33 Adolf Hitler Facts That Reveal The Strange Man Behind The Monster

From his secret cocaine addiction to his intense cat phobia, these Hitler facts expose everything you never knew about history’s most infamous villain.

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Charles Manson Facts That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster

The Four Forgotten Men Who Aided Adolf Hitler’s Rise To Power

William Patrick Hitler, The Nephew Of Adolf Hitler And A U.S. Navy Veteran

1 of 34He practiced his speeches by having photos taken of himself in various poses.Heinrich Hoffmann/Getty Images 2 of 34Historians agree that he never once visited a single concentration camp.Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34He reportedly suffered from a fear of cats.Wikimedia Commons 4 of 34He regularly used cocaine during the war years.Wikimedia Commons 5 of 34He was Austrian, not German, and didn’t move to Germany until the start of World War I.Wikimedia Commons 6 of 34He was obsessed with his teenage niece, making her a virtual prisoner in his home and perhaps his lover.ullstein bild via Getty Images 7 of 34She died in a suspicious “suicide” with Hitler’s gun the same day they argued about her trying to flee to Vienna.ullstein bild via Getty Images 8 of 34Before his father changed it, the family name was Schicklgruber.Wikimedia Commons 9 of 34Medical records show that he only had one testicle.Recuerdos de Pandora/Flickr 10 of 34He received injections of bull semen to enhance his sexual virility.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons 11 of 34There’s no evidence to support the popular theory that his father’s family was Jewish, but family DNA does contain elements common among Jews and Africans.Josef Reinegger/Wikimedia Commons 12 of 34A priest saved him from drowning in a frozen lake as a child, reports suggest.Hulton Archive/Getty Images 13 of 34Before he adopted his signature mustache, he had a handlebar mustache but had to trim it after joining the army. German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons 14 of 34He had extreme gastrointestinal issues and farted uncontrollably.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons 15 of 34Records show that he suffered a host of maladies including irritable bowel syndrome and Parkinson’s disease.German Federal Archive/Wikimedia Commons 16 of 34Bizarre treatments for his various maladies included leeches and a meth-like compound called Pervitin.Wikimedia Commons 17 of 34The Allies planned to slip estrogen into Hitler’s food in hopes of making him more feminine and less aggressive.Wikimedia Commons 18 of 34He was the first European leader to ban the operation of human zoos.Missouri History Museum/Wikimedia Commons 19 of 34He became incredibly paranoid after a food poisoning attempt and had a staff of 15 terrified young women taste test all his meals.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images 20 of 34After a few rogue Nazi officers almost succeeded in killing him in 1944, he had 5,000 people executed in response.Wikimedia Commons 21 of 34There were at least 42 known assassination plots against Hitler.Wikimedia Commons 22 of 34He was a big fan of movies and some of his favorites included King Kong and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Wikimedia Commons 23 of 34He had a plot to kill Winston Churchill with a bomb planted in chocolate. British spies were able to foil the plan, however.National Portrait Gallery/Wikimedia Commons 24 of 34He squandered his inheritance while trying to be an artist and ended up in homeless shelters.Wikimedia Commons 25 of 34He wanted desperately to be a painter but failed to get into art school — twice.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons 26 of 34While fighting in WWI, he temporarily went blind from a mustard gas attack.Wikimedia Commons 27 of 34He spared the life of a Jewish doctor who treated his family during tough financial times and called him “noble Jew.“Wikimedia Commons 28 of 34He had a nephew named William Patrick Hitler (left) who fought against the Axis as a member of the U.S. Navy.Bettmann/Getty Images 29 of 34He collected Jewish artifacts with plans to build a museum for what he hoped would be an extinct race after World War II. Wikimedia Commons 30 of 34He was kind of a health nut and didn’t eat meat, smoke or drink alcohol by the time of World War II.Heinrich Hoffmann/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 31 of 34Though he didn’t drink, he was on dozens of various drugs at once. Wikimedia Commons 32 of 34Saddam Hussein’s bunker was created by the grandson of the woman who created Hitler’s bunker.Chris Hondros/Getty Images 33 of 34His last name comes from the German for “one who lives in a hut.“German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons 34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

33 Facts About Adolf Hitler That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster View Gallery

It’s possible that no historical figure of the 20th century remains as well-known and widely discussed as Adolf Hitler. The leader of Nazi Germany before and during World War II and a man whose belligerent, genocidal policies led to the deaths of tens of millions of people, he has been etched into the history books where he’ll stay forever as one of the most reviled humans to have ever lived.

