Evil History

Born in 1933, Philip Zimbardo is a renowned and controversial American social psychologist who is fascinated by why people can sometimes behave in awful ways. Some psychologists believe people who commit cruelty are innately evil. Zimbardo disagrees. In his 2007 book, The Lucifer Effect, he argued that it is the power of situations around us that can cause otherwise good people to commit "evil", citing many historical examples to illustrate his point.

The Nazis kept extensive files on practically everybody in the Third Reich. Now author Paul Roland turns the tables with this brilliant new exposé—a fascinating psychological profile of the leading Nazis and their lesser-known associates.

John Christie was a man with many secrets, and his flat at 10 Rillington Place in London would become known as one of the original houses of horror. Former soldier, special constable, and husband, John was to become regarded as one of the worst British serial killers to date, and one that left a lot more questions than answers following his execution.

How is it that one Austrian man, diminutive in stature, an unsuccessful Viennese street artist, a mediocre soldier, came to lead a nation into another devastating World War? All of this cannot be achieved by one man alone; other influences and circumstances contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler. There were many supporting players and acts in this story, long before Hitler was even born. 

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.