The Nazi and the Psychiatrist
Page 26
Now in his mid-sixties, wiry and strong, with a wrinkled face and thinning hair on his head, Doug has organized his father’s jumbled papers and filed them in folders labeled with the names of the Nuremberg defendants. The collection exhales the scents of tobacco smoke, dry paper, and fading photos. Included are three small boxes, the size of necklace cases. They contain peculiar jewels. One holds a set of glass slides showing views of Robert Ley’s brain. In another are six paper packets, still sealed with smears of red wax, maintaining a grip on the sugar, chocolate, and other foods that Rudolf Hess thought were poisoned. The final little box encloses a bed of cotton wool upon which lies a glass vial holding about a hundred white paracodeine tablets, a taste of Hermann Göring’s personal pharmacy.
The whole collection belongs in a museum or archive, but Doug has not surrendered it. He keeps it close at hand. He is curious, and he still wants to know more.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Without the help of Doug Kelley—the oldest son of my subject, Douglas M. Kelley—I would not have attempted to write this book. I tracked down Doug in 2008 with hopes that he would have recollections of his father’s career, however faint they might be. I was overwhelmed to find that he possessed Dr. Kelley’s extensive collection of papers and photos chronicling his time at Nuremberg, as well as the years before and after. Doug invited me into his life and welcomed my questions. Insightful and funny, he generously plumbed his memories of being Douglas M. Kelley’s son, a journey at times painful and confounding. I am grateful to Doug and his partner, Christine Straub, for their enthusiasm and hospitality as I tried to make sense of Dr. Kelley’s story.
How fortunate I was to interview the men who may be the last living people who worked at Mondorf and Nuremberg with Douglas M. Kelley. My thanks to John Dolibois and Howard Triest for their time, ideas, and patience. I am also grateful for my interview time with Steven Miles of the University of Minnesota and with Michael Gelles.
Several institutions and archives aided my research. I thank Luisa Haddad and her helpful colleagues at the Department of Special Collections and Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz; Hilary Lane of the History of Medicine Library at the Mayo Clinic; the staff of the US National Archives in Silver Spring, Maryland; and the archivists of the William Donovan Nuremberg Trials Collection at the Law Library of Cornell University.
Many others contributed to my writing in a variety of ways. I thank them all: Fred Appell, Dr. Arnold E. Aronson, Maisy and Bert Aronson, Ann Bauer, Laurie Brickley, Katherine Eban, Karla Ekdahl, Cornelia Elsaesser, Nancy Gardner, Elizabeth Giorgi, Anne Hodgson, Eugene Hoffman, Peter Hutchinson, Jon Klaverkamp, Bill Magdalene, Mary Meehan, Brad Schultz and Marx Swanholm, and Laura Weber.
I first wrote about Douglas M. Kelley and Hermann Göring in an article published in 2011 in Scientific American Mind magazine. My thanks to my editor there, Karen Schrock, for her skilled guidance and for keeping an open mind toward an unusual topic.
The team at Mythology Entertainment—Brad Fischer, Laeta Kalogridis, and Jamie Vanderbilt—have my appreciation for their interest in my work and for their support.
As always, I have benefited from the confidence, experience, and suggestions of my literary agent, Laura Langlie, whose common sense and calm always prevail. I also thank my performance rights agent, Bill Contardi, for his wonderful work. Kenneth Weinrib’s legal expertise has been essential.
Clive Priddle at PublicAffairs has supported this project from its earliest stages, and I feel lucky to write within the fold of this terrific publishing company.
Sometimes you need someone who will give you a place to write without asking questions. For that I have relied upon my local Caribou, Dunn Brothers, Quixotic, and Sebastian Joe’s coffee shops. By now they’ve learned I’m a tea drinker.
Finally, I thank my wife, Ann Aronson, for entertaining my crazy ideas, studying my manuscript, and giving me so much to look forward to outside of my writing den. She and my daughters, Natalie and Sasha, put up with a lot while my obsessions overtake me. They have all of my love.
NOTES
CHAPTER 2: MONDORF-LES-BAINS
3He had evacuated Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 310.
3Less than forty-eight hours Ibid., 325; Stack, “Capture of Goering.”
4Emmy was in tears Emmy Göring, My Life with Goering, 131.
4considered himself the most charismatic Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 324.
4American soldiers escorted Göring Ibid., 325.
4“Don’t worry if I’m away for a day” Göring, My Life with Goering, 132.
4Göring spent the night Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer.
4Yet Stack and his staff extended Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 326.
4Someone found a slightly larger plane Volz, “Montana Pilot, 99, Recalls Flying Goering.”
5Emmy and Edda Göring Lebert and Lebert, My Father’s Keeper, 202.
6perhaps to make him more cooperative Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 30.
6enjoyed attention from the international press Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 327.
6“You will soon be free” Gunkel, “How a Top Nazi’s Brother Saved Lives.”
6Göring chose his longtime servant Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 327.
6US soldiers preparing for transports Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 22–23; Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 84.
7urgently requested female company Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 45.
7spent his final days of freedom Sprecher, Inside the Nuremberg Trial.
