A forgotten chapter in the history of the Nuremberg Trials

“They were not friends,” the living author told the BBC. “But they formed a bond, and Kelly realized they shared certain personality traits.” In addition to recognizing Göring’s charm and intelligence, the doctor noted his drive, defiance, enormous ego, and intense loyalty to family and country.

Scientific

The doctor’s ambition was to identify a common psychosis or particular disorder among the Nazis, because he believed that only that could explain their brutal actions. However, after extensive study, Kelly admitted that the men were essentially opportunists and took the opportunity to exert power and exploit others. “He concluded that there had always been people like this, even though the atrocities they committed were much less,” Alhai says.

Rami Malek, as Kelly, and Russell Crowe, who plays Goring, have excellent on-screen chemistry. The audience watches the couple talk, duel, joke and confide in each other. Goering enlists Kelly’s help to communicate with his wife and daughter, and the doctor, defying protocol, delivers letters to them for Goering.

During one conversation with Kelly, which is included in the book but not the film, Goring tells the doctor that he fears he and his wife will die soon, and asks the doctor to adopt their seven-year-old daughter, Ida, and raise her in America. While Kelly did not record exactly how he responded, Alhai wrote: “This astonishing request – a sign of Göring’s respect for Kelly – moved the psychiatrist, who knew how important Ida was to her father.”