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Charles Manson Facts That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster

The Four Forgotten Men Who Aided Adolf Hitler’s Rise To Power

William Patrick Hitler, The Nephew Of Adolf Hitler And A U.S. Navy Veteran

Flipboard

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Charles Manson Facts That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster

The Four Forgotten Men Who Aided Adolf Hitler’s Rise To Power

William Patrick Hitler, The Nephew Of Adolf Hitler And A U.S. Navy Veteran

Flipboard

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Charles Manson Facts That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster

The Four Forgotten Men Who Aided Adolf Hitler’s Rise To Power

William Patrick Hitler, The Nephew Of Adolf Hitler And A U.S. Navy Veteran

Flipboard

Share
Flipboard
Email

Flipboard

1 of 34He practiced his speeches by having photos taken of himself in various poses.Heinrich Hoffmann/Getty Images

2 of 34Historians agree that he never once visited a single concentration camp.Wikimedia Commons

3 of 34He reportedly suffered from a fear of cats.Wikimedia Commons

4 of 34He regularly used cocaine during the war years.Wikimedia Commons

5 of 34He was Austrian, not German, and didn’t move to Germany until the start of World War I.Wikimedia Commons

6 of 34He was obsessed with his teenage niece, making her a virtual prisoner in his home and perhaps his lover.ullstein bild via Getty Images

7 of 34She died in a suspicious “suicide” with Hitler’s gun the same day they argued about her trying to flee to Vienna.ullstein bild via Getty Images

8 of 34Before his father changed it, the family name was Schicklgruber.Wikimedia Commons

9 of 34Medical records show that he only had one testicle.Recuerdos de Pandora/Flickr

10 of 34He received injections of bull semen to enhance his sexual virility.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

11 of 34There’s no evidence to support the popular theory that his father’s family was Jewish, but family DNA does contain elements common among Jews and Africans.Josef Reinegger/Wikimedia Commons

12 of 34A priest saved him from drowning in a frozen lake as a child, reports suggest.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

13 of 34Before he adopted his signature mustache, he had a handlebar mustache but had to trim it after joining the army. German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

14 of 34He had extreme gastrointestinal issues and farted uncontrollably.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

15 of 34Records show that he suffered a host of maladies including irritable bowel syndrome and Parkinson’s disease.German Federal Archive/Wikimedia Commons

16 of 34Bizarre treatments for his various maladies included leeches and a meth-like compound called Pervitin.Wikimedia Commons

17 of 34The Allies planned to slip estrogen into Hitler’s food in hopes of making him more feminine and less aggressive.Wikimedia Commons

18 of 34He was the first European leader to ban the operation of human zoos.Missouri History Museum/Wikimedia Commons

19 of 34He became incredibly paranoid after a food poisoning attempt and had a staff of 15 terrified young women taste test all his meals.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

20 of 34After a few rogue Nazi officers almost succeeded in killing him in 1944, he had 5,000 people executed in response.Wikimedia Commons

21 of 34There were at least 42 known assassination plots against Hitler.Wikimedia Commons

22 of 34He was a big fan of movies and some of his favorites included King Kong and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.Wikimedia Commons

23 of 34He had a plot to kill Winston Churchill with a bomb planted in chocolate. British spies were able to foil the plan, however.National Portrait Gallery/Wikimedia Commons

24 of 34He squandered his inheritance while trying to be an artist and ended up in homeless shelters.Wikimedia Commons

25 of 34He wanted desperately to be a painter but failed to get into art school — twice.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

26 of 34While fighting in WWI, he temporarily went blind from a mustard gas attack.Wikimedia Commons

