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Hitler Profile Puts Cornell Law School on the World Map

The Law Library’s posting of the 1943 Psychological Profile of Adolph Hitler, compiled by the Offices of Strategic Services (OSS), on its Donovan Nuremberg Trials Collection Web site generated quite a stir. The overwhelming response to the posting of the book, written by Henry Murray, of Harvard, shows that Hitler continues to fascinate and repel people even sixty years after his death. Claire Germain, the Edward Cornell Law Librarian and professor of law, and Thomas Mills, the research attorney responsible for special collections, fielded inquiries from Cornell’s Daily Sun and the Cornell Chronicle, National Public Radio, the New York Times, Voice of America, the English edition of Spiegel, and other international media. When the Associated Press picked up the news, the Hitler book received even more national and international exposure. National news media such as CNN and media from states ranging from Vermont to Hawaii carried the story, as did international media from Colombia, the United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, India, and New Zealand. At its peak, in late March, the Web site for the Hitler profile book generated more than 25,000 hits per day and more than 20,000 downloads.

Why all the interest? The profile gives insight into Hitler, sheds light on the early years of psychology, and discusses how to deal with the dictator after the war, a question as relevant today as it was during World War II.

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