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Sheila1988 (talk | contribs) Austrian historian Roman Sandgruber, in his biography of Hitler's father Alois, notes that the traditional foods of Braunau am Inn were mostly meatless, with ''Kaiserschmarrn'', ''Eiernockerl'', and ''Rohrnudeln'' all being popular, giving young Adolf a taste for cabbage, dumplings, and pastries.<ref name=father>{{cite book |last=Sandgruber|first=Roman |date=2022 |title=Hitler's Father: Hidden Letters – Why the Son Became a Dictator |publisher=[[Pen |
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{{short description|Adolf Hitler's abstention from the consumption of meat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Hitler sitting at a table.jpg|thumb|[[Adolf Hitler]] at a dinner table]]
Near the end of his life, [[Adolf Hitler]] (1889–1945), the dictator of [[Nazi Germany]] from 1933 until [[Death of Adolf Hitler|his death]], followed a [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] diet. It is not clear when or why he adopted it, since some accounts of his dietary habits prior to the [[Second World War]] indicate that he ate meat as late as 1937. In 1938 Hitler's doctors put him on a meat-free diet, and his public image as a vegetarian and a lover of animals was fostered; from 1942 he described himself as a vegetarian.
Personal accounts from people who knew Hitler and were familiar with his diet indicate that he did not eat meat as part of his diet during this period, as several contemporaneous witnesses—such as [[Albert Speer]] (in his memoirs, ''[[Inside the Third Reich]]'')—noted that Hitler used vivid and gruesome descriptions of animal suffering and slaughter at the dinner table to try to dissuade his colleagues from eating meat. An examination carried out by French [[Forensic pathology|forensic pathologists]] on a fragment of Hitler's [[mandible]] in 2018 found no traces of meat fibre in the [[Calculus (dental)|tartar]] on Hitler's teeth. <!--No citations are required in the article lead per [[MOS:LEADCITE]], as long as the content is cited in the article body, as it should be. Do not add missing-citation tags like {{cn}} to the lead. If necessary, {{not verified in body}} can be used, or the content removed.-->
Several eyewitness sources maintain Hitler was a vegetarian because of his concern for animal suffering, noting that he was often distressed by images of animal cruelty and suffering, and was an [[antivivisection]]ist. However, some modern-day analyses have speculated that Hitler's vegetarianism may have been for [[vegetarianism#Health effects|health]] reasons or for ideological reasons due to the composer [[Richard Wagner]]'s historical theories, or even a psychological reaction to [[Geli Raubal|his niece]]'s death rather than a commitment to [[animal welfare]]. Additionally, some historians and commentators argue that his vegetarianism was exaggerated or manipulated to bolster his public image. In ''The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler'' (1973) the historian [[Robert Payne (author)|Robert Payne]] claimed that [[Joseph Goebbels]], the Nazi [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|propaganda minister]], portrayed Hitler as "an [[Asceticism|ascetic]] without [[Vice|vices]]," highlighting his avoidance of drinking, smoking, and eating meat to depict him as virtuous.
==Contemporary records==
{{Rquote|right|Do you know that your ''Führer'' is a vegetarian, and that he does not eat meat because of his general attitude toward life and his love for the world of animals? Do you know that your ''Führer'' is an exemplary friend of animals, and even as a chancellor, he is not separated from the animals he has kept for years?...The ''Führer'' is an ardent opponent of any torture of animals, in particular vivisection, and has declared to terminate those conditions...thus fulfilling his role as the saviour of animals, from continuous and nameless torments and pain. |''Neugeist/Die Weisse Fahne'' (contemporaneous pro-Nazi children's magazine)<ref name="Arluke148">Arluke & Sanders 1996, p. 148. Quoted from Wuttke-Groneberg, W. (1980). ''Medizin im Nationalsozialismus''. Tübingen: Schwabische Verlaggesellschaft.</ref>}}
In a 1937 article, ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted "It is well known that Hitler is a vegetarian and does not drink or smoke. The lunch and dinner consist, therefore, for the most part of soup, eggs, vegetables and mineral water, although he occasionally relishes a slice of ham and relieves the tediousness of his diet with such delicacies as caviar ...".<ref>(New York Times Article: 'At Home with the Fuhrer.' 30 May 1937. Otto D. Tolschuss (1937). "Where Hitler Dreams and Plans" - New York Times, 30 May 1937)</ref> In another 1937 article ''[[Times Magazine|Times]]'' magazine noted "Strictly vegetarian and teetotaler Adolf Hitler made the great exception last week of nibbling clear through the State banquet he gave Benito Mussolini and toasting his guest in sweet German champagne. Menu: caviar, soup, sole, chicken, ices and fresh fruit".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1937-10-11 |title=INTERNATIONAL: $1,000,000 Bid |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,770914,00.html |access-date=2024-02-15 |magazine=Time |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>
