The project that grew into the compilation of the hitler book began shortly after the end of the second world war in europe. Dec 27, 2011 because of obedience to violence as a child, by readiness to obey any authority which recalls the authority of the parents, as the germans obeyed hitler, the russians stalin, the serbs milosevic. In the careers of despots such as hitler and stalin, their suppressed fantasies of revenge can lead to indescribable atrocities.
This bestselling book examines childhood trauma and the enduring effects it has on an individuals management of repressed anger and pain. First called prisoners of childhood, the book was cannily. This phenomenon doesnt exist anywhere in the entire animal kingdom, for no animal is trained by its parents to deny its nature completely in order to become a wellbehaved animal only human beings act in such a. Josef stalin had doubted the official story that adolf hitler had indeed committed suicide, and personally believed that hitler had fled and that the western allies had granted him political asylum. If you reflect on this continuum, as alice miller does, you realize that many of her. Hitlers father was the illegitimate child of a cook named schickelgruber sic from leonding, near linz, employed in a household in graz. T he most famous psychobiography of hitler in child abuse studies is millers chapter adolf hitlers childhood. For your own good and over 8 million other books are available for amazon kindle. She pleads for an awareness of societys role in child abuse and for recognition of the victim. The truth will set you free meet your next favorite book. Spanking is counterproductive and dangerous audio alice.
Now that i reread the chapter, the first thing that stroke me is how miller subscribed the orthodox narrative that. Alice miller s stories about the roots of suffering in childhood resonated with readers, and her book soon became a backlist best seller. Toward a kierkegaardian understanding of hitler, stalin. Christians commonly employ this fallacy to shield their egos from the harsh reality of the brutality of their own religion, by utilizing a most absurd form of the tu quoque you too fallacy, mingled with numerous other logical. Unlike me, and yet, at the same time, also like me, the artists, poets, philosophers, and dictators that alice miller treats in her book the untouched key did become worldrenowned, did achieve a cultural immortality for their achievemens, whether for good or evil and they were also all abused as children. In this section alice miller examines the childhood and parents of adolph hitler. For your own good, the contemporary classic exploring the serious if not gravely dangerous consequences parental cruelty can bring to bear on children everywhere, is one of the central works by alice miller, the celebrated swiss psychoanalyst. She draws from her discoveries the conclusion that human beings are not innately destructive, that they are made that way by ignorance, abuse, and. This list of books by or about adolf hitler is an english only nonfiction bibliography.
If hitler, stalin, et al, became dictators because they were abused, shouldnt all of us who were abused be like that. Alice miller, nee alicija englard, was a swiss psychologist of polishjewish origin, who is noted for her books on parental child abuse, translated into several languages. Basic books, 1981, paperback under the title the drama of the. Tracing childhood trauma in creativity and destructiveness in the usa ed. Miller incorporates psychohistorical analyses of hitler, stalin, and ceausescu to reveal. A study in tyranny set a standard for scholarship of the nazi era, lord alan bullock gives readers a breathtakingly accomplished dual. Jan 27, 2002 miller, a swiss psychoanalyst, burst into public awareness in 1981 with a slim treatise called the drama of the gifted child. The reactions to my first book, prisoners of childhood. Hitler s father was the illegitimate child of a cook named schickelgruber sic from leonding, near linz, employed in a household in graz. The premise of this book is that a child can endure any kind of trauma if he or she has a witness, that is, a person who supports the child emotionally or sympathizes with the plight. In the untouched key, the great psychiatrist alice miller has written another penetrating work about the manifestation of subconscious experiences into the conscious world.
She takes a long look at how the childhood of hitler could explain why he. If only hitlers father had been nicer the new york times. Miller investigates these and other questions thoroughly in this book. Now that i reread the chapter, the first thing that stroke me is how miller subscribed the orthodox narrative that the elites have imposed upon all of us after the second world war. Bellinger is assistant professor of theology and ethics and theological librarian at brite divinity school, fort worth, texas. The liberation of germany and the destruction of the jewish people down to the last jew, i.
Stalin was not just abused as a child, his mother veered wildly between doting and volatile. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Throughout, i will be arguing that kierkegaards insights into the. Alice miller investigates these and other questions thoroughly in this book. Alice miller has been writing the same book for years, and its theme is. Parallel lives second edition by bullock, alan isbn.
