By Elisabeth Hellenbroich
Wiesbaden, 20.07.2026
Several weeks ago Austrian psychiatrist and neuropsychology scientist, Dr. Raphael Bonelli, who in the tradition of the famous Austrian Psychiatrist Victor Frankl (1905-1992) chairs the Vienna based RPP institute (Institute for resources in psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, that facilitates dialogue between psychiatry and other disciplines like philosophy, theology EH) recently gave a speech in front of a German audience, in which he presented some of the key thesis of his latest book „Kopflos: Wie Denken funktioniert.Warum wir es verlernt haben. Wie wir es zurückgewinnen” 2026 (“Headless: How thinking functions. Why we lost it. How we can win it back”)
As Bonelli also had underlined in various interviews, he stated that he had come to the conclusion that “we are beginning to lose our mind and have problems with true thinking.” Bonelli is a follower of Viktor Frankl- the well- known Austrian psychiatrist (1905-1997). He survived as medical doctor in a concentration camp and became founder of the logotherapy discipline as well as guest professor in many US universities. In 1977 Frankl published a book “Why despite everything we should say yes to life” (Penguin publishing house) in which he described his experience in the Concentration Camp and what he had analyzed as different stages of “emotional development” in the psyche of the Concentration camp detainees. According to Bonelli the loss of “human cognition” today has to do with the fact that we live in a fully digitalized world that is flooded with so much information, that the human brain is incapable to analyze all. “We become prisoners of superficial thinking and tend to believe more in the AI machine (for example the navigation system or ChatGPT) instead of trusting our own mind.” According to Bonelli the media also don’t concentrate on an in-depth reporting but rush to “conclusions” by quickly “judging” what they are reporting.
In his recent book “Headless” Bonelli identified various areas of cognitive damage, that we face today:
* Digital mental disorder. Everything is so digitalized that people don’t even go to toilet without their handy.
* Demographic thinking disorder. The “Bobos” (comes from “Bourgeois Bohémien“, urban lifestyle people) think about healthy food, weather, having zero children because of the “environmental footprint.” He remarked that in Germany less and less children are being born. The more academic a woman is, the less children are born: 1,3 children average.
* Pedagogical thinking disorder. University and schools are increasingly based on “ideologization” according to Bonelli. Children are n o t pushed toward autonomous, self- conscious thinking, but to go along the line. Namely what do I have to say, that fits the mainstream and makes me accepted by the crowd?
* Collective mental disorder. It’s “woke” thinking. Perception is far away from reality and truth. “Woke thinking” means that “human language” gets changed and this way “reality” gets changed and transforms itself.
According to Bonelli the typical “superficial thinking” today is adapted to “group thinking.” We think in a “bubble.” “Bubble thinking is that you go into a closed society that distances itself from the thinking of others. Within the bubble there is no contradiction. In the computer you only talk to those who think equally or alike, as we can see in George Orwell…It’s a form of disruption of society.
We could translate this into the “cognitive dissonance” that we register at the moment among the European, particularly German elite. Since the war in Ukraine, they not only have become more and more detached from reality and their own populations, but are living in complete self -delusion. What they celebrate as the coming victory of the West against Russia is total delusion. They have inflicted more economic disorder against themselves than against Russia.
According to Bonelli there is the strong impulse of “Thanatos” (unconscious death impulse – a term originally used by Sigmund Freud EH) As Bonelli said in an interview: “Germany is like the patient on the couch of the psychiatrist. It suffers from “Thanatos.” It doesn’t want any more…Thanatos is the rejection of the Good.” He sees this in line with the inability to perceive the “Truth, Good and Beauty.” Germany seems to no longer have “inner values”. We are a “compulsive society”, as was demonstrated during the Corona crisis. The real solution is the “individual”. In that respect he made reference to Victor Frankl.