In November 1938 an article for the English magazine ''[[Homes & Gardens]]'' describing Hitler's mountain home, the [[Berghof (residence)|Berghof]], stated that in addition to being a [[Teetotalism|teetotaler]] and a [[Anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany|non-smoker]], Hitler was also a vegetarian. Ignatius Phayre wrote, "A life-long vegetarian at table, Hitler's kitchen plots are both varied and heavy in produce. Even in his meatless diet Hitler is something of a gourmet – as Sir [[John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon|John Simon]] and [[Anthony Eden]] were surprised to note when they dined with him in the Chancellery at Berlin. His Bavarian chef, Herr Kannenberg, contrives an imposing array of vegetarian dishes, savoury and rich, pleasing to the eye as well as to the palate, and all conforming to the dietic standards which Hitler exacts."<ref name="Homesandgarden">{{cite news| last = Phayre| first = Ignatius| title = Hitler's Mountain Home | pages = [https://web.archive.org/web/20131213160021/http://www.theguardian.com/germany/graphic/0,,1075414,00.html 193]–195 | work = Homes & Gardens |date=November 1938}}</ref>
According to [[stenographic]] transcripts translated by [[Hugh Trevor-Roper]] of conversations between Hitler and his inner circle which took place between July 1941 and November 1944, Hitler regarded himself as a vegetarian. These conversations were gathered together under the title [[Hitler's Table Talk]]. Written notes taken at the time were transcribed and then were edited by [[Martin Bormann]].<ref name="Bullock">{{cite book| last = Bullock| first = Alan| title = Hitler and Stalin : Parallel Lives| publisher = Vintage| year = 1993| isbn = 0-679-72994-1| page = 679}}</ref> According to these transcripts dated 11 November 1941, Hitler said, "One may regret living at a period when it's impossible to form an idea of the shape the world of the future will assume. But there's one thing I can predict to eaters of meat: the world of the future will be vegetarian." On 12 January 1942, he said, "The only thing of which I shall be incapable is to share the sheiks' [[Lamb and mutton|mutton]] with them. I'm a vegetarian, and they must spare me from their meat."{{sfn|Hitler|2000|pages=203–204}} In a diary entry dated 26 April 1942, Joseph Goebbels described Hitler as a committed vegetarian, writing, {{blockquote|An extended chapter of our talk was devoted by the ''[[Führer]]'' to the vegetarian question. He believes more than ever that meat-eating is harmful to humanity. Of course he knows that during the war we cannot completely upset our [[food system]]. After the war, however, he intends to tackle this problem also. Maybe he is right. Certainly the arguments that he adduces in favor of his standpoint are very compelling.<ref name="Goebbels">{{cite book| last = Goebbels| first = Joseph|author2= Louis P. Lochner (trans.)| title = The Goebbels Diaries| publisher = Charter Books| year = 1993| isbn = 0-441-29550-9| page = 679}}</ref>}}
In his table talks, on 25 April 1942 at midday, Hitler addressed the issue of vegetarianism and spoke about Roman soldiers eating fruits and cereals and the importance of raw vegetables. He placed the emphasis on scientific arguments such as naturalists' observations and chemical efficacy.{{sfn|Hitler|2000|pages=442–443}} [[Eva Braun]] was fond of [[turtle soup]] and notes from the interrogation of Hitler's personal aides about his daily routine in 1944 reveal that after midnight she would "direct that there should be another light snack of turtle soup, sandwiches, and sausages".<ref>(The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin from the Interrogations of Hitler's Personal Aides Audio CD – Audiobook, CD, Unabridged by Henrik Eberle (Author), Matthias Uhl (Author), and Michael Prichard (Narrator) p. 136)</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Guido |last=Knopp |title=Hitler's Women |year=2003 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9780415947305 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_46Cee1CH98C&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36 36]}}</ref>
==Personal testimony and secondhand accounts==
