Hitler's oddities

Although the subject of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany is undeniably depressing, there are some interesting tidbits of information that I've picked up in my recent reading on the topic. Here are a few odd facts I gleaned from the excellent little book A Concise Biography of Adolf Hitler, by Thomas Fuchs.

• Hitler never learned to drive.
• The Volkswagen Beetle was developed during Hitler's reign, and the design was based in part on Hitler's suggestion that the car should look like a beetle.
• Hitler compulsively sucked his fingers and chewed his fingernails when offstage.
• He was known for his extreme flatulence.
• A woman whom Hitler attempted to seduce later reported that he had stripped naked and begged to be kicked.
• Psychological profiles of Hitler written during his lifetime suggested that he probably achieved sexual orgasm by having women urinate and defecate on him.
• He was drawn to teenage girls even when he was in his late thirties.
• His first serious girlfriend committed suicide.
• His longest relationship with a woman was with Eva Braun, who twice attempted suicide.
• Hitler and Eva Braun were married in 1945 in Hitler's bunker; they killed themselves 36 hours later.
• Hitler was an insomniac who typically stayed up until 4 or 5 AM and slept until eleven o'clock in the morning.
• Among Hitler's unconventional medical remedies were enemas (self-administered) and leeches.
• Hitler had an insatiable taste for sweets; he consumed two pounds of chocolate a day and drank copious quantities of hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream on top; he also devoured pastries and cakes.
• He was afraid of haircuts.
• He insisted on shaving himself because he would not allow someone else to hold a razor near his throat.
• He wore only pre-tied neckties.
• He wore full-length underwear even in hot summer weather.
• Hitler's close associate Hermann Goering, known for his prodigious girth, sometimes ate as many as ten lobsters at a single meal.
• The name Adolph is a contraction of the archaic German words Altha and Wolfa and means Noble Wolf; Hitler used the alias Herr Wolf during his early years when he wished to avoid recognition; he named his favorite German shepherd pup Wolf; he named his field headquarters Wolf's Plan, Wolf's Lair, and Werewolf; he was particularly fond of the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?," which he often whistled absentmindedly.
• Although popular legend claims that Hitler consulted astrologers before making military decisions, the truth seems to be that he had no particular interest or belief in astrology, at least until his final days in the bunker when, insane, he did turn to horoscopes for reassurance and inspiration.
• A photo sometimes shown of "Adolf Hitler's corpse" is almost certainly an image of some other German man who simply bore a passing resemblance to Hitler; in fact, the corpses of Hitler and Eva Braun were set afire by Hitler's followers after their joint suicide; the cremation was not entirely successful, and the charred remains were confiscated by the Russians when they took Berlin. After being definitively identified by dental records, Hitler's remains were properly burned. The Russians did not release this information until 1968, and in the meantime many legends sprang up to the effect that Hitler had escaped Germany and had been seen in Argentina or Spain or working as a waiter in Bavaria.

I'd meant to end my post here, but when I went to the Amazon sales page to get the book's URL, I noticed some reader reviews that I found appalling. Here's an excerpt from one:

This book is endorsed on the front cover by some Holocaust organization, and on the back by some Jewish Press guy. Do you think it's an unbiased book that puts out information and let's you make up your own mind about the man? Nope.... This book is Jewish slander passed off as a biography. Want to know how paranoid these people are? I remember when Passion of the Christ came out, they were scared there would be riots and backlash against them. And in stores sat the newly released dvd Schindler's List. Coincidence? I think not. They will remind the rest of us to the end of time, and will put it in your face that Hitler was a monster and that's all you need to know. That's the take home message of this pitiful book.

And another:

This book was a poorly compiled regurgitation of Allied World War II propaganda. The author had an incredible bias against Adolf Hitler and it gushes out in every chapter.... Unless you want to read a book that is dedicated to Hitler bashing, I would stay away from this one. You will learn absolutely nothing, except disproven lies, from it. I am not quite sure how people can get away with publishing such discredited information and call it history.

And one more, this one from a reader in Stuttgart, Germany:

The author of this book set out to write about a subject he apparantly didn't understand. I don't know what his sources were, but if his readers actually believe most of the things he has written here as "facts", then they are as naive as he is. It is a small book full of hearsay and fabrications ...

If the last-quoted reader didn't know what Fuchs's sources were, she could have tried flipping to the back of the book, where Fuchs cites his sources for every detail. There are 38 pages of endnotes, plus a bibliography listing approximately 100 titles.

It is true that Fuchs 's repeated reminders that Hitler was evil can be a trifle heavy-handed, but to call the book fabrication, hearsay, propaganda, lies, or worst of all, "Jewish slander," is groundless and, in the last case, unconscionable.

And God forbid that anyone should have a "bias" against Hitler or consider him a "monster" or engage in "Hitler bashing!"

I guess the sad truth is that even today, Adolf Hitler still has his fans.  And that's the oddest fact of all.

Comments

[Henry James]

I cannot be arsed to read anything about Hitler, it is too ugly. But this movie is pretty good.

[Michael Prescott]

Thanks for the tip. I added the movie to my Netflix queue.

I agree that it's difficult to read about the Nazis. I've been feeling a little depressed after the recent research I've done. Think I need a break ...

[Ginny]

I thought "Downfall" was a riveting account of Hitler's last days. German with English subtitles.

[Michael Prescott]

Yes, that's the movie Henry James recommended. The Netflix customer reviews are very favorable.

I never had much interest in Hitler until recently, and I still can take the subject only in small doses, but I do find it fascinating to get eyewitness reports of this man, who in some ways was more like a devil in human form than a normal human being.

[Henry James]

Downfall does not say anything that we don't know already. It just shows how certain things happen in real life.

-- Perfectly normal and nice people can follow a vicious ideology. In the movie, that's Hitler's secretaries.
-- In everyday life, military criminals can be perfectly normal.
-- Even Hitler himself was not disgusting _all_ the time.

The conclusion is, there is no such thing as propaganda on/off button, it all depends.

[Michael FitzGerald]

Hi there,

As a historian of the Third Reich, I am anything but an admirer of Hitler. However, there is one factual error in his account and a couple of other statements that are not believed by the majority of serious historians.

The factual error is that Hitler never learned to drive. In fact, one of his hobbies was driving powerful sports cars at high speed.

Regards

Mike