'Where Madness Lies' Traces Family History Of Mental Illness From Nazi Germany To Massachusetts

In 1984, author Sylvia True admitted herself to the McLean Hospital in Belmont to be treated for depression. When doctors asked her if there was a history of mental illness in her family, she told them what she thought was the truth: No.

Over the course of her treatment, True learned that was not the case.

In 1926, in pre-war Germany, her great-aunt, Rigmor Blumenthal, was struck by fits of mania and unrelenting depression. Her condition got worse in her 20s. By that time, the Nazi Party had risen to power in Germany and it was intent on systematically doing away with people who were physically or mentally ill, or were deemed undesirable.

Blumenthal was not only mentally ill; she was Jewish. She was forcibly sterilized and died following the procedure.