{{Rquote|right|Hitler tolerated [Marlene von Exner]'s reproaches and remained kindly and thoughtful. He liked her lively manner, was very fond of Viennese puddings, and admired her skill in making vegetarian soups that tasted better than meat broth. He couldn’t guess that poor Marlene was unhappy about his modest demands. With Antonescu, despite his diet, she had been able to revel in lobster, mayonnaise, caviar and other delicacies, and she had cooked fine dinners for festive receptions. But Hitler, as usual, wanted nothing but his one-pot dishes, carrots with potatoes. 'He’ll never thrive on food like this,’ she wailed, and she simmered a bone in his soup now and then. |[[Traudl Junge]], ''Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary'' (2004)}}
All accounts by people familiar with Hitler's diet from 1942 onwards are in agreement that Hitler adhered to a vegetarian diet, but accounts of his diet prior to the Second World War are inconsistent in this regard with some stating he ate meat. [[Dione Lucas]], a chef at a Hamburg hotel patronised by Hitler prior to the war, claimed that her stuffed [[squab]] was a favourite of his.<ref name=Lucas>Dione Lucas (1964). The Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook. p. 89</ref> According to [[Ilse Hess]] (wife of [[Rudolf Hess]]), in 1937, Hitler ceased eating meat except for [[Leberknödel]] (liver dumplings).<ref name=Toland>{{cite book |last=Toland |first=John |title=Adolf Hitler |___location=Garden City, New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=1976 |page=256}}</ref> In his memoirs, [[Rochus Misch]] (who served as Hitler's bodyguard from 1940) states that during a train ride in 1941 he "saw Hitler eat meat for the only time in the five years I was with him".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Misch |first=Rochus |title=Hitler's Last Witness: The Memoirs of Hitler's Bodyguard |year=2014 |publisher=Frontline Books |isbn=978-1-84832-749-8 |page=80 |language=en}}</ref>
[[Margot Wölk]], who became his unwilling [[food taster|food-taster]] in 1942, stated that all the food she tested for Hitler was vegetarian, and she recalled no meat or fish.<ref name=Nikkhah>{{cite news |first=Roya |last=Nikkhah |title=Hitler's food taster speaks of Führer's vegetarian diet |date=9 February 2013 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9859294/Hitlers-food-taster-speaks-of-Fuhrers-vegetarian-diet.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210113713/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9859294/Hitlers-food-taster-speaks-of-Fuhrers-vegetarian-diet.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2013 |access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11328527&ref=rss Bitter memories linger of life as Hitler's food taster, ''The New Zealand Herald'', 21 September 2014, Accessed 20 September 2014 from USA]</ref> This account was backed up in 2017 when the Russian [[Federal Security Service]] granted permission to a team of French scientists to undertake an examination of bones that purportedly belonged to Hitler. An analysis of the tartar deposits found on the teeth and dentures found no traces of meat fibre.<ref>{{cite news |first=Rory |last=Mulholland |title=Hitler definitely died in 1945, according to new study of his teeth |date=19 May 2018 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/05/19/hitler-definitely-died-1945-according-new-study-teeth/ |access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Charlier |first1=P. |last2=Weil |first2=R. |last3=Rainsard |first3=P. |last4=Poupon |first4=J. |last5=Brisard |first5=J.C. |title=The remains of Adolf Hitler: A biomedical analysis and definitive identification |journal=European Journal of Internal Medicine |volume=54 |pages=e10–e12 |date=May 2018 |doi=10.1016/j.ejim.2018.05.014|pmid=29779904 }}</ref><ref name="France 24">{{cite web |title=French researchers confirm Hitler died in 1945 after new study of his teeth |date=19 May 2018
|publisher=[[France 24]] |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180519-hitler-definitely-died-1945-new-study-teeth |access-date=29 August 2019 |quote="The analysis of Hitler’s bad teeth and numerous dentures found white tartar deposits and no traces of meat fibre the dictator was vegetarian, Charlier said."}}</ref> From an interview with the forensic pathologist [[Philippe Charlier]], who led the study, [[Agence France-Presse]] reported that Charlier had said that the analysis of Hitler's bad teeth and numerous dentures found white tartar deposits and no traces of meat fibre, and that the dictator was vegetarian. Charlier and his colleagues also added that though they were confident that the bones belonged to Hitler based on historical records, they cautioned that “further [[DNA]] analyses may be useful" to ensure its authenticity.<ref name="France 24" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Hitler definitely died in 1945 according to new study of his teeth |date=19 May 2018 |publisher=[[Phys.org]] |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-05-hitler-died-teeth.html |accessdate=24 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Killgrove |first=Kristina |title=New Analysis of Hitler's Teeth Confirms Nazi Leader's Vegetarianism |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/05/21/new-analysis-of-hitlers-teeth-confirms-nazi-leaders-vegetarianism/ |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>
