Was Adolf Hitler a Vegetarian?

January 2, 2018
Occupy Democrats Parody

It’s certainly not true that every life choice made by history’s most nefarious characters can be summarily discarded as a key component of their villainy, however, judging by the actions and attitudes of contemporaries in the militaristic campaign to enforce Veganism, no link to Fascism should be taken as much of a surprise.

Per this seemingly informed response…

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. Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark met with Hitler in 1932 and wrote in her memoirs that she had been “warned he was a vegetarian, and found it difficult to plan an appropriate meal”, but this is contradicted by Dione Lucas, a chef at a Hamburg hotel patronised by Hitler prior to the war, who claimed that her stuffed squab was a favourite of his. According to Ilse Hess (wife of Rudolph Hess), in 1937 Hitler ceased eating meat except for liver dumplings. Margot Wölk, who became his unwilling food taster in 1942, stated that all the food she tested for Hitler was vegetarian, and she recalled no meat or fish.

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.” In addition, Marlene von Exner, who became Hitler’s dietician in 1943, reportedly added bone marrow to his soups without his knowledge because she “despised” his vegetarian diet.

Prior to the Second World War, there are many accounts of Hitler eating meat, including stuffed squab, Bavarian sausages and caviar. According to Ilse Hess, in 1937 Hitler ceased eating all meat except for liver dumplings, 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.” 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 (liver dumpling)”. 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, Leberkloesse (liver dumplings).”

Today, it is acknowledged by historians that Hitler – at least during the war – followed a vegetarian diet. At social events, he sometimes gave graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make his dinner guests shun meat. An antivivisectionist, Hitler may have followed his selective diet out of a profound concern for animals. Bormann had a greenhouse constructed near the Berghof (near Berchtesgaden) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for Hitler throughout the war. Adolf Hitler and vegetarianism – Wikipedia

Margot Woelk, 95, said that Hitler ate only the freshest fruit and vegetables during the two and a half years that she was forced to check his food for traces of poison.

During the Second World War, Mrs Woelk, a German citizen whose husband had been sent to fight, was taken by the SS to Hitler’s Eastern Front headquarters in modern-day Poland, known as the “Wolf’s Lair”.

There, she joined a team of a dozen other women whose job it was to protect Hitler from any attempts to poison him.

She said: “Between 11 and 12 o’clock, we had to taste the food, and only after all of us had tried it was it driven to the headquarters by the SS.

“It was all vegetarian, the most delicious fresh things, from asparagus to peppers and peas, served with rice and salads. It was all arranged on one plate, just as it was served to him. There was no meat and I do not remember any fish.

“Of course I was afraid. If it had been poisoned I would not be here today. We were forced to eat it, we had no choice.”

Hitler’s apparent enthusiasm for vegetarianism reflected the Nazi obsession with Aryan bodily purity.

A Hitler Youth manual from the 1930s promoted soya beans, which it called “Nazi beans” as an alternative to meat.

In 1942, Hitler told Joseph Goebbels that he intended to convert Germany to vegetarianism when he won the war.

But although he referred to meat broth as “corpse tea”, he was not fastidious about declining meat. Dione Lucas, his cook before the war, claimed that he was a fan of stuffed pigeon and he was also known to be partial to Bavarian sausages and the occasional slice of ham. Hitler’s food taster speaks of Führer’s vegetarian diet