Victor Frankl’s important observations
In the above-mentioned book, “why despite all the circumstances it is important to say yes to life”, Frankl described the different stages of life in a concentration camp which the detainees were experiencing. According to Frankl, after the first “shock” of internment, the detainee slides into the second stage, the stage of “relative apathy.” With it comes an inner death of emotions. He is longing to see his own beloved people. He feels “disgust” about what is ugly in that which surrounds the detainees. The killing of personal emotions advances rapidly…. Suffering people, sick, and dying people, this all is so frequently experienced, that after a few weeks the detainee is no more moved emotionally. Frankl reports at one point that he himself helped to assist as a doctor in a barrack for “Typhus patients” who died like flies and he wrote: “Fleeing internally from the terrible environment into the world of spiritual freedom and inner wealth … makes it possible to survive and makes life in the camp easier”. He underlined that he personally was captured by the realization that “love is the last and highest idea, which human existence has. I grasped the sense of Life, that which human poetry, thinking and faith can express: The redemption through love and by love.” Frankl referred to the famous Russian writer Fjodor Dostojewski who once had said: “I only fear not to be worthy (würdig) of my agony.” Frankl underlined that he “often thought about these words, when I got to know those martyrs, like the people whose suffering and dying in the camp gave testimony about their inner freedom. (…) The spiritual freedom of man that you can find in the human being until his last breath, gives him the chance to “shape his life in a meaningful way…. Not only enjoying “life” but also “suffering” must have a meaning, since it belongs to life, such as destiny and death.”
Hence there is the need to inquire the “meaning of life”. According to Frankl we need a change in respect to the question of what is the “meaning of life. We should learn and teach people who get desperate that what never counts, is what we can expect from life, but rather, what life expects from us!” As he commented in his book: “In the concentration camp, we could see into the abyss of human existence, but we also got to know real people. It’s the human being that still decides what he is. It is the one that ‘invented gas chambers, but at the same time it’s a human being that went into the gas chambers, straight with a prayer on his lips.’”
Anna Haag: “Thinking is no any more in fashion today. Diary 1940-1945” (Penguin, 2023)
The author of this article just finished reading the diary of a German journalist, mother, and author of several books, Anna Haag (1888- 1982) who in her diary 1940-1945, at that time living in Baden Württemberg, described in a detailed way the day-to-day life under the Nazi regime. Some of her children lived in England at the time; one of her sons was detained in a prisoner camp in Canada. Her husband being a university professor and her daughter Ludowika staying with her for a while. Among others she described the day-to-day commentaries given by her neighbors, who mostly were ardent supporters of the “Führer Hitler” until the end of the Nazi regime. Among them the pharmacist, the teacher or director of a school. She captured the reactions of the average neighbor to foreign prisoners, Poles, French, Russian – and the outbursts of hatred if somebody in the neighborhood gave prisoners some extra food or clothing. This was seen as treason against the Führer and the German race. Anna Haag documented in her book that the average people d i d know what happened to Jews in Cologne, who for example who were brought to the “Messehallen” (exhibitions halls), in order to be transported away to the concentration camps. She also described the changes in her own subjective feelings, ranging between total depression and hope as well as confidence, that one day the allies would free the German people from this yoke. She as well described how she fled into classical music and piano playing, listening secretly to the news from Radio BBC. The constant pressure to keep her mouth shut because someone in her personal environment could denounce some of her critical remarks. She also described the irrational behavior of her neighbors when the allied bombing began. How much she suffered from the dominant Nazi ideology in the mindset of average people, that made the difference between the “Herrenmenschen” and the “Untermenschen” (the Slavs etc). It was such a strong emotion, that it prevented people, like the neighbor pharmacist to realize the colossal failure of Hitlers operation “Barbarossa” against Russia and the huge losses of Russian as well as German soldiers then. The repetitive belief in “Wunderwaffen” and German victory. A reality which we can see painstakingly reflected in some discussions today in Germany. Anna Haag often prayed, she selflessly helped other people and she reflected the immense inner pressure exerted on those justice loving people in the “Third Reich.”
Will it end tragically again?
Looking at the above-mentioned facts, the whole thing shocks all the more when we look at the events of the recent weeks following the Ankara NATO summit which unanimously, with full support of US President Trump, formulated the goals of NATO: to strategically defeat Russia and upgrade military assistance to Ukraine by some orders of magnitude as well as tightening sanctions. As result the war has intensified on both sides. Its moving on an escalation path, as also was confirmed by President Vladimir Putin and his speaker Peskov.