Her views on the consequences of child abuse became highly influential. However, when i began to illustrate my thesis by drawing on the examples of hitler, stalin, mao, ceaucescu, when i tried to expose the social consequences of child maltreatment, i first encountered strong resistance. One of the better books on this is simon sebag montefiores young stalin, its a companion volume to his magisterial stalin court of the red tsar. Alice miller has expounded at length in earlier books about dictatorial megalomaniacs like hitler and stalin who directed their hate and violence toward others. From this pattern are bred fascist leaders like hitler and stalin. Alice miller 12 january 1923 14 april 2010 60 works add another. In the careers of despots such as hitler and stalin, their suppressed fantasies of.
Parallel lives vintage books, ny, 1993 offers a monumental social and psychological biography of two of the most evil dictators in human history as well as an epic sketch of an era. As in her former books, alice miller again focuses on facts. She draws from her discoveries the conclusion that human beings are not innately destructive, that they are made that way by ignorance, abuse, and neglect, particularly if no sympathetic witness comes to. Alice miller miller incorporates psychohistorical analyses of hitler, stalin, and ceausescu to reveal the links between the horrors of their childhoods and the horrors they inflicted on the world. The cook, adolf hitler s grandmother, was working for a jewish family named frankenberger when she gave birth to her child this should read when she became pregnantj. The untouched key by alice miller overdrive rakuten. Work of alice miller on emotions, unhealthy relationships. Since adolescence i have wondered why so many people take pleasure in humiliating others. Detractors like psychologist carol tavris complained that miller kept writing the same book over. She draws from her discoveries that human beings are not innately destructive, that they are made that way by ignorance, abuse, and neglect, particularly if no sympathetic witness comes to their aid.
However, when i began to illustrate my thesis by drawing on the examples of hitler, stalin, mao, ceaucescu. What i didnt like about the book was that it was simplistic, and the author seemed to engage in circular arguments. The secret dossier prepared for stalin from the interrogations of hitler s personal aides. Mar 10, 20 further to miller s nonsense about hitler alice miller wrote. In the truth will set you free miller returns to the intensely personal tone and themes of her bestloved work.
This phenomenon doesnt exist anywhere in the entire animal kingdom, for no animal is trained by its parents to deny its nature completely in order to become a wellbehaved animal only human beings act in such a destructive way. The ignorance or how we produce the evil thursday june 20, 2002. The author believes that the early childhood of many inspire them to seek a political goal from where they might have an opportunity to project the injustices of their home environment on to their subjects. Preface to from rage to courage friday november, 2009.
Books every psychology andor counseling doctoral student should read. Stalin needs allies and forms pact with hitler 5 stars the second volume of stephen kotkins magisterial biography of stalin fully lives up to its. The cook, adolf hitlers grandmother, was working for a jewish family named frankenberger when she gave birth to her child this should read when she became pregnant. It is troublesome, however, that this book seems to be a vehicle to get back at her critics. The subtitle of this book is tracing childhood trauma in creativity and destructiveness.
May 01, 2010 alice miller, a swisstrained psychoanalyst who won a wide american audience with provocative books about the pervasiveness of child abuse and its legacy of physical and emotional suffering, has died. She now adds ceausescu of romania, with a convincing analysis of the childhood that produced a man who could warehouse babies. The premise of this book is that a child can endure any kind of trauma if he or she has a witness, that is, a person who supports the child emotionally or sympathizes with the plight of the child even if that person cannot change events. The ignorance or how we produce the evil alice miller en. Martin millers book the true drama of the gifted child. Its an eyeopener into the behavior of stalin and hitler and its also a. Alice millers stories about the roots of suffering in childhood resonated with readers, and her book soon became a backlist best seller. The list has been segregated into groups to make the list more manageable. Overcoming emotional blindness and finding your true adult self by alice miller. No doubt an analysis of saddam hussein will follow.
Alice miller 19232010 is the author of such classic works as the drama of the gifted child, prisoners of childhood, the body never lies, from rage to courage, and free from lies. Repeatedly i was told, i, too, was a battered child, but that didnt make me a criminal. Unlike me, and yet, at the same time, also like me, the artists, poets, philosophers, and dictators that alice miller treats in her book the untouched key did become worldrenowned, did achieve a cultural immortality for their achievemens, whether for good or eviland they were. In this book she shows how we direct ours toward ourselves. Psychohistorical analyses of such brutal tyrants as adolf hitler, joseph stalin, and nicolae ceausescu show the obvious links between the horrors of their childhoods and the horror they inflicted on the world. From a lecture she gave at the lexington 92nd street ywha in new york city on october 22, 1998. Alice miller, a swisstrained psychoanalyst who won a wide american audience with provocative books about the pervasiveness of child abuse and its legacy of physical and emotional suffering, has died. Alice millers nonsense about hitler the medieval turin. Hitler and stalin were among the subjects of her 1983 book for. Adolf hitler 18891945, alice miller, immanuel, 1895 velikovsky.
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