Lidé nejsou mravenci - Postřehy psychoanalytika z koncentračního tábora – Bettelheim Bruno (2021)

Between 1938 and 1939, psychologist Bruno Bettelheim was imprisoned in the concentration camps of Dachau and Buchenwald. To survive and maintain his humanity, he began to analyze the behavior of prisoners and guards, which he describes with chilling objectivity. People are not ants, willing to submit to the system at all times. However, the extreme conditions in Nazi camps, deliberately created through technologically precise procedures, can compel a person to renounce their humanity in the interest of survival. Only a minority managed to preserve their integrity, and rather than give it up, they voluntarily faced death. The analysis of pre-war Germany and possible answers to the often-asked question: How could a great cultural nation submit to such a monstrous ideology? is also included. Thanks to this detailed analysis of life in a concentration camp and the pressure of a total state, we can better understand how a person reacts in such extreme situations, what can strip them of autonomy and integrity, and lead to their depersonalization and loss of identity.