Forensic Psychology in Germany : Witnessing Crime, 1880-1939

This book examines the emergence and early development of forensic psychology in Germany from the late nineteenth century until the outbreak of the Second World War, highlighting the field’s interdisciplinary beginnings and contested evolution. Initially envisaged as a psychology of all those involved in criminal proceedings, this new discipline promised to move away from an exclusive focus on the criminal to provide a holistic view of how human fallibility impacted upon criminal justice. As this book argues, however, by the inter-war period, forensic psychology had largely become a psychology of the witness; its focus narrowed by the exigencies of the courtroom. Utilising detailed studies of the 1896 Berchtold trial and the 1930 Frenzel trial, the book asks whether the tensions between psychiatry, psychology, forensic medicine, pedagogy and law over psychological expertise were present in courtroom practice and considers why a clear winner in the “battle for forensic psychology” had yet to emerge by 1939. Front Matter ....Pages i-vii Introduction: Witnessing Crime (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 1-19 The Birth of Forensic Psychology: The Berchtold Trial (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 21-58 Establishing the Psychology of Testimony (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 59-93 Forensic Psychology Beyond the Witness (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 95-111 Expertise Contested: Weimar Debates over Psychological Expertise (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 113-153 Psychological Expertise in the Courtroom: The Frenzel Trial (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 155-194 Forensic Psychology Under the Swastika (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 195-219 Conclusion: Forensic Psychology on the Eve of the War (Heather Wolffram)....Pages 221-226 Back Matter ....Pages 227-257 Annotation This text examines the emergence and early development of forensic psychology in Germany from the late 19th century until the outbreak of the Second World War, highlighting the field's interdisciplinary beginnings and contested evolution. Initially envisaged as a psychology of all those involved in criminal proceedings, this new discipline promised to move away from an exclusive focus on the criminal to provide a holistic view of how human fallibility impacted upon criminal justice. As this book argues, however, by the inter-war period, forensic psychology had largely become a psychology of the witness; its focus narrowed by the exigencies of the courtroom