In this respect it’s worthwhile to look at a recent discussion (16.07.26) between well known Russian moderator Vladimir Solovyov and Roger Koeppel from the swiss Weltwoche, as well as a discussion following the next day between Gen. (ret.) Harald Kujat (former General inspector of the Bundeswehr and former chairman of NATO Military commission) and Koeppel. Solovyov made a remark by asking the rhetorical question “Why should Russia wait to attack Europe, after all that has been unleashed against Russia in the last few weeks, especially since the Ankara summit?” He at one point presented a list with names of those military firms in Europe, which in cooperation with Ukraine produce Drones as well as other military compounds that are actually used in the war of Ukraine against Russia. Among them: Companies in GB, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France, Tschechia, Germany, Israel etc.. He repeatedly asked the question: Why should Russia wait to do something, in light of the fact that 140Bn Euros have been spent by Europe in the last 2 years? In reference to the spectacular murder of a Ukrainian oligarch in Monaco several weeks ago, he outlined a scenario how Europe would look after the war, which may end chaotically. The power of the Ukraine Mafia – its money and weapons that will try to increasingly put Western Europe under the control of their dirty money and terrorist operations.
Talking about the pervasive hatred against Russia in Europe (specifically among the elites) Solovyov explained that this had to do with the fact that “we( Russia) won the second World War. The grand-fathers and grand-mothers of Germany suffered a lot. The invasion of Germany into Russia was for no reason. Now in the heads of some European revanchists the idea is created that “now is the chance to hit.” The idea of “Übermensch” against “Untermensch” comes to the fore. “We kept silent for more than 85 years, now they say it’s a chance to win… It’ all very much connected to the family history concerning every decision that is being made.”
That next day (17.07.26) there was a short discussion between General (ret.) Harald Kujat and Roger Koeppel. Kujat stated that former Ukrainian Chief of Staff Salushny had once stated that he didn’t expect any breakthrough from the Drone war. He added that the US, i.e. Trump is now out of the war in Ukraine, also in terms of peace meditation. According to Kujat, on the battlefield, the Russians have visibly strengthened their attacks against Ukraine in order to conquer the rest of Donetzk, i.e. Russia widens the attacks on regions like Sumy. They want a security zone to prevent that Ukraine again will do strikes like they did in Kursk. He referred to the fact that also Odessa was attacked again. Russia’s focus according to Kujat, is to realize its war aims. Kujat underlined that the door for negotiations should n o t be closed. Europe should think about how to make this possible. He had full understanding for Russia’s desire to create “Protection- Security zones” – and he added that since they will not tolerate certain moves by Ukraine and Europe, the “danger grows for a NATO /Russia conflict.”
According to Kujat “Russian escalation is different than in NATO. We in NATO escalate in small steps. Russia has a great tolerance. We can’t say where their tolerance ends. Concerning the NATO manouevers near the Russia border, as well as decision to install a European- Ukraine “Missile shield” Kujat said that this was an escalation that 100% will not be accepted by Russia. Patriots have only a limited efficiency. The delivery of soft- ware for aiming at Russian military targets and of hard ware deliveries in order to target Russian space, this all would be a clear escalation against Russia. He criticized that “in Germany politicians have no plan.” In an answer to a question concerning Solovyovs statement that a war in Europe may be inevitable, Kujat answered, that he is an optimist and that he believes that one c a n find a “solution based on reason.” He further stressed that we in Germany use the “Russian threat” as a pretext. “I am a disciple of Helmut Schmidts “Balance of forces theory”. Precondition for peace is a discussion with the other side. This also includes arms control reduction negotiations, i.e. a dual strategy. But the reality right now is: We reject to talk to the other side! I still have the hope that at some time there will be a turning point. Policy should not be based on despair! We not only deal with the greatest nuclear power on Earth (i.e. Russia). A future war would surpass the Second World War by several dimensions. “We escalate from a position of weakness. We demonize Putin instead of having trust in his rationality. We don’t have the escalation dominance. We may help Ukraine but we can’t play around with Europe. There is a growing readiness in Russia to get negotiated solution also including security guarantees. So I don’t believe in the inevitability of the war.”
