A prominent figure linked to French media magnate Vincent Bolloré, Christine Kelly, publicly stated in Le Journal du Dimanche that she does not have a “comprehensible definition” of what a Nazi is.
The statement prompted immediate condemnation, with critics pointing to the historical consensus established at the Nuremberg trials in 1946. The trials, conducted by an International Military Tribunal comprised of judges from the UK, America, France and the Soviet Union, convicted numerous Nazi officials of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and conspiracy to commit those crimes, according to historical accounts.
Critics emphasized that Nazism encompassed the systematic extermination of approximately six million people, including Jews, Roma, homosexuals, and political opponents. The regime’s brutality extended to acts of torture and murder, exemplified by the persecution of French Resistance figures like Jean Moulin and the 21 executed members of the Affiche Rouge group.
Douglas Kelley, the chief psychiatrist at Nuremberg Prison during the initial months of the trials, was tasked with evaluating the mental competency of the defendants to determine their fitness to stand trial. Kelley, a U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps officer, also sought to understand the psychological factors that contributed to the atrocities committed by Nazi leaders, as detailed in his book, 22 Cells in Nuremberg (1947). His function involved extensive interviews, including the use of Rorschach ink blot tests, and focused particularly on Hermann Göring, Hitler’s designated successor, as documented by Jack El-Hai in The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.
The Nuremberg trials were not solely punitive; they also aimed to document the full extent of Nazi crimes and establish a legal precedent for future prosecutions of crimes against humanity. The trials represented a novel legal undertaking, as it was the first time individuals were formally charged with such offenses, shaping international law for decades to come. Twenty-four key Nazi officials were initially arrested, with 22 ultimately facing the tribunal.
Recent portrayals of the events surrounding the Nuremberg trials, such as the 2025 film Nuremberg starring Russell Crowe as Göring and Rami Malek as Kelley, have renewed interest in the historical context and the psychological dynamics at play. The film focuses on the interactions between Kelley and Göring, highlighting the psychiatrist’s attempt to understand the motivations of a high-ranking Nazi official.
In 1945, as Kelley was serving as a United States Army major, he was assigned as the chief psychiatrist of Nazi leadership following the complete of the war. Prior to this assignment, Kelley had been treating American soldiers for combat stress in Europe.
