Susanne Paola Antonetta, *The Devil’s Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry’s Troubled History Reverberates Today*. Los Angeles and San Francisco, California: Counterpoint Press, 2025.

Send us Fan MailIn this work, Susanne Paola Antonetta explores the overlooked history of eugenics and its ties to contemporary mental health practices and politics in the United States, illustrating how we can leverage our past to inspire change.In 1939, the eugenics movement, which was gaining momentum across the West, reached its most horrific peak in Nazi Germany. The Aktion T4 euthanasia program turned five asylums and an abandoned prison into gas chambers. Tens of thousands of lives—mainly adults with neuropsychiatric disorders—were lost in these facilities, ultimately setting the stage for the atrocities of the Holocaust.Antonetta points out that psychiatry’s “Bible,” the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, was developed by a group of psychiatrists who referred to themselves as “neo-Kraepelinians,” in tribute to Emil Kraepelin—the German psychiatrist who advocated for eugenic theories and trained some of the most notorious Nazi doctors. She also highlights that the current discourse surrounding immigration serves as a painful reminder of a time in our nation when immigrants were deemed mentally “impaired,” with their alleged genetic “inferiority” used as justification for barring their entry.Yet, while Antonetta addresses the bleakest aspects of psychiatric history, she presents a courageous vision for the future of mental health care, intertwining her personal experiences with psychosis and illuminating the narratives of Paul Schreber and Dorothea Buck, two historical figures who exemplify models for mental care and acceptance.This compelling investigation navigates the range of neurodiversity, from the tragic effects of dehumanization to the life-changing possibilities of understanding and acceptance. In this book, Antonetta not only reveals the shortcomings of our history but also imagines a more compassionate and enlightened approach to mental health care. This narrative embodies tragedy, resilience, and hope—a call to action for change that boldly challenges the boundaries of how we define, characterize, care for, nurture, and support those affected.