A.Plan of Investigation
b.To include all German-speaking people in the Third Reich and LebensraumBecause of the Anglo-French policy of appeasement, from 1936 to 1939, Germany gradually annexed its neighboring area—from Rhineland to Austria, to Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia. Finally, when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.
According to Record, “World War II could have been avoided had the democracies been prepared to stop Hitler’s remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936 or to fight for Czechoslovakia in 1938; instead, they did nothing.”
3.Hitler’s Medical History Hitler was a “pronounced hypochondriac,” it was evident from the fact that since “his earliest youth he rarely traveled without his medicine cabinet and willingly believed himself incapable of survival without pills, injections and battalions of attendant doctors.” During the First World War, Hitler wounded his leg and was temporarily blinded by British gas attack. In his later life, it was said that he suffered from many different medical issues, e.g. skin lesions, irritable bowel syndrome and irregular heartbeats. It was even rumored that he had syphilis because Dr. Morell, Hitler’s most trusted physician, was a renowned venerologist. However, there is no concrete evidence that supports Hitler was definitely suffering from syphilis, but it was sure that his health slipped as World War II came to an end. He had tremors in his hands, his body was stiff, and he could not walk briskly as before. His handwriting became scrawnier and smaller (Appendix A), he was more lethargic and seldom appeared in front of the public.
4.Parkinson’s disease“Parkinson’s disease was described by James Parkinson in 1817 as a ‘shaking palsy’,” and it is a “chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by decreased production of dopamine,” and the lack of dopamine “disrupts [patients’] motor control, causing anything from uncontrollable tremor to muscular stiffness to slow as-molasses motions.” As the disease progresses, patients will “develop a peculiar shuffling walk and may suddenly freeze in space for minutes or hours at a time.” The criteria to diagnose Parkinson’s disease from the Core Assessment Program for Intracerebral Transplantations (CAPIT) “require a patient to have at least two of its four cardinal symptoms: resting tremor, bradykinesia, cogwheel rigidity and postural instability and at least one of the symptoms must be resting tremor or bradykinesia.”
Dr. Theodor Morell was Hitler’s personal and most trusted physician from 1937 till the end of April in 1945 Hitler did not like doctors to see his body. Only “Morell seems to have examined him in detail.” Besides showing the level of trust Hitler had in him, the resulting medical diaries provide invaluable information and the most authentic records regarding to Hitler’s health.
David Irving, “knows more about National Socialism [Nazism] then most professional scholars in his field.” His breadth of knowledge in the subject has been acknowledged over the past 25 years. However, he is now arrested for distorting history. History Professor Michael Greyer of the University of Chicago “believes that Irving’s bias is responsible for serious ‘flaws in his work,’” while Professor Lipstadt “had written that Irving was ‘one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial.’” Irving is a knowledgeable Nazi historian, although his bias in the Holocaust made him controversial and his opinions untrustworthy, he can still provide useful information regarding to Hitler’s health. However, it is also questionable as in how Irving chose the excerpts of Morells’s diaries: what was left out, and how important was the left out information.
-Lieberman, Abraham N. “Hitler, Parkinson’s Disease and History.” BNI Quarterly 11 (1996). 31 Jan 2007 Abraham Lieberman is an authority and an “internationally recognized expert on Parkinson disease and is the author of six books on the topic.” While his diagnoses are worthy of respect, he is only in the position to focus on the question about whether Hitler had Parkinson’s disease through eye-witness reports, photos and the Newsreels. He does not appear to offer other possibilities which could cause Hitler’s Parkinson’s symptoms. For example, General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is caused by excessive anxiety and worry for at least 6 months, and the symptoms include fatigue, irritability, muscle tension and depressive symptoms. There is a possibility that Hitler was suffering from GAD than Parkinson’s disease, and his anxiety could be caused by the war pressure and assassination attempts.
His attempts at diagnosing Hitler are based on the scant and unreliable information available, dismissing diagnoses when there is too little evidence (much of which is hotly debated by Hitler scholars) or the known symptoms are inconclusive, although given that there is so little information and that neither Hitler nor anyone surrounding him is a reliable source, it is still primarily speculation.