7Andrus took charge of fifty-two Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 42.
7“either by fanatical Nazis trying to rescue” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 23.
7A group of 176 Luxembourgers Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 98.
7“plump little figure” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 14.
7the colonel was a lean water-polo enthusiast Ibid., 15–17.
8disrespect he encountered from the gum-chewing American guards Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 328.
8such items as jewel-encrusted military medals Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 88; Teich, “Inventory: Hermann Goering.”
8He bragged that one of the rings Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 68.
9now empty except for a flimsy table Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 29–30.
9“Had he sat on the table” Ibid., 40.
9Concerns about suicide also prompted Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 94.
9“in very poor physical condition” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 31.
9he often imbued his rising Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 85.
9Just before Kropp’s departure from Mondorf Manvell and Fraenkel, Goering, 329.
10Göring asked Eisenhower to fly him out Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 46–47.
10“Whereas I do not desire to stand in the way” Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 95.
10“This food isn’t as good” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 40.
11“the fat man in endless screenplays” Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 71.
11once shot down and was credited with destroying Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 496.
11“You’ve got to have bayonets” Gilbert, Psychology of Dictatorship, 92.
11“that meant I could soon be a big man” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 56.
11“Hermann will either be a great man” Gilbert, Psychology of Dictatorship, 88.
12“For Hitler, Göring was a warrior” Davidson, Trial of the Germans, 67.
12Göring exploded with laughter Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 66.
13he gathered tame lions Davidson, Trial of the Germans, 63.
13Only Gestapo chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner’s reluctance Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 66–67.
13“I felt you should see this, sir” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 30.
14Göring had hoarded a much bigger stash Davidson, Trial of the Germans, 66.
14“a relatively rare narcotic”
Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 31.
14Hoover asked to be kept apprised Hoover, “Hermann Goering.”
14“Imagine my being featured” Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 102.
14“Paracodeine fills a gap” “Therapeutic Progress.”
16“from a Machiavellian villain” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 51.
16As a boy he had visited the Grand Hotel” Curnutte, “Interrogator Recalls Talks.”
16“We didn’t have to use artificial devices” Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 104.
17“12 lbs at birth” Kelley, Bound Notebook of Interview Notes.
17The prisoner’s collection of toiletries Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 58–59.
17“truly massive baubles” Ibid., 68.
20“When he was captured” Kelley, “Clinical Summary.”
20“not an unusually large dose” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 57.
20“It was the need to do something” Ibid., 57–58.
21“he had whined and complained” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 34–36.
22“He fancied looking like the hero” Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 88.
22“This concession was granted” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 59.
22A doctor called it just a palpitation Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 34.
CHAPTER 3: THE PSYCHIATRIST
23“You are to contact Captain Miller” Executive Command, “Carrier Sheet.”
23“Some went as far as to propose” Pick, Pursuit of the Nazi Mind, 126.
25“Our house sang out from the hill” McGlashan, Give Me a Mountain Meadow, 4–6, 95.
26“Give me a mountain meadow” Ibid., 70.
26McGlashan tracked down Keseberg Ibid., 105–107.
26In the decades that followed Ibid., 96.
27This all-consuming project took a toll Ibid., 109–113, 141.
27He collected splinters of wood Ibid., 159.
27McGlashan’s polymath interests Ibid., 141–145, 152.
28They practiced together Ibid., 183.
28When publicly challenged Ibid., 217.
28Before arguing a case Ibid., 182.
28“The ring of steel” Ibid., 182.
29“Super-vitality, courage” Kelley, “Personal File, to 1937.”
29Douglas’s measured IQ Sears to Mandel.
29Terman kept close tabs Friedman and Martin, Longevity Project, 53.
29the 1,444 children Shurkin, Terman’s Kids, 36.
29he had amassed collections Kelley “Personal File, to 1937.”
30These feats included driving a car “Faculty Will Not Examine Float Entries.”
30Kelley emulated Harry Houdini “They Can’t Tie Him.”
30president of the San Francisco Society of Magicians “Former Local Boy Given Major Scholarship in East.”
30working as a magician strengthens “Magic Helps Treat Insane.”
31Guardians of the property McGlashan, Give Me a Mountain Meadow, 247.
32he collaborated with colleagues Kaempffert, “New Test for Drunks.”
32the effect of the full moon Kelley, “Mania and the Moon.”
32“The average individual gives” Whitman, “Blots on Your Character.”
32“The method must always be considered” Kelley, “Rorschach Technique.”
33“And as any pie eater knows” Whitman, “Blots on Your Character.”
33two pet monkeys sitting on his lap Kodish, Korzybski, 349.
33“This communication must be free” “Experts on Semantics Deliver SF Lecture.”
34he had become an officer Alice Kelley to Starr.
34“Long before the name psychology” Kelley, “Conjuring as an Asset to Occupational Therapy.”
35“No other type of entertainment” Ibid.
36“Magic gives the patient” “Psychiatrists Using Shell Game to Treat Insane.”
36safe even for suicidal patients “Magic Helps Treat Insane.”
36“After mastering three tricks” “Magic and Mickey Mouse.”
