“Nuremberg” opens in the spring of 1945. Hitler is dead. Many of his henchmen have died by suicide, have been arrested or have fled. The world is just beginning to grapple with the horrors committed by the Third Reich.

Hermann Göring, Hitler’s second in command, is arrested by American troops in Austria, who discover him heading west in a convoy of family and friends. Ostensibly, he intends to surrender to the Allies.

The film tells the story of the American lead prosecutor, Robert Jackson, who believed captured Nazi leadership — including Göring — should stand trial at Nuremberg. He wanted the men to answer publicly for their crimes.

But before they can have their day in court, each one will be examined by a military psychiatrist, to determine if they are mentally fit. The psychiatrist assigned to Göring, the ambitious Robert Kelley, has a secondary intent. He wants to find out what linked the defendants. Did they have a common psychiatric disorder that would explain their heinous crimes? Could their evil be diagnosed, and if so, be prevented from infecting future generations?

“Nuremberg,” which opens nationwide this weekend, stars Russell Crowe as Göring and Rami Malek as Kelley. The film is based on Minneapolis writer Jack el-Hai’s 2011 book, “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.”

To mark the release of “Nuremburg,” Kerri Miller hosted el-Hai at MPR’s St. Paul studios to talk about the book and the movie adaptation. They also discuss the central question that animates both: If the potential for evil lurks inside all of us, how do we stop it?

Guest:

• Jack el-Hai is the author of many books, including “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.” He lives and writes in Minneapolis.

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