D.Analysis of the sources
Lieberman also pointed out that “Professor Maximilian de Crinis, a German neurologist, after seeing a German newsreel in 1944 and without examining Hitler, informed W. Schellenberg, Himmler’s Chief of Staff, that Hitler had Parkinson’s disease.” Here we have the first example found of someone during Hitler’s lifetime reaching such a conclusion. Ironically, the person who apparently first diagnosed Hitler with PD was not even a personal acquaintance. Could it have been possible that Hitler and his physicians sought to cover up Hitler’s tremor because “Tremor, in the public mind, is erroneously associated with senility” ? For instance, in an earlier example of physical infirmity, when he had an attack of hysterical blindness several weeks after being wounded by poison gas in the trenches, his "miraculous" recovery of his sight added with auditory hallucinations contributed to Hitler’s delusions. This shows how he took steps to cover up the episode.
Furthermore, Morell continue testing new methods on Hitler with many different kinds of medicine and injections. “Morell administered tablets and gragess, uppers and downers, leeches and bacilli, hot compresses and cold poultices, and literally thousands of injections-litres of mysterious fluids that were squirted into his grateful and gullible Fuhrer each year, whose arms were punctured so often that even Morell sometimes could not find anywhere to insert the needle into the scarred veins.” With such a large amount and variety of medicines, Hitler’s tremor or sickness could be resulted from the reaction between these medicines. Although Morell had mostly prescribed harmless medicines to Hitler, it is unknown what could the mixture of these harmless medicines do to a patient.
Furthermore, Hitler had reasons to be stressed after Operation Barbarossa in 1941 because it was now having a two-front war. The combination of the stress coming from the reverses at Stalingrad and the July Plot with all the medicine he took and injected daily could cause side effects and affect the Fuhrer’s health and mental capacity, which might result in the symptoms of PD.
E. Conclusion
F. Bibliography
2. Broxmeyer, Lawrence. Parkinson’s Another Look. Chula Vista, U.S.A.: New Century Press, 2002.
3. Bullock, Alan. Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives. London, United Kingdom: Fontana Press, 1998.
4. Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. New York, U.S.A.: Harper & Row Publishers, 1964.
5. Dull, Ralph. Nonviolence Is Not For Wimps. U.S.A.: Xlibris Corporation, 2004.
6. Dunn, Walter Scott. Heroes or Traitors: The German Replacement Army, the July Plot, and Adolf Hitler. Connecticut, U.S.A.: Praeger Publishers, 2003.
7. Gottfried, Ted. Deniers Of the Holocaust: Who They Are, What They Do, Why They Do It. Connecticut, U.S.A.: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001.
8. Gun, Nerin E. Eva Braun: Hitler’s Mistress. London, United Kingdom: Leslie Frewin Publishers, 1969.
9. Irving, David. The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor. London, United Kingdom: Focal Point Publications, 2005.
10. Lieberman, Abraham N. Shaking-Up Parkinson Disease: Fighting Like a Tiger, Thinking Like a Fox. London, United Kingdom: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2002.
11. Macdonald, Hamish. Mussolini and Italian Fascism. United Kingdom: Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd, 1999.
12. Mandell, Richard. The Nazi Olympics. New York, U.S.A.: Macmillan, 1971.
13. Maris, Ronald, Alan Berman, Morton Silverman, and Bruce Bongar. Comprehensive Textbook of Suicidology. New York, U.S.A.: Guilford Press, 2000.
14. McDonough, Frank. Conflict, Communism and Fascism: Europe 1890-1945. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
15. Mera, Steven L. Understanding Disease: pathology and prevention. London, United Kingdom: Nelson Thornes, 2003.
16. Nutt, David, Karl Rickels, and Dan J. Stein. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Symptomatology, Pathogenesis and Management. London, United Kingdom: Martin Dunitz, 2002.
17. Pleshakov, Constantine. Stalin’s Folly: the tragic first ten days of World War II on the Eastern Front. New York, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Books, 2005.
18. Plotnik, Rod. Introduction to Psychology. Belmont, U.S.A.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999.
19. Record, Jeffrey. Appeasement Reconsidered: Investigating the Mythology of the 1930s. U.S.A.:DIANE Publishing., 2005.
20. Saunders, Christopher D, and Kathleen Cahill Allison. Parkinson’s Disease: A New Hope. Boston, U.S.A.: Harvard Health Publications, 2000.
