Was Hitler a sociopath?

He was just misunderstood.

All sociopaths/psychopaths are narcissistic. Not sure what nudges people over the line, from merely NPD to full-blown psychopathy. More extreme sadism I guess. Not quite as needy about getting approval from others?

OP is a great example of lack of nuance and thoughtful consideration of a topic

I think he was more Type "A " than anything. A real "go-getter" as they say.

He was, but nothing like Meghan Markle, who combines the sins of being a narc with MERCHING and GRIFTING.

As R2 said, all sociopaths are narcissists, but not all narcissists are sociopaths. The primary defining difference is that sociopaths do not have any capacity for empathy; they always manipulate as a matter of course, and combining narcissism and no empathy effectively renders all human beings except them to them, in their worlds, as being only obstacles or tools to advance them.

So, for example, a narcissist will talk about himself or herself in grandiose terms, always boasting about personal greatness, in any social setting. Ego self-aggrandizement.

Sociopaths, by contrast, might not do that or do so subtly. Another hallmark defining characteristic of sociopathy is that they are naturally expert charmers. People who meet them often are taken by their charisma and also flattered, because sociopaths—despite being only self-interested narcissists—probe every person they believe might serve their interests to assess whether they can exploit that person or not. So they ask a lot of questions about people they meet, and they read, react to and navigate people’s personalities to get a full picture of them. They quickly render a verdict: this person is useless to me and therefore there is no need to show any respect whatsoever, or else this person has something I can use as a tool for personal gain, and so I will exploit that resource by continuing to gather intel by getting close to them and *imitating* a friend or ally.

Narcissists are always harmful to their closest relatives and friends but are otherwise not necessarily dangerous or malicious.

Sociopaths are naturally dangerous and malicious because they are utterly amoral, only see others as existing to serve them or not worthy of existing, and they can’t care about or love people authentically. Sociopathic parents often create narcissistic and sociopathic children. (Psychopaths, by contrast, are thought to be physiologically “wired” to lack empathy and therefore they don’t even see the social norms that sociopaths exploit, and they can’t understand concepts such as conscience and guilt, which is why they easily get around polygraph tests, which sociopaths are less adept at doing because even though they can’t feel empathy, they can intellectually understand the notions of guilt, shame, etc. Narcissists feel guilt, shame, affection for others. So if Trump, for example, truly feels protective of Ivanka, then he is probably a narcissist but not a sociopath. If he really only prizes her because she is the only arguably attractive and well spoken child, and he wants to fuck her because she is some sort of trophy or commodity, then that would suggest he is a sociopath.)

OP's next thread: Is water wet?

Hitler was. Sociopath. The narcissism is built in. The fact that all reports say that, one-on-one, Hitler was very personable fits that diagnosis. Trump is very similar.

Historians think it’s likely that Hitler had tertiary syphilis, which breaks down the central nervous system including the brain and causes physical and mental degradation. If the bulk of the History Channel’s WWII programming is to be believed, then Hitler and many if not most of his associates had sincere beliefs in occult magic and mysticism that motivated a lot of their efforts to create themselves into a “master race,” which they supposedly believed existed on Earth in the ancient past and may still exist in outer space or an alternate dimension. IF this is all true, then Hitler may not have been either a sociopath or a psychopath (neither is necessarily ruled out, however), and instead may have had a profound mental illness with a physiological basis. That would be a very different cause.

R9, Hitler was not a follower of the occult. He actually loathed his associates interest in the occult. He often ridiculed Rudolf Hess for his interest in Anthroposophy. He was totally embarrassed by the fascination with early Germanic tribes and their gods. He felt it only showed that when the Romans were building aqueducts, the Germans were living in mud huts.

Note: Hitler could very well be a sociopath and have syphilis. The two aren't exclusive.

Folks obsession with Hitler is disturbing.You all are mentally insane.

R11 Yes, you are correct; it’s definitely better to destroy all records related to him so that if another Hitler ever comes along, we won’t see it coming. Great idea.