[[Traudl Junge]], who became Hitler's secretary in 1942, reported that he "always avoided meat" but that his Austrian cook Kruemel sometimes added a little animal [[broth]] or fat to his meals. "Mostly the ''Fuehrer'' would notice the attempt at deception, would get very annoyed and then get tummy ache," Junge said. "At the end he would only let Kruemel cook him clear soup and mashed potato."<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news| title = Hitler's final witness| work = World: Europe| publisher = BBC News| date = 4 February 2002| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1800287.stm| access-date = 18 September 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070830111105/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1800287.stm| archive-date= 30 August 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Marlene von Exner, who became Hitler's [[dietitian]] in 1943, reportedly added [[bone marrow]] to his soups without his knowledge because she "despised" his vegetarian diet.<ref name=Wilson1998>{{cite web | last = Wilson | first = Bee | title = Mein Diat – Adolf Hitler's diet | work = New Statesman | ___location = UK | date = 9 October 1998 | url = https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-21238666/mein-diat |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321091219/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_n4406_v127/ai_21238666 |archive-date=21 March 2005}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Bee Wilson is a food journalist, not an authority on Hitler|date=February 2018}}
Even though Hitler adhered to a vegetarian diet during this period, his physician, [[Theodor Morell]], administered many unorthodox medications that contained animal by-products from 1936 until Hitler's death in 1945. These included Glyconorm (an injectable compound containing [[cardiac muscle]], [[adrenal gland]], liver, and pancreas), [[placenta]], bovine testosterone, and extracts containing [[seminal vesicles]] and [[prostate]]. At the time, extracts from animal glands were popularly believed to be "[[elixir]]s of youth", but it is not known whether Hitler requested them or blindly accepted them.<ref name="Doyle7582">{{cite journal |last = Doyle |first = D. |title = Adolf Hitler's Medical Care |journal = J R Coll Physicians Edinb |volume = 35 |issue = 1 |pages = 75–82 |date = February 2005 |doi = 10.1177/1478271520053501020 |url = http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/publications/articles/journal_35_1/Hitler's_medical_care.pdf |pmid = 15825245 |access-date = 18 September 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070705055423/http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/publications/articles/journal_35_1/Hitler%27s_medical_care.pdf |archive-date = 5 July 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Though Hitler was probably fully vegetarian in the last three years of his life, he was never [[Veganism|vegan]]. He drank milk{{sfn|Dietrich|2010|loc=p. 113}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heinz Linge |url=https://archive.org/details/withhitlertoendm00ling/page/56/mode/2up |title=With Hitler to the end |date=2009 |publisher=Skyhorse |others= |isbn=978-1-60239-804-7 |pages=55-56}}</ref> and ate eggs,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Junge |first=Traudl |url=https://www.google.co.il/books/edition/Until_the_Final_Hour/mJX8G50hfHQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1809&printsec=frontcover |title=Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary |date=2012 |publisher=Orion |isbn=978-1-78022-536-4 |language=en}}</ref> and wore leather clothes<ref>{{Cite web |title=1940's Adolf Hitler in leather trench coat salutes lines of troops with swastika flags in background |url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-1940s-adolf-hitler-in-leather-trench-coat-salutes-lines-of-troops-111869485.html |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=[[Alamy]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Eberle |first=Henrik |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlerbooksecret0000eber/page/200/mode/2up |title=The Hitler book : the secret dossier prepared for Stalin |date=2005 |publisher=London : John Murray |others= |isbn=978-0-7195-5498-8 |pages=200}}</ref> and shoes<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eberle |first=Henrik |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlerbooksecret0000eber/page/270/mode/2up |title=The Hitler book : the secret dossier prepared for Stalin |date=2005 |publisher=London : John Murray |others= |isbn=978-0-7195-5498-8 |pages=271}}</ref> till his last day.