21. Schellenberg, Walter, and Louis Hagen. The Schellenberg Memoirs. A Deutsch, 1956.
22. Todd, Allan. The European Dictatorships: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
23. Victor, George. Hitler: pathology of Evil. Virginia, U.S.A.: Brassey’s, 2000.
Book Online1.Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. 1st ed. Vol. 1. 18 Mar.
History Internal Assessment
Did Adolf Hitler have Parkinson’s disease?
A: Plan of Investigation
Recent medical theories claim that Hitler’s uncharacteristically rushed decisions of the last war-time years can be put down to his diminishing health, specifically Parkinson’s Disease. This investigation will therefore attempt to answer the question “Did Hitler have Parkinson’s Disease?” To do this, Hitler’s health from 1934 – 1945 will be analysed, using sources by contemporaries like Albert Speer, whose observations are crucial in identifying Parkinsonian symptoms, as well as modern historians like David Irving and Parkinson specialist Abraham Lieberman, so as to offer a well-rounded assessment of Hitler’s condition. Two of the sources used in the essay, The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor by David Irving, and Abraham Lieberman’s Furor: Hitler and the Frog: A Medical Murder Mystery and Fairy Tale primarily feature. Irving offers primary sources on Hitler’s medical health, while Lieberman concentrates specifically on the Parkinson’s theory. Each will be investigated to find any correlating proof of Hitler’s Parkinson’s.
Word Count: 150
B: Summary of Evidence
Parkinson’s Disease
First mentioned in James Parkinson’s Essay on the Shaking Palsy in 1871, Parkinson’s disease is a “progressive neurological disorder that results from the degeneration of neurons in a region of the brain that controls movement”, creating “a shortage of dopamine, causing the movement impairments that characterise the disease.” The main motor symptoms that characterise the disease are progressively developing tremors that “often begin on one side of the body, frequently in one hand”, rigidity, slowness of movement and postural instability.
Signs of Hitler’s Parkinson’s before 1940
The first signs of Hitler’s symptoms start occurring in 1934. During the early 1930s, he gesticulates wildly with both hands, showing no signs of motor impairment or rigidity in movement. Photos from 1932 often show him with his left arm crossed over his right. However, come 1934, the first signs of Hitler’s symptoms are recognisable. Noticeably, he now always covers his left hand with his right, as opposed to his usual positioning, most likely to repress the trembling that has started to occur in his left hand. The first obvious occurrences of a trembling left hand and a rigid walk from 1934 onwards, shown in various video footage and increasing in severity throughout the years.
Signs of Hitler’s Parkinson’s after 1940
By 1940, Hitler’s health was deteriorating. He now no longer used his left hand – instead, it was often concealed behind his right arm, placed on his front, in a pocket or clenched in a fist. Consequently, he developed “micrographia, the cramped handwriting characteristic of PD”, seen in the evolvement of his signature over the years. By 1942, Hitler became “an ever more remote figure, making fewer major speeches. ” His contemporaries within the party started to take note of Hitler’s crumbling health. Albert Speer, Hitler’s Minister of Armaments and “the nearest thing to friend Hitler ever found” wrote in 1944: “Hitler was shrivelling up like an old man. His limbs trembled; he walked stooped with dragged footsteps. His uniform, which in the past he’d kept scrupulously clean, was stained by the food he’d eaten with shaking hands.”
German neurologist Maximilian de Crinis declared Hitler had Parkinson’s based on a German newsreel in 1944, informing Schellenberg, Himmler’s Chief of Staff. Notably, however, after the July 1944 bomb plot, Hitler’s tremor reportedly vanished temporarily. Meanwhile, Dr. Theodor Morell, Hitler’s personal physician, also took note of his client’s illness. In his diaries, there is evidence of Hitler’s Parkinsonism; Irving writes of Morell treating Hitler “regularly during the last two weeks of his life with a medication used only against Parkinsonism, daily increasing doses of a drug called Homburg 680.” Daily entries into Hitler’s diary indicate for two to three daily injections of Homburg 680.” Irving further evidences that Hitler’s doctors, including Morell, observed the symptoms, and that Morell diagnosed Hitler with Parkinson’s: “All the doctors – Löhlein, Morell, and Stumpegger – noticed that during examinations of his retina Hitler kept his left hand quite still; the left leg’s tremor also ceased. Morell diagnosed these tremors as the first symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, and on April 8 1945 he began electrogalvanic therapy.”