36He was quoted on topics University of California, “U.S. Neglects Mental Disease Research.”
36In such a state “UC Doctors Use Drug to Aid Psychiatric Test.”
37she had emerged from the Girls’ Preparatory School “Miss Alice Hill Weds.”
37“Life isn’t half so serious” Kelley, “Personal File to 1937.”
37in a lynx-trimmed, Venetian blue wool ensemble “Miss Alice Hill Weds.”
37Dukie gave him an ornately calligraphed Kelley, “Faux Invitation.”
38more than 1.6 million soldiers Hale, Rise and Crisis of Psychoanalysis, 15.
381.1 million disabling, psychiatric traumas Ibid., 192.
38Fear and stress were most often responsible Hastings and Hastings, Psychiatric Experiences of the Eighth Air Force, 206.
39He trained other doctors “Kelley Teaches Battle Psychiatry.”
39He put Oscar to work Walker, “Lessons of War Will Help Now.”
39After resting them with a hot shower Case, “Army Doctors’ New System.”
39There Kelley and his colleagues Kelley, “Use of General Semantics,” 189– 195, 217.
40Throughout the North African campaign Barnes and Kelley, “Combat Neurosis.”
40more than 95 percent of the soldiers Davis, “How Graylyn Is Reviving Some of Our Sick Minds.”
41“there was so much pure larceny” Fabing to Byron.
41Aboard a flight originating at Ridgewell Gaillard, Certificate.
41“I suspect in the not too far future” Everts to Kelley.
42“senior Germans will be given” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 49.
42Reporters arrived and wrote about Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 44–45.
42“Get up, that man!” Ibid., 46.
43felt dread when guards moved him Ibid., 48.
43frequently visited Mondorf Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 104.
44“Internee is sane and responsible” Kelley, “Clinical Summary.”
44deprived of belts, ties, and shoelaces Overy, Interrogations, 65.
44the pilots watched with astonishment Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 135.
44Two guards, one carrying a .45-caliber pistol Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 61–64.
CHAPTER 4: AMONG THE RUINS
47A single British air attack Sprecher, Inside the Nuremberg Trial, 63.
47More than half of Nuremberg’s homes Gregor, Haunted City, 25.
47Many of those who remained “Here and There with Newsweek Correspondents”
47Staircases led to empty air Sprecher, Inside the Nuremberg Trial, 64.
47Lacking money West, Train of Powder, 10.
47The water was undrinkable Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 42.
48Previously the neighborhood Urban, Nuremberg Trials, 48.
48Women lived in another hotel “Here and There with Newsweek Correspondents.”
48“To arrive at my room” Sprecher, Inside the Nuremberg Trial, 65.
48The bar was well stocked “Here and There with Newsweek Correspondents”
48“cheap and potent” Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 43.
48The Russian occupiers sometimes broke out West, Train of Powder, 13.
48an air raid had damaged the roof Urban, Nuremberg Trials, 15.
48Allied soldiers had left the Palace of Justice’s main courtroom Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 46.
49Here in wartime a special court Urban, Nuremberg Trials, 14–15.
49the courtroom noisily collapsed Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 68.
49Meanwhile, tanks, armed soldiers Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 45.
49Kelley thought the shape of the prison Kelley, “Nuremberg Trial.”
49the area that Andrus directed Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 126.
49“There was nothing to stop them” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 66–67.
50The colonel soon went to work fortifying Ibid., 75, 144.
50“
I took it upon myself” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 12.
50“Of course we were not interested” Schurr, “Gods Come Down.”
51The top Nazi prisoners Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 147.
51“Cells lay on both sides” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 8.
51“unsteady wooden erections” Schacht, Confessions, 403.
51“A guy could go nuts” Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 126.
51“The very air feels imprisoned” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 84.
52“the bitter gall of their own boastful words” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 8.
52Prisoners were not allowed to turn away Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 127.
52“these shakedowns were so thorough” Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 10.
52“If time permits they will call ‘HALT’” Andrus, “Prison Regulations.”
52He said to their faces Schacht, Confessions, 402.
53“the fire brigade colonel” Neave, On Trial at Nuremberg, 69.
53Andrus’s breath smelled of booze Schacht, Confessions, 403.
53Joachim von Ribbentrop was notorious Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 127.
53former propaganda minister Hans Fritzsche arrived Ibid., 125.
53Andrus rescinded his ban on shoelaces Overy, Interrogations, 71.
53sometimes repeating his favorite jokes Dolibois, Pattern of Circles, 169.
53“a group of men who could probably be counted” Andrus, I Was the Nuremberg Jailer, 17.
53Breakfast, often cereal, biscuits, and coffee Tusa and Tusa, Nuremberg Trial, 131.
53former field marshal Wilhelm Keitel’s flat feet Ibid., 129.
54“were quite glad to talk to anybody” Kelley, “Nuremberg Trial.”
54some of the easiest Kelley had ever experienced Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, 12.
54“If you wanted to know about A” Schurr, “Gods Come Down.”
55giving all of them the first mental examinations Kelley, 22 Cells in Nuremberg, viii.
55Göring, for example, understood English well Overy, Interrogations, 82.