ABSTRACT

The major sphere of military psychology in which the German psychotherapists were most active was the study, diagnosis, and treatment of war Neurosis. While old-line officers often saw a disparity between psychology and military discipline, such psychological methods augmented the German army's traditional expertise in welding human beings into an efficient military instrument. Psychologically astute selection and training could not guarantee flyers against the psychic consequences of wartime air duty, and the experiences of the First World War had shown the desirability of early detection and treatment of "psychic morbidity." While the psychological infrastructure in the military was being dismantled, at the same time the increase in psychological disorders in the military also produced a demand for psychotherapeutic expertise. The very lack of an official status in the army also allowed the Matthias Heinrich Goring Institute to escape the institutional fate of the psychologists.