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Junge |first=Traudl |url=https://www.google.co.il/books/edition/Until_the_Final_Hour/mJX8G50hfHQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1903&printsec=frontcover |title=Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary |date=2012 |publisher=Orion |isbn=978-1-78022-536-4 |language=en}}</ref> Even the inside pockets of his trousers were unusually made of leather and not cloth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Misch |first=Rochus |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlerslastwitne0000misc/mode/2up |title=Hitler's last witness : the memoirs of Hitler's bodyguard |date=2014 |publisher=Frontline Books |others= |isbn=978-1-84832-749-8 |pages=153}}</ref>
==Analysis==
[[File:Adolf Hitler and Blondi at the Berghof.jpg|thumb|right|Hitler with his [[German Shepherd]], [[Blondi]] |alt=A full-length portrait of Hitler in military uniform holding a Blondi on a leash]]
Prior to the [[Second World War]], there are many accounts of Hitler's eating meat (including stuffed squab and [[Bavarian cuisine#Sausages and meat dishes|Bavarian sausages]]) and [[caviar]].<ref name=Lucas/><ref>(Payne Robert: The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler, (New York: Praeger, 1973), pp. 346-7)</ref> According to Ilse Hess, in 1937 Hitler ceased eating all meat except for liver dumplings,<ref name=Toland/> an account that Dr Kalechofsky found "consistent with other descriptions of Hitler's diet, which always included some form of meat, whether ham, sausages or liver dumplings."<ref>(Kalechofsky, op. cit., p. 2. / Toland, op cit., p. 826)</ref> Frau Hess's comments are also backed up by several biographies about Hitler, with Fritz Redlich noting that Hitler "avoided any kind of meat, with the exception of an Austrian dish he loved, Leberknödl".<ref>(Fritz Redlich M.D, Hitler: Diagnosis of a Destructive Prophet (Oxford: OUP, 1998), pp. 77–8)</ref> Thomas Fuchs concurred, observing that a "typical day's consumption included eggs prepared in any number of ways, spaghetti, baked potatoes with cottage cheese, oatmeal, stewed fruits and vegetable puddings. Meat was not completely excluded. Hitler continued to eat a favourite dish, Leberklösse (liver dumplings)."<ref>(Thomas Fuchs (2000). A Concise Biography of Adolf Hitler. New York: [[Berkley Books]]. p. 78)</ref>
Some people have theorised that claims of Hitler ever being vegetarian were untrue and just for his image. The English historian [[Robert Payne (author)|Robert Payne]], in his book ''The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler'', believed that Hitler's diet was [[Asceticism|ascetic]] and deliberately fostered by Goebbels to emphasise Hitler's self-control and total dedication to Germany.<ref name=payne>{{cite book |title= The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler |last=Payne |first=Robert |year=2002 |publisher=Dorset Press |___location=New York |page=346 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Life-and-Death-of-Adolf-Hitler#page/n373/mode/2up |quote=Hitler's asceticism played an important part in the image he projected over Germany. According to the widely believed legend, he neither smoked nor drank, nor did he eat meat or have anything to do with women. Only the first was true. He drank beer and diluted wine frequently, had a special fondness for Bavarian sausages and kept a mistress, Eva Braun, who lived with him quietly in the Berghof. There had been other discreet affairs with women. His asceticism was fiction invented by Goebbels to emphasize his total dedication, his self-control, the distance that separated him from other men. By this outward show of asceticism, he could claim that he was dedicated to the service of his people.}}</ref> [[Rynn Berry]]—a vegetarian activist and author on vegetarian history—supported the notion that Hitler's vegetarianism was "a marketing scheme concocted by Nazi propagandists" who wished to create a better public perception of Hitler, and was mostly for health reasons rather than moral ones (noting his fondness for liver dumplings), concluding that "Hitler was in no way an [[Ethics|ethical]] vegetarian".<ref name="Rudacille2015">{{cite book|author=Deborah Rudacille|title=The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The War Between Animal Research and Animal Protection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LPPCgAAQBAJ|date=15 December 2015|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-1-4668-9528-7|pages = 88–89}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Frangos|first=Alex|date=26 February 2004|title=Carni-Fuhrer|website=[[Slate.com]]|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2004/02/was-hitler-a-vegetarian.html|accessdate=24 February 2022}}</ref> In 1997, Wolfgang Fröhlich, [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust denier]] and former [[Districts of Austria|district council]] member for the [[Freedom Party of Austria|Freedom Party]], alleged that Hitler's favorite food was ''[[Eiernockerl]]'', or egg dumplings.