27 of 34He spared the life of a Jewish doctor who treated his family during tough financial times and called him “noble Jew.“Wikimedia Commons

28 of 34He had a nephew named William Patrick Hitler (left) who fought against the Axis as a member of the U.S. Navy.Bettmann/Getty Images

29 of 34He collected Jewish artifacts with plans to build a museum for what he hoped would be an extinct race after World War II. Wikimedia Commons

30 of 34He was kind of a health nut and didn’t eat meat, smoke or drink alcohol by the time of World War II.Heinrich Hoffmann/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

31 of 34Though he didn’t drink, he was on dozens of various drugs at once. Wikimedia Commons

32 of 34Saddam Hussein’s bunker was created by the grandson of the woman who created Hitler’s bunker.Chris Hondros/Getty Images

33 of 34His last name comes from the German for “one who lives in a hut.“German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

33 Facts About Adolf Hitler That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster View Gallery

33 Facts About Adolf Hitler That Reveal The Man Behind The Monster

View Gallery

But as infamous as Hitler is even today, how much do most of us know about the man himself? Beyond a few cursory bits of information, how many Adolf Hitler facts do most of us know that reveal the actual person behind some of the most infamous crimes in human history?

Born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, his life was marked by conflict and strife from the beginning. As a boy, he clashed constantly with his strict father who didn’t approve of his son’s disrespectful behavior in school or his interest in fine arts.

Not long after his father died suddenly in 1903, Hitler dropped out of school and was soon squandering his inheritance while studying fine art in Vienna and twice failing to gain admittance to the city’s Academy of Fine Arts.

It was around this time that Hitler first began to express the kind of German nationalism and anti-Semitism that would define his legacy. These feelings only intensified during and especially after his military service in World War I.

He received the Iron Cross for bravery on the war’s Western Front (though most historians agree that he mainly served as a dispatch runner and a functionary at headquarters well behind the front lines). But when the war ended in defeat for the Germans and the Treaty of Versailles punished the country, Hitler grew irredeemably bitter and angry.

Like many Germans, Hitler blamed his army’s defeat and the downtrodden conditions in postwar Germany on Jews, Marxists, and the German government. He found like-minded people in the Munich-based German Workers’ Party and soon threw himself into political life full time, making speeches and leading events for his right-wing cause.

By 1921, Hitler had grown popular thanks to his speeches and became chairman of what was now calling itself the Nazi Party. But his time at the top didn’t last long thanks to a failed 1923 coup attempt known as the Beer Hall Putsch that landed him in jail for a year.

While imprisoned, Hitler wrote the political manifesto that largely defines his views to this day: Mein Kampf. Over the course of the next decade or so, the book went on to sell 5 million copies, bring Hitler’s radical ideas to the masses and help elevate him to power.

As Hitler built up the Nazi Party following his release from prison, millions of Germans began responding to the kinds of ideas put forth in Mein Kampf and the Nazis were soon scoring victories in national elections. Eventually, they had a majority presence in Parliament and a few key politicians told President Paul von Hindenburg that it would make sense to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in 1933.

When Hindenburg died the following year, the Nazi Party was stronger than ever and Hitler was able to declare himself Führer of Germany. The rest, as they say, is history.

From his ascendancy as dictator to his suicide alongside new wife Eva Braun near the end of the war in 1945, his actions would all but destroy Europe in his quest to conquer neighboring countries while the Holocaust saw the extermination of Jews, homosexuals, Romani, Poles, the disabled, and anyone else who didn’t fit into Hitler’s warped view of a master Aryan race.

So devastating were these acts that Hitler’s name obviously remains known — and despised — around the world decades upon decades later. But for all the disturbing Adolf Hitler facts you don’t know, see the gallery above.

After this look at the most fascinating Adolf Hitler facts, read up on the Hitler family both before and after Adolf. Then, see some of the most disturbing photos taken inside the Hitler Youth.

From his secret cocaine addiction to his intense cat phobia, these Hitler facts expose everything you never knew about history’s most infamous villain.#

From his secret cocaine addiction to his intense cat phobia, these Hitler facts expose everything you never knew about history’s most infamous villain.