The Results of the Nazi IQ Tests
By: Sean Kernan
Tags: Philosophy, History, Science, Life Lessons, Life

The Results of the Nazi IQ Tests

The Nuremberg psychological examinations of Nazi leaders were surprising, but certainly not shocking.

Source: pic via Wikimedia Commons

Retribution was expected in the wake of World War II. Too many horrors had been revealed. More than a hundred Nazis stood trial between 1945 and 1949. Nuremberg was chosen as the location because of its symbolic value. It’s where many of the initial Nazi protests and marches were held:

Rally in Nuremberg pic via Wikimedia commons

The trials included graphic pictures and testimonials of the atrocities committed. You may know of the commonly cited defense “I was just following orders.”

Among those on trial were a “Nuremberg 21”. They were the highest level officials of the group, a who’s who list of Nazi leaders.

Prior to their trials, there was a push to conduct psychological examinations on these leaders. It was driven by the scientific community’s interest to understand what drives a person to such acts. Their war crimes called into question the very nature of man, and of good and evil.

A gifted psychiatrist, Dr. Kelley, and a prominent psychologist, Dr. Gilbert, would conduct the tests, through a series of interviews with each leader.

Dr. Kelley, himself a renowned genius, approached the tests with intellectual curiosity. Gilbert, also smart, but Jewish, made no secret of his distaste for some of the men he spoke with. Julius Streicher, in particular, left a damning impression on him. The man was deeply anti-Semitic, one of the vocal and unashamed advocates of genocide. His actions would deservedly bring him to the executioner's noose.

As a whole, both doctors came to relatively similar conclusions about the twenty-one personalities, noting the men were (mostly) sane, though prone to deep character flaws:

Dr. Kelly: “Strong, dominant, aggressive, egocentric personalities. Their lack of conscience is not rare. They can be found anywhere in the country, behind big desks deciding the fate of their nations.”

Dr. Gilbert: “Ruthlessly aggressive, emotional insensitivity, presented with a front of utter amiability (likeability). Narcissistic sociopaths.”¹

The first was the Rorschach test. This is card #2 that was presented to the Nazi leaders. They were asked to elaborate on what they saw.

Source: pic by Discover Magazine.

Frank (senior nazi): Those are my darling bears. They’re holding a bottle. Beautiful prima ballerina dancing in white dresses with red light shining from below

Rudolf Hess (Deputy Führer): Two men talking about a crime. Blood is on their mind.

Hermann Göring (Hitler’s #2): [laughs] Those are two dancing figures, very clear, shoulder her and face there, clapping hands. [cuts off the bottom part with hand] Top red is head and hat; the face is partially white.

The doctors found that the men, though sharing common character flaws, were all very different from each other.

The analysis also presented challenging philosophical questions. Prior to this, society mostly looked at evil as a black and white concept. The tests reinforced the idea of gradated morality, that we are profoundly shaped by personality and circumstance.