Why was Hitler a Vegetarian?

[UPENDRA GADKARY]

Books on Nazi Germany say Hitler was a Vegetarian and that Himmler was also a Vegetaran.Was it a coincedance or was it due to some ocult beleives that they practiced strict vegetarianism.

Can anybody give their views.

[Mike K.]

Hitler was a vegetarian for medical reasons, he had some issues with flatulence and was concious about his weight. Himmler was more of what you might call a "new age health nut", and also had a keen interest in the possible healing properties of natural herbs.

[Skorzy]

Correct me if I am wrong; AH was not a strict vegeterian in a sense of this term as we now understand it - he had a vegtebale orienteted diet and he avoided meats, but would eat for example light chicken soup or stock.

[Colbro]

You're dead right Skorzy. That and quite a few other things like various game and Bavarian sausages!
Good links here!
http://www.ivu.org/history/europe20a/hitler.html

[1939]

When he was depressed, he used to eat fish. River one mainly.
I heard that in his last days, he consumed the "Trout alla Wienna" each day.

[Redbaron1908]

I think that i ve seen a picture of him in his early days in bavaria eating sausages

[Scott Smith]

Hitler had an untreated gall-bladder condition which made eating rich foods intolerable. Therefore he evolved his own bland, nearly-vegetarian diet.

[U99]

Good links here!
http://www.ivu.org/history/europe20a/hitler.html

My God Colbro, this is a vegetarian denier site that tries to make excuses for the atrocities of the massive worldwide vegetarian/vegan conspiracy.

This site is to be taken with a very big grain of salt. Firstly we have Rynn Berry suggesting that vegetarianism will bring about world peace (and also that Hitler persecuted vegetarian organisations all over Germany and the occupied territories - Anyone know about this?), and that the acknowledgment of animal rights and vegetarianism is mankind's highest moral act. Secondly Roberta Kalechovsky's article is bit more descriptive, but her conclusion makes it seem like the Gestapo would have been hunting down secret societies of vegetarians constantly. All of the articles seem to work from the basis that being vegetarian is some sort of state of grace or something.

But anyway, thanks for the laugh Colbro.

[Javier Acuña]

I once read in this same site that AH went vegetarian because after the death of his niece Geli Raubal he ate a jam that looked like dead meat so he avoided meat since then.
I hope the contributor who stated that before can backe me up on this.

[Scott Smith]

I once read in this same site that AH went vegetarian because after the death of his niece Geli Raubal he ate a jam that looked like dead meat so he avoided meat since then.
I hope the contributor who stated that before can backe me up on this.

I think the story is that after Geli's suicide a distraught Adolf looked upon a ham and thought it resembled a corpse, and thus he became a vegetarian. He also had some interest in the Aryan origins of Hindu mysticism. (Hindus usually avoid eating meat and doing harm to animals.)

The story is retold by William L. Shirer, IIRC, and his source is probably the notorious liar and good-old-boy, Adolf's former friend, Putzi Hanfstängl. Sorry, I don't have it on me so I can't check.

But bellyaches are the real reason that AH evolved into a meatless (or nearly so) diet.

[Roberto]

"Don't be frightened - he's a vegetarian."

[Max]

If only he had stuck to vegetarianism.

[Mike K.]

Heartfield was a Communist propagandist, it's not surprising he wouldn't be too fond of Hitler.

"The last piece of bread robbed from them by Capitalism! Fight for yourself and your children! Vote Communism! Vote Thälmann!"

[Max]

AHA!!!!!!!

[Mike K.]

I don't get it. Hitler is Marx or Santa Claus or something? Either is absurd.