<ref name=jp>{{cite news |title=Some Austrians celebrated 4/20 by eating Hitler's favorite dish|url=https://www.jpost.com/International/Some-Austrians-celebrate-420-by-eating-Hitlers-favorite-dish-451938|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=21 April 2016|access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref>
However, available evidence suggests that Hitler—also an [[Vivisection|antivivisectionist]]—may have followed his selective diet out of a profound concern for animals based on his private behaviour.{{sfn|Dietrich|2010|p=172}} At social events, he sometimes gave graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make his dinner guests shun meat.<ref name="Wilson1998" /> In the [[BBC]] series ''[[The Nazis: A Warning from History]]'', an eyewitness account tells of Hitler watching films (which he did very often). If ever a scene showed (even fictional) cruelty to or death of an animal, Hitler would cover his eyes and look away until someone alerted him the scene was over.{{Episode needed|date=January 2025}}{{Time needed|date=January 2025}}
More recently, scholars including [[Alan Bullock]], Arnold Aluke, Clinton Sanders, and Robert Procter have said that Hitler—at least during the war—followed a vegetarian diet.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=388}}<ref name="Rudacille2015" /> Hitler was put on a meat-free diet in 1938 by his doctors because of his failing health, but his interest in vegetarianism preceded this and may have had an ideological or psychological basis.<ref name="Rudacille2015" /> The psychoanalyst [[Erich Fromm]] speculated that Hitler's vegetarianism was actually a means of atoning for the guilt he felt towards the suicide of his half-niece and mistress [[Geli Raubal]], as well as a means of proving to himself and others that he was incapable of killing.<ref name="fromm">{{cite book | last = Fromm | first = Erich | title = The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness | publisher = [[Henry Holt and Company]] | ___location = New York | year = 1992 | page = [https://archive.org/details/anatomyofhumande00from_0/page/450 450] | isbn = 0-8050-1604-X | url = https://archive.org/details/anatomyofhumande00from_0/page/450 }}</ref>
It has also been theorised that Hitler's diet may have been based on [[Richard Wagner]]'s historical theories<ref name="Proctor136">Proctor 1999, p. 136. "Several of [Hitler's] biographers point to the influence of nationalist antisemitic composer, Richard Wagner." See also: Moore, Gregory. (2002). ''Nietzsche, Biology and Metaphor''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-81230-5}}. pp. 155-157:</ref> which connected the future of Germany with vegetarianism.<ref name="Arluke144150">Arluke & Sanders 1996, pp. 144, 150.</ref> In the book ''[[The Mind of Adolf Hitler]]'' by the psychologist [[Walter C. Langer]], the author speculates: {{blockquote|If he (Hitler) does not eat meat, drink alcoholic beverages, or smoke, it is not due to the fact that he has some kind of inhibition or does it because he believes it will improve his health. He abstains from these because he is following the example of the great German, Richard Wagner, or because he has discovered that it increases his energy and endurance to such a degree that he can give much more of himself to the creation of the new German Reich.<ref>Langer, Walter C. (1972). ''The Mind of Adolf Hitler'', New York, pp. 54-55</ref>}}
Others have connected Hitler's avoidance of meat to the dietary traditions of his home region: Austrian [[historian]] Roman Sandgruber, in his biography of Hitler's father [[Alois Hitler|Alois]], notes that the traditional foods of [[Braunau am Inn]] were mostly meatless, with ''[[Kaiserschmarrn]]'', ''[[Eiernockerl]]'', and ''[[Rohrnudeln]]'' all being popular, giving young Adolf a taste for [[cabbage]], [[dumpling]]s, and [[pastries]].<ref name=father>{{cite book |last=Sandgruber|first=Roman |date=2022 |title=Hitler's Father: Hidden Letters – Why the Son Became a Dictator |publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books|Frontline Books]]|isbn= 9781399019279}}</ref>{{rp|110}}
