Like a shadow, he stood behind Hitler - with a syringe at the ready. He was one of the most important people in the Third Reich, although he did not decide about politics or military activities. Instead, he injected Hitler with drugs and "proprietary" cocktails "multivitamins". Interestingly, Theo Morell specialized in the treatment of venereal diseases, and defended his doctorate in ... gynecology.
Choosing medical studies, Theodor Glibert Morell did not know where this career path would lead him. Even when photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, suffering from gonorrhea, came to his office in Berlin at Kurfürstendamm 216 in 1936, the doctor in his wildest dreams could not have expected that soon (thanks to this particular patient) he would receive an offer he could not refuse.
Theodor Morell caused a lot of controversy
Indeed, encouraged by his friend Hoffmann, who was extremely satisfied with the effects of anti-gonorrhea therapy, he was summoned to his presence by none other than the Chancellor of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler. Well, some requests aren't denied…
From zero to… the Führer's court physician
This is how Theo Morell became Hitler's personal adviser on health matters. From then on, his social and financial status entered a new level. Even before that, he could not complain about the lack of reputation - and money.
Born on July 22, 1886 in Trais-Munzenberg in Upper Hesse, Theodor could call himself a child of happiness. His family was quite wealthy and could afford to provide his son with a decent education. It was so important that little Theo absorbed knowledge like a sponge. David Irwing reports:
In junior high, it shone. On his matriculation certificate of February 16, 1907, there is an annotation that he was released from the obligation to take oral examinations because in the last year he achieved excellent academic results, and in his written work he received an excellent note.
From the age of 16 to 19, he attended the teachers' college, but he was much more attracted to medicine than following in the footsteps of his father (teacher). He graduated from the University of Heidelberg (traditionally earning top grades) and then left for France, where he honed his medical skills in Grenoble and Heidelberg.
Hitler's doctor made a meteoric career. In photo 4 from the right
He was not limited to a single specialization. As Irwing lists:"During this period, he explored the secrets of immunology, psychiatry, ENT and gynecology." He seemed to have the greatest sentiment for the latter field - in 1913 he even defended his thesis in gynecology and received his doctorate. However, he decided not to pursue a career in this direction, but instead became ... a ship's doctor.
On the ships of the Woehrmann and then Lloyd lines, he sailed to South America. It was there that he was to gain experience in using unconventional medicine (or "esoteric" - as he called it himself). He also specialized in the treatment of venereal diseases. This is what made him a brilliant career.
A recipe for success
After numerous professional "adventures" (including an episode of work on the Western Front, and then in a POW camp), Theo Morell finally settled in Berlin in 1919. Soon - thanks to a lucrative marriage with actress Johanna Moller - he was able to luxuriously equip his modest office on Bayreuther Straße and abandon the use of patients "off the street". From then on, he accepted only the famous ones - and those with the appropriate funds. As described by David Irwing:
In the early 1930s, Theo Morell became a famous and fashionable doctor. (...) In 1932, he earned around 150,000. reichsmark (approximately £ 12,000).
His office's waiting room was always crowded with rich and famous patients. A review of their names reveals that Morella was the most visited by stage and screen stars, including a number of hypochondriacs, and political figures whom his assistant Dr. Weber later said tersely:also very intelligent people. ”
Theo Morell
Shortly after the Nazis took power, Morell's practice began to decline. Many resented him for having wealthy Jews among his patients. He himself claimed to be oppressed because of his "dark sex".
However, he quickly cut off any guesswork about his origins by joining the NSDAP in April 1933. He also slightly changed the profile of his activity - as a "general practitioner" he began to treat, above all, diseases of a "delicate" nature. In short, he became a venereologist.
The naked truth about the Führer
The treatment of sexually transmitted diseases he proposed turned out to be so effective that he quickly gained a reputation as a specialist in this field in Berlin. And it was thanks to this that fate crossed his paths with Hoffmann, and then - through him - with Hitler.
Interestingly, in the meantime, Ewa Braun also became Morella's patient. In order to show his gratitude for bringing her back into shape, the Führer invited the doctor and his wife to Berghof at the end of 1936. It was there that a thread of sympathy developed between the gentlemen, which would soon turn into boundless trust (on Hitler's part) and ethically questionable devotion (Morella).
"The thesis that Adolf Hitler had horse health before meeting Morell seems tempting," comments David Irwing. How much truth is there in that? According to Morell's notes and post-war testimony, nothing serious was wrong with the Chancellor of the Third Reich at the time of their first meeting. It only got worse later. Hitler's landlady Anni Winter recalled:
When Professor Morell became his personal doctor, he drastically changed his eating habits for the worse, then collapsed rapidly in health and became an abnormal man.
How much is the doctor's fault, and how much - the Führer's increasing stress and hypochondria? Hard to say. Undoubtedly, however, the therapies that Morell provided to the Nazi commander in the following years did not work for him.
Morella's patient was also Ewa Braun
American intelligence counted as many as 74 drugs that Hitler was to take regularly on the recommendation of his personal medic. The eyewitness accounts show that there were even more of them - about 90. This arsenal of drugs includes, among others, anti-flatulence drugs, dietary supplements, strong sedatives and hypnotics, as well as bull testicle extract, strychnine, cocaine and numerous hormones (including female estradiol).
In his biography of Hitler, Professor Peter Longerich emphasizes that Morell "stuffed him every day with a huge amount of drugs, as well as tonic and stimulants." According to some, in his experiments on "patient A" he even went so far as to use ... the faeces of a Bulgarian peasant. Either way, the mixture he served the Führer could knock even the healthiest man off his feet.
Unwanted side effects
Taking into account the list of specifics that Theo gave to his most important patient (mainly intravenously, because Hitler loved all kinds of injections), it is hardly surprising that after some time the dictator's condition began to deteriorate. His immediate surroundings did not escape the attention of this. It was the beginning of the end for Morella.
In the 1940s, there were rumors that the doctor was deliberately poisoning the Führer. He did not believe the rumors for a long time, but eventually he had to see through his eyes. On April 21, 1945, when Morell came with a syringe to prime him with another dose of "Healing Cocktail," Hitler sent him back with a receipt. The scorned physician did not have the opportunity to return to favor - nine days later the leader of the Third Reich committed suicide.
Adolf Hitler was addicted to Morell's drugs
What happened to Morell? He managed to escape from besieged Berlin to Munich, where he was arrested by the Americans. They subjected him to brutal interrogations that only worsened his severely damaged health. For most of his life, Theo was quite overweight, which had the side effect of heart disease. From prison, he sent tearful letters to his wife in which he complained:
Since my right leg is paralyzed, and I cannot even perform physiological activities without the help of other people [...], I don't think they can help me much anymore. I often feel confused and confused. I almost irretrievably lost my memory, I forgot everything. I usually wake up around 3 or 4 in the morning and I can't sleep anymore. They massage my right arm and leg every day.
In fact, there was no help anymore for the decrepit doctor. In 1947, incl. Due to his health condition, he was released from the charge of war crimes. Left alone, he died on May 26 of the following year. His former assistant Richard Weber stated, "He died like a stray dog at the fence."