Word Count: 495
C: Evaluation of Sources
Irving, David. The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor. Macmillan, 1983. Print.
Discovered only in 1981 by the German Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the diaries and correspondence of Hitler’s personal doctor, Theodor Morell, were accessed and translated by David Irving, in which he offers his own insight interwoven with observations of his staff, colleagues and other doctors on Hitler’s health. The openness of a doctor-patient relationship means that the diaries could provide valuable information about his condition. With this new information, parallels between Hitler’s health and the Nazi’s military success can be drawn, revealing a Hitler severely weakened by dysentery during the Battle for Russia in 1941, as well by hepatitis before the Battle of the Buldge in 1944. His paranoia about his own imminent death also becomes apparent, showing Hitler “obsessed by the idea that he did not have long to live.” Meanwhile, contemporary observations and medical reports that suggest drug abuse are crucial, as they do not limit themselves to symptoms of Parkinson’s but offer another important factor in understanding Hitler’s health.
Irving is a British historian specialised on WWII. However, Irving’s denial of the Holocaust, leading to a 13-month sentence in Austria, makes his work controversial and has led to doubts about his opinions. Evans expresses that “Irving was never a reasoned historian. His falsification of history and his obsession with denying the Holocaust was motivated by an uncontrollable hero-worship of Hitler.” Taking this into consideration, one questions the extracts chosen to be included, and what he may have left out. This source may therefore have severe limitations when considering Irving’s possible selective attitude towards the facts.
Lieberman, Abraham. Furor: Hitler and the Frog: A Medical Murder Mystery and Fairy Tale. Publish America, 2009. Print
Lieberman’s book draws an interesting connection between modern neurology and Hitler’s corresponding thinking, mood, behaviour and physical appearance. Doctor Abraham Lieberman is an internationally recognised leader in Parkinson’s and the Medical Director at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Centre. His contemporary medical knowledge and technology give him an advantage in his assessment of Hitler’s health, while his respected status gives him the notion of credibility. In his preface, he writes of his professional motivation as a Parkinson’s specialist, to investigate the effects the disease had on this particular case. His Jewish background and resultant “fascination of Adolf Hitler” also play a role in the creation of the book; Lieberman concluding that the message he wishes to convey is that, “Disease humbles everyone, even awful people.”
However, without examining Hitler directly, Lieberman is not necessarily in a position to make such medical claims. He is limited to individual reports and footage, neither of which guarantee reliability and could be considered insufficient evidence – making his analysis nothing more than speculation. Critically, being a Parkinson’s specialist, Lieberman’s book lacks any alternative illnesses that may have been the reason behind Hitler’s symptoms.
Word Count: 448
D: Analysis
Lieberman’s theory is based on Hitler’s deteriorating physical health, notably the tremor in his left hand. He sources this on individual accounts of Hitler’s contemporaries and on video footage, having studied approximately 300 hours of video material to pinpoint Hitler’s symptoms, example being Hitler’s previously mentioned habit of clenching his right fist, which Lieberman recognises as a common method among Parkinson’s sufferers to supress visible trembling. For Lieberman, the tremor, rigidity, and slow movement are indications of Parkinson’s. Various other historians have taken up this theory to explain Hitler’s condition; such as Evans’s description of Hitler’s “Parkinsonian tremor.” While the temporary disappearance of his tremor after the previously mentioned failed July 1944 bomb plot seem at first to point against Parkinson’s, several cases have shown that after sudden, traumatic events, Parkinson tremors can cease for a period of time. Based on Crinis’s analysis, obtained from newsreels of Hitler’s tremors of the left hand and his general motility, Klaus Fischer states “Hitler definitely had Parkinson’s.” Irving’s book further confirms this, in which Morell’s regular prescription of the drug Homburg 680, used only for treatment against Parkinson’s, supporting Lieberman’s theory. His book is therefore crucial in its synthesis of all available evidence of Hitler’s Parkinson’s. Others, however, disagree, arguing that there are a number of other reasons for Hitler’s poor condition. Martyn Housden dismisses the Parkinson’s theory by saying that tremor was only noticeable on the left side of his body, while Parkinson’s affects both. Instead, he suggests a cardiac condition, which symptoms include “a strong heart beat, troubled breathing, sweats, pressure in the chest and throat, and the sensation that the heart could stop.” Proof of this is an examination conducted in 1940 that “indicated high blood pressure associated with some damage to the heart. The next month an electrocardiograph indicated progressive arteriosclerosis.”