The researchers [[Arnold Arluke]] and Boria Sax, in a paper published in ''[[Anthrozoös]]'', concluded that the concern for animals and devotion to pets demonstrated by Hitler and many prominent Nazi Germans was due to "animals being seen as 'virtuous', 'innocent', and embodying ideal qualities absent in most humans. Indeed, to hunt or eat animals was itself defiling, a sign of 'decay' and perversion. People, on the other hand, were seen with 'contempt', 'fear', and 'disappointment'."<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Arnold |last1=Arluke |first2=Boria |last2=Sax |title=Understanding Nazi Animal Protection and the Holocaust |journal=Anthrozoös |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233691703 |doi=10.2752/089279392787011638 |date=March 1992 |volume=5 |pages=6–31 |access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref>
Despite Hitler's plans to convert Germany to vegetarianism after the war,<ref name=Nikkhah /> some authors have questioned Hitler's commitment to the vegetarian cause due to the Nazi ban on vegetarian societies and the persecution of their leaders.<ref>{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Charles |url=https://archive.org/details/eternaltreblinka0000patt/page/127/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust |publisher=Lantern Books |year=2002 |isbn=9781930051997 |page=127 |ol=8798509M |ol-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Schwartz|first=Richard|date=1991|title=Don't Put Hitler Among the Vegetarians|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/21/opinion/l-don-t-put-hitler-among-the-vegetarians-800991.html#:~:text=2)%3A%20%22Adolf%20Hitler%20was,his%20primary%20diet%20included%20meat.|accessdate=24 February 2022}}</ref> However, the Nazi ban of non-Nazi organisations was widespread: all opposition political parties were banned,<ref>{{cite book |first=Victoria |last=Barnett |title=For the Soul of the People: Protestant Protest Against Hitler |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195344189 |page=30}}</ref> independent trade unions were replaced by Nazi equivalents,<ref>{{cite book |last=Epstein |first=Catherine A. |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL27182404M/Nazi_Germany |title=Nazi Germany: Confronting the Myths |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2015 |isbn=9781118294789 |series=Wiley Blackwell Short Histories |page=112 |ol=27182404M |ol-access=free}}</ref> while non-government organisations and associations ranging from women's groups to film societies were either dissolved or incorporated into new organisations under the control of the Nazi leadership.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kevin |last=Passmore |title=Fascism: A Very Short Introduction |series=Very Short Introductions |year=2014 |edition=2 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=9780191508561 |page=PT74}}</ref> The Nazi regime also introduced [[Animal welfare in Nazi Germany|animal welfare laws]] which were unparalleled at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Read |first=Anthony |title=The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |___location=New York |year=2004 |isbn=0-393-04800-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/devilsdisciplesh00read/page/327 327] |url=https://archive.org/details/devilsdisciplesh00read/page/327 }}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Animal welfare in Nazi Germany]]
* [[Holocaust analogy in animal rights]]
* [[
* ''[[Reductio ad Hitlerum]]''
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite book
| last = Arluke
| first = Arnold
|author2= Clinton Sanders
| title = Regarding Animals
| publisher = [[Temple University Press]] | year = 1996
| isbn = 1-56639-441-4
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Bullock
| first = Alan
| author-link = Alan Bullock
| title = Hitler: A Study in Tyranny
| year = 1999
| orig-year = 1952
| publisher = Konecky & Konecky
| ___location = New York
| isbn = 978-1-56852-036-0
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Dietrich
| first = Otto
| author-link = Otto Dietrich
| title = The Hitler I Knew: Memoirs of the Third Reich's Press Chief
| publisher = Skyhorse
| ___location = New York
| year = 2010
| isbn = 978-1-60239-972-3
|url=https://archive.org/details/hitleriknewmemoi0000diet
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Hitler
|first=Adolf
|title=Hitler's Table Talk, 1941-1944: His Private Conversations
|publisher=Enigma Books
|year=2000
|isbn=978-1929631056
|translator-last=Cameron
|translator-first=Norman
|translator-last2=Stevens
|translator-first2=R. H.
|url=https://archive.org/details/HitlerTableTalk
|format=PDF
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Proctor
| first = Robert N.
| title = The Nazi War on Cancer
| publisher = [[Princeton University Press]] | year = 1999
| isbn = 0-691-07051-2
}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Ferguson|first=R.|title=Hitler Was A Vegetarian|publisher=Famedram Publishers Ltd|year=2001|isbn=0-905489-71-3}}
{{Adolf Hitler}}
[[Category:Adolf Hitler|Vegetarianism]]
[[Category:Vegetarianism in Germany]]
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