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Psychologist Henry Murray produced a 229-page report, "The Personality of Adolf Hitler," where he diagnosed Hitler as a schizophrenic who acted like a paranoid "utter wreck" and who was "incapable of normal human relationships."
According to Murray, Hitler's mental instability is the biggest factor for the Nazi leaders' downfall. "It can be confidently predicted that Hitler's neurotic spells will increase in frequency and duration and his effectiveness as a leader will diminish," Murray writes.
Murray predicted nine possible scenarios of what could happen next as of 1943:
1. A revolutionary German group may capture Hitler and imprison him in a fortress
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2. Hitler might be assasinated by a German
In his report, Murray describes Hitler as a paranoid "utter wreck" who frequently worried about being shot or poisoned. He therefore took extreme precautions and "is protected as never before," according to Murray. Again, another unlikely situation since, "Germans are not inclined to shoot their leaders," but possible.
3. He may arrange to be executed by a close friend or a Jew
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To expand on this theory, Hitler may even ask for a Jewish person to shoot and kill him in order to validate his beliefs that Jews were evil. In this scenario, Hitler would hope that "his fellow countrymen would rise in their wrath and massacre every remaining Jew in Germany."
4. Hitler may die while leading troops into battle
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5. He may go insane
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Often described as moody and listless, Hitler was an insomniac and was traumatized by violent nightmares when he was able to sleep.
"The man has been on the verge of paranoid schizophrenia for years and with the mounting load of frustration and failure he may yield his will to the turbulent forces of our unconscious," Murray writes.
6. He may commit suicide
Based on Hitler's stubborn pride, he would kill himself before being imprisoned.
"If he chooses this course he will do it at the last moment and in the most dramatic possible manner," Murray writes. Hitler's predicted suicide attempts include the following:
- Blow up his home and himself in Berchtesgaden with dynamite
- Make a giant funeral pyre and throw himself into the flames
- Shoot himself with a silver bullet, mirroring the suicide of Haitian Emperor Christophe
- Jump to his death from a bridge or balcony
This came to be: On April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker with his long-term mistress Eva Braun, less than an hour after their wedding.
7. He could also die of natural causes
Inevitable of all human beings.
8. He might seek refuge in a neutral country
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9. He may fall into the hands of the United Nations
Murray didn't elaborate on this prediction and only described it as "least likely, but most desirable outcome."