He will always haunt our dreams. And the world is turning Fascist again.

The thing is, Hitler wasn't unique. He was just in politics and was able to have a huge impact. He also cleverly exploited the anti-Semitism that was always there.

A supreme narcissist like Saddam Hussein, who wrapped a country around him like a security blanket.

There are 'Hitlers' everywhere.

Narcissism, sociopathy and psychopathy are related and exist on a spectrum. Narcissism with antisocial, sadistic features merges into sociopathy. Add criminality and a complete lack of empathy and you may have a psychopath.

Some narcissism is normal and not particularly harmful. But it's not like the truly bad guys can improve. They can't.

[R12]

Loonybin ready,with the jackets that are tied from the back and padded wall accommodations. Sweetie you need shock therapy,pronto.Please go OD

He liked dogs

Hitler was a sociopath and a psychopath.

All those people who devoted themselves to Hitler, what of them? They are like all the people who devote themselves to Trump. Trump is a nasisistic sociopath who never had an empathetic feeling in his life...his followers are exactly the same.

There's a good book about Hitler entitled "The Psychopathic God: Adolph Hitler." Judging from his behavior, it seems likely that Hitler was a psychopath.

I'm gonna go with "difficult".

I recall something about him having only one big ball...

The only thing keeping Trump from doing what Hitler did is the constitution.

He was a psychopath and a megalomiac.

Like Trump.

The Constitution doesn’t mean shit if people aren’t living it, r23.

Russia has a constitution similar to the United States.

Here in America you have a Republican administration and Senate that believes Republican officials don’t have to obey the law. They fire Justice Department directors who investigate Republican office holders and appoint rapists to the Supreme Court. And you have an “opposition” leader who won’t enforce the law because “that’s not who she is” and she doesn’t see any consensus for impeachment, even though she came to power with an anti-Trump mandate from the people.

The Constitution doesn’t mean shit to the powers that be and we’re not living in a true democracy anymore, where everyone has to obey the law.

It’s halfway to a right-wing dictatorship and corruption is now a Republican Party position.

The Constitution is just words.

[quote]an “opposition” leader who won’t enforce the law because “that’s not who she is”

Pelosi has a fine line to walk. Yes, Dems were elected in an anti-Trump wave, but if she overplays her hand, it could all implode and Trump could walk away with the presidency for another 4 years (which would put him outside of prosecution for collusion due to the statute of limitations) and then he'd go completely insane (ie, declare himself president-for-life, which 30% of the American people would happily accept). What she said was that impeachment is a political process and there must be Republican support for bringing up articles; otherwise, anything short of conviction and removal would only empower Trump, resulting in him declaring himself president-for-life. Even idle impeachment talk empowers Trump, and since so much of what Trump is about is nothing more than talk, from which he derives power, it is best that the talk avoid anything that gives Trump something else to spin. And let Trump spin himself into a knot of lies, insults and crimes; do you think that his tweets (specifically about McCain, but otherwise in general) over the weekend endeared him to Republican senators?

At this point, it is a waiting game. We have a special prosecutor who, despite all the rumors, is not ending anytime soon. Special Prosecutors don't file papers with the Court telling them they need more time to redact documents because they're so busy right now — if they're winding things down. Beyond which, the Government has infinite resources; if they simply needed someone to go over papers to determine what should or should not be redacted, there are thousands of unemployed lawyers available on a moment's notice and who would be thrilled to join the Special Prosecutor's staff, even for only a week or two.

Don't get me wrong; I was as furious at Pelosi as anyone when she prematurely took impeachment (of Bush) "off the table." It set that table for the lunacy that we're seeing now. But, at the end of the day, Pelosi is a Leader in the tradition of old school leaders. She doesn't bring anything to the floor that she doesn't [italic]know[/italic] she'll win. She played Trump like a fiddle throughout the shutdown, and in the end, Trump got nothing out of it. She has contained that corral of cats that is the Democrats in Congress, and kept them in line and on message. She will go down in history as the woman who saved the country from Trump.