Saturday October 24, 2009 at 18:02

Photo

Adolf Hitler saw this painting at thirteen. He was fascinated by Wotan, and later had this painting taken from the museum and placed in a special gallery. Note the forelock. Note the red cloak, and the eyes. Look at the Chaos behind him. Ravaged women, voicelessly screaming corpses. Recognize anyone?Franz von Stuck’s other works are pretty wild. A lot of sensual women with giant black snakes entwined around their legs and torsos. Not exactly Volk Art. But Hitler loved the entire collection. Von Stuck’s Medusa caused the young Hitler to exclaim: “Those are the eyes of my mother!”In The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler, Robert Waite does an incredible job of psychoanalyzing Hitler, using material taken from years of research and interviews. The art of Franz von Stuck dominated Hitler’s childhood imagery. Waite’s book really hits home in a couple of places, revealing the strange and fearful child within the ‘monster’. Alois Hitler was in his forties when he forcibly married his fifteen-year-old niece Klara. Almost all of the children they produced died. When their son Adolf was eleven, he stood alone at the grave of his older brother, in a heavy snow, as a priest quickly mumbled over the body. His parents had gone to the market in Linz instead.The instantly recognizable analogy to Bush’s older sister breaks down with the parental reaction.The Bushes went golfing instead.

Adolf Hitler saw this painting at thirteen. He was fascinated by Wotan, and later had this painting taken from the museum and placed in a special gallery. Note the forelock. Note the red cloak, and the eyes. Look at the Chaos behind him. Ravaged women, voicelessly screaming corpses. Recognize anyone?

Franz von Stuck’s other works are pretty wild. A lot of sensual women with giant black snakes entwined around their legs and torsos. Not exactly Volk Art. But Hitler loved the entire collection. Von Stuck’s Medusa caused the young Hitler to exclaim: “Those are the eyes of my mother!”

In The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler, Robert Waite does an incredible job of psychoanalyzing Hitler, using material taken from years of research and interviews. The art of Franz von Stuck dominated Hitler’s childhood imagery. 


Waite’s book really hits home in a couple of places, revealing the strange and fearful child within the ‘monster’. Alois Hitler was in his forties when he forcibly married his fifteen-year-old niece Klara. Almost all of the children they produced died. When their son Adolf was eleven, he stood alone at the grave of his older brother, in a heavy snow, as a priest quickly mumbled over the body. His parents had gone to the market in Linz instead.

The instantly recognizable analogy to Bush’s older sister breaks down with the parental reaction.


The Bushes went golfing instead.