Comments on Helm Stierlin's “Hitler as the Bound Delegate of his Mother” in History of Childhood Quarterly

This commentary on Stierlin’s article about Hitler’s family is a brief example of the broader, societal applications of the contextual approach. Contextual principles of legacy and merit-ledger are to be applied here to loyalty-based ethnic groups, as well as to Hitler’s family role. Stierlin’s concept of delegation implies psychological-transactional dimensions, whereas my legacy concept is based chiefly on the factual and merit dimensions. Delegations derive from one’s parents’ needs, whereas legacies result from one’s total existential context.