Another school of medical thought is that Hitler suffered from tertiary syphilis, which shows similar symptoms to those of Parkinson’s. This claim originates from Ernst Hanfstängl, who writes that Hitler contracted syphilis in Vienna around 1908. However, the credibility of Hanfstängl’s original argument is questionable, considering that he continues to accuse Hitler of being a “repressed homosexual”, a “sadist and masochist”, and of having an “Oedipus complex.” Furthermore, neither Hanfstängl nor any other historian writing about this provides any scientific evidence to this claim. Once more in support of Lieberman, Irving condemns Hitler’s syphilis as an “American myth”, providing urinalyses and blood serologies that rule out any such infection, while Kurt Krüger, a doctor who had inspected Hitler for the disease, also dismisses it.
Hitler’s mental instability is a further argument supported by Lieberman that corresponds with the mental symptoms of Parkinson’s. In June 1944, Hitler’s contemporaries complained of their leader’s loss of “mental flexibility” during the Allied D-Day attacks in Normandy. By this time, 12 years of Parkinson’s would have taken its toll, clouding his judgement and remaining adamant that the attack would occur in Calais, refusing to move his Panzer divisions. According to Dr Hutton of the Neurology Research Centre in Texas, "Hitler's slowness to counterattack at Normandy may have been secondary to mental inflexibility and difficulty in shifting concepts due to Parkinsonism." Characteristically, Hitler had always been a careful strategist, his slow consolidation of power and strategically timed invasions illustrating his patience: As AJP Taylor argues, “Hitler was unusually cautious and unprovocative in every outstanding step he took” It therefore seems illogical for him to have suddenly changed his plan of action – unless one recognises it as a common symptom of advanced Parkinsonism.
However, Morell’s diaries are vital in giving a broader view of Hitler’s medical situation, rather than a narrow focus on Parkinsonian symptoms. Evidence given in Irving’s book additionally suggests a possibility of drug dependency and abuse, fuelled by Morell, “administering liberal amounts of sulphonamide drugs to treat even the common cold.” Instead of supporting the mental impact of Parkinson’s disease, Irving declares, “It is certain that the daily dose of drugs hastened the collapse of Hitler’s personality.” In particular, his possible misuse of cocaine has been a source of great speculation, Hitler becoming increasingly reliant on Morell’s cocaine-infused concoctions to relieve him of his physical and mental complaints. Personal correspondence with David Irving, however, has confirmed the historian’s belief in the Parkinson theory despite the various possibilities offered in his book, saying that based on Morell’s diaries, “there is no doubt” about it.
Word Count: 733
E: Conclusion
While no definite proof of Hitler’s Parkinson’s exists, the personal observations of his contemporaries, modern medical evaluation of his posture, tremor and mental instability, and particularly Morell’s administration of Homburg 680, all strongly imply Parkinson’s. Furthermore, the medical advancement on Parkinson’s has provided experts with knowledge about the illness that now corresponds with Hitler’s symptoms. This revelation perhaps offers a reason behind Hitler’s baffling decision to launch Operation Barbarossa in 1941. However, although there is no doubt that Hitler was sick, other medical conditions should not be ruled out. While his supposed syphilis may well have simply been an Allied myth and has been disproved by Morell’s medical examinations, stress induced conditions such as General Anxiety Disorder or cardiac problems also seem probable. With no officially documented diagnosis of any specific illness, there can be no certainty in answering this question, but Hitler’s specific symptoms and their progress over time certainly seem to point towards Parkinson’s Disease.
Word Count: 157
F: Bibliography
Barrow Neurological Institute. Abraham Lieberman, MD. 23. Oct. 2012
http://www.thebarrow.org/Neurological_Services/Muhammad_Ali_Parkinson_Center/Movement_Disorders_Clinic/211729
Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. Harper Row, Publishers, Inc., 1964. Print
Evans, Richard J. Telling Lies about Hitler: The Holocaust, History and the David Irving Trial. London: Verso, 2002. Print.
