Two complementary cases of identification involving 'Third Reich' fathers

The paper describes two complementary personality structures resulting from the identification processes of two patients whose fathers had believed in the 'Third Reich'. When the Nazi regime collapsed, both fathers failed to admit to their beliefs, developing a personality split characterized by 'double conscience', but each in a different way. The most conspicuous difference between the respective sons lay in their approach to reality. However, the two personality structures are virtually complementary and, taken together, make up a single structure deriving from Nazi ideology. This structure manifests itself in an extreme anal need to exercise power and control (the role of a perpetrator) and, conversely, the oral need to be dependent (the role of a victim) in a submissive relationship which has been idealized into a fateful promise. The polar extremes of submission and exertion of power exist in both patients. It is only a matter of time before the defence of experiencing oneself as a victim meets up with the repressed experience of harbouring the intentions of the perpetrator.