The Lindbergh Kidnapping

There are many excellent books about the Lindbergh kidnapping, but none which talk about the mass hysteria that enveloped this story. From the moment that “Lucky Lindy” stepped out of his plane after he landed in Paris, right through the kidnapping of his son, the crowds never stopped. 


When his baby was kidnapped and killed, newspaper production in the United States increased twenty percent. At the trial of kidnapper Bruno Richard Hauptmann, hawkers were selling miniature copies of the kidnap ladder and putative locks of hair from the murdered baby.  Mobs of blood-thirsty citizens clustered about the kidnap scene and clamored in front of the Flemington Court House shouting “Kill Hauptmann! Kill Hauptmann! Kill Hauptmann!”


Never in American history has there been such a continuous eruption of mass psychology and herd behavior. But what is even more curious is that never has this story been looked at as a deep and disturbing collective psychodrama instead of a crime story. 


Bruno Richard Hauptmann was sent to the electric chair an innocent man. He death was a mob-motivated, ritual killing, and understanding the core meaning and significance of his death leads to the stunning realization of what the entire mythic story of Charles Lindbergh was all about. 

For previews and more information see collectivepsych.com


Reviews: 


“A fascinating piece of psychological analysis that reads like an Agatha Christie novel.  I couldn’t put it down!


—Marvin Forrest, Ph.D., psychotherapist, 

Santa Barbara


Dr. Kroth has provided a compelling analysis of the Lindbergh story that renders it in a completely new light. Prepare to have what you thought you knew thoroughly challenged!


—Jeff Kisling, Ph.D., psychotherapist, Palo Alto, California