Hitler's doctor, Theodor Morell, had his hands full. He accompanied his giver at every step. And it is hardly surprising - the Führer was not an example of health. He struggled with numerous diseases (which he eagerly hid from the world), and the dozens of drugs he was taking did more harm than good ...
Digestive system, cardiovascular and heart problems, persistent migraines, depressed mood episodes, impotence and Parkinson's disease. These are just some of Hitler's ailments that were hidden from the world - only his closest associates knew about them.
If you add to this permanent fatigue and severe stress, it is hardly surprising that at some point the dictator found himself on the verge of endurance. He tried to save his weakened forces with a whole arsenal of more or less effective drugs.
In the claws of drug addiction
"The American intelligence has compiled a list of seventy-four medications that [Hitler - ed. ed.] regularly used - eyewitness accounts increase the number of medications used to ninety "Writes Michael Kerrigan in his book" Hitler. The Man and the Monster ". What was in the Fuhrer's first aid kit?
Hitler visited the sick for propaganda purposes. He himself was only protected from the visit to the hospital by the enormous arsenal of drugs he was taking every day.
Hitler's "court medic" made sure that the enormous arsenal of resources, which were to provide the leader of the Third Reich with full strength, did not run out of specifics for every occasion. Euflat and Mitilax neutralized gas, while Intelan and Luizym - stimulated the appetite. Tonophosan Führer treated anemia, and with Ultraseptyl, Chineurion and Omnadin, often troublesome diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
The first aid kit also included vegetarian dietary supplements (for this purpose Hitler took Vitamultin-Calcium, among others) as well as sedatives and sleeping pills, such as Brom-Nervacit. In addition, each day Morell gave his employer several injections - for example, those with benzolic acid and estrogens helped with gastrointestinal problems.
In case of problems with potency, the Führer's doctor kept on his disposal a drug with bull testicle extract, and in the case of conjunctivitis - cocaine-based eye drops . Besides, drugs - at least according to some historians - were Hitler's "bread and butter". As Michael Kerrigan relates in his book:
Sensation-hungry researchers emphasized the dependence on a number of currently illegal substances - cocaine, heroin and intravenously injected amphetamines (including methamphetamine). However, the hormonal therapies that the Führer was subjected to (applying unconventional medical theories in practice), using testosterone, estradiol (a female hormone) and corticosteroids, could have been much more disturbing, as they had more profound effects.
But did Hitler really need such an arsenal of medicaments? Probably not - even according to his closest friends, the leader of the Third Reich was a hypochondriac. On the other hand, the Führer could not afford even the slightest sign of weakness. His enemies and political opponents were just waiting for it - they looked for the slightest deviation from the norm in Hitler's appearance and behavior and exaggerated all peculiarities.
Doctor or quack?
Meanwhile, problems arose more and more over the years. This was due not only to the fact that Hitler was getting older and his health was deteriorating naturally. The huge doses of drugs he was taking - sometimes with contradicting effects - must have caused side effects. According to many researchers, this also translated into the Führer's increasing mental instability and eventually led him to a nervous breakdown.
Theo Morell was at least partly to blame for this state of affairs. He specialized in venereology ( which gave rise to unconfirmed rumors that the dictator suffered from syphilis ) and was famous for its controversial methods. As Peter Longerich, professor of modern history at the University of London notes, “he stuffed him [Hitler - ed. ed.] every day with a huge amount of drugs, as well as tonic and stimulants. ”
There were rumors that for medical purposes he used ... feces of a Bulgarian peasant. Even if it wasn't, the cocktail of drugs that he eagerly served to his main patient could finish even a healthy person.
Besides, his colleagues repeatedly accused Morell of deliberately acting against the Führer. Did the doctor really want to "help" him to get rid of the burden of power and transfer to another world? This question will most likely remain unanswered forever.
Hitler's personal physician, Theo Morell (in the photo in the background; front:Heinrich Hoffmann) was in charge of Hitler's health.
Meanwhile, Hitler - apart from imaginary ailments - also suffered from a number of real, more or less serious diseases. Currently, it is impossible to recreate all of them because the medical records of the Führer are lost, but at least some of them have been identified by researchers.
What was Hitler sick with?
The information about the symptoms was provided by the main interested person. In April 1944, he confessed to Goebbels that he "did not feel well enough to be able to speak with absolute certainty at a public demonstration." The list of Hitler's ailments is listed in the extensive biography of the dictator Peter Longerich:
He had visual impairment in his right eye as a result of vitreous bleeding in the eyeball, and was also diagnosed with hypertension and progressive arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries. He had been noticeably less mobile for some time now and was dragging his left leg behind him; His left hand was trembling strongly; the silhouette bent more and more. These were inevitable signs of advanced Parkinson's disease (not diagnosed at the time).
Medical historians Henrik Eberle and Hans Joachim Neumann also add chronic irritable bowel syndrome, periodically exacerbated by stress, to this list. They also mention other psychosomatic diseases of the stomach. In addition, Hitler suffered from insomnia - also from stress.
The Führer's mental health was not much better. Recurring depression, the first episodes of which occurred in the youth of the future leader of the Third Reich, from time to time made Hitler plunged into lethargy. He then cut himself off from his surroundings and spent his days and nights alone.
Adolf Hitler with a child and Paul Hindenburg. The depression he struggled with is reflected in the dictator's face.
His contemporaries also saw symptoms of personality disorders in him. However, as emphasized by Eberle and Neumann, a precise, clinical assessment of the mental state of someone who has been dead for a long time is impossible.
At the same time, those two authors who spent a lot of time analyzing Hitler's medical history, found no evidence that the man who unleashed one of the bloodiest conflicts in history was insane . On the contrary, in their opinion he was "healthy and fully responsible for his actions."
Crimes without justification
Also other researchers agree that "neither diseases nor taking medications significantly weakened Hitler's efficiency as a politician, because, for example, until his last moments he was able to follow the course of longer meetings with concentration, gave extensive speeches to a closed audience and composed long texts ”.
Some, such as professor of psychiatry and neuroscientist Ellen Gibbels, diagnose him as "a slight change of personality on an organic basis," but also emphasize that this does not absolve him of responsibility for the crimes committed.
What about the dictator's alleged drug addiction? "There is no evidence of Hitler's drug addiction," reports Peter Longerich. - "The administration of injections of the stimulant and euphoric drug Eudokal by Morella is documented only periodically (in the summer of 1943 and from September to December 1944), which indicates that he is not addicted."
The historian also adds:"The striking features or behavior of Hitler (in particular:increased activity, speechlessness, complete lack of empathy, illusory states of euphoria), have their source in the structure of his personality ”.
Therefore, no matter what the Führer suffered from, he should not be treated as a sick person and should not be subject to a reduced tariff. Historians have no doubts that when Hitler unleashed hell on earth in 1939, he did so with full deliberation, knowing the possible consequences of his decisions.
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