Dull, Ralph. Nonviolence Is Not For Wimps. U.S.A.: Xlibris Corporation, 2004. Print.
Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War. London: Penguin Books Ltd., 2009. Print.
Fischer, Klaus. Hitler and America. U.S.A.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. Print.
Gray, Charles High Court Judge. The Ruling against David Irving: Excerpts from High Court Judge Charles Gray’s Ruling in the David Irving Libel Suit. The Guardian, 2000. 23. Oct. 2012 < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2000/apr/11/irving1>
Hutton, Thomas. Parkinson’s Part in Hitler’s Downfall. BBC News: Health, 1999 24. Oct. 2012 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/406713.stm>
Irving, David. The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor. London: Focal Point Publications, 1983. Print.
Irving, David. Hitler’s War and The War Path. London: Focal Point Publications, 2000.
Print.
Jablonsky, David. Churchill and Hitler: Essays on the Political-Military Direction of Total War. Routledge, 1994. Print.
Kurt Krüger and Sinclair, Upton. I Was Hitler’s Doctor: His Intimate Life. U.S.A.: Kissinger Publishing, 2005. Print.
Lieberman, Abraham. Adolf Hitler had Post-encephalitic Parkinsonism. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders Vol. 2, 1996. 24. Oct. 2012
Lieberman, Abraham. “Hitler, Parkinson’s Disease and History”. BNI Quatery 11 (1996). 21 Oct. 2012
Lieberman, Abraham. Shaking up Parkinson Disease: Fighting Like a Tiger, Thinking Like a Fox. Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2002. Print
Lipstadt, Deborah. History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving. New York: ECCO, 2005. Print.
Lönker, Julia. Personal Interview. 21. November, 2012.
Nicholls, David. Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion. California: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Print.
Portman, Michael E. Generalised Anxiety Disorder Across the Lifespan. U.S.A.: Springer, 2009. Print.
Raico, Ralph. AJP Taylor and the Causes of World War II. New Individualist Review, 1961. 24. Oct. 2012
Ronken, E., and G.J.M. van Sharrenburg. Parkinson’s Disease: Volume I of Solvay Pharmaceuticals Conferences. IOS Press, 2002. Print.
Winters, Adam. Syphilis. U.S.A.: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2006. Print.
Example 4
History HL Internal Assessment
An investigation into the Historical Debate of Hitler’s Alleged Parkinson’s
Disease
Research question
Did Hitler have Parkinson's disease?
Word count: 1199
A. Identification and evaluation of sources
"Medicine is the science of uncertainty and art of probability", stated the so-called father of modern medicine, Sir William Osler. Ever since the last years of WWII, debates have persisted about whether Adolf Hitler's deteriorating health and changed behaviour were symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). This paper investigates this question by analyzing two key medical sources: an expert interview and a declassified report. These provide critical information on Hitler's health from complementary perspectives: expert medical analysis and medical documentation.
Source 1: Mr. Souradip Mookerjee, MB/PhD graduate from the University of Cambridge in the field of Medicine. Interview regarding Parkinson’s disease and whether or not Hitler suffered from the condition. Conducted by candidate. 27 December 2024.
The intention behind this personal interview was to provide an assessment of the challenges in diagnosing Parkinson's disease in historical figures without the use of clinical data. This was ideal as the interview was conducted with Mr. Mookerjee who has a PhD in Medicine whilst also having received the "Barrett Prize” for a project in Pathology particularly in Parkinsonism. The content centres on the degree to which historical accounts and visual evidence of Hitler could be utilised to identify the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as bradykinesia, rigidity and tremors. The value of this source lies in its expert medical insight and methodological grounds for determining whether claimed symptoms by Hitler demonstrate Parkinson's disease. It gives a contemporary concept of neurological disorders and enables one to understand what constitutes proper medical evidence, making the inquiry more analytical. However, one of the limitations is that the interview has to be recent and retrospective. Mr. Mookerjee does not personally examine Hitler and his responses are based on secondary accounts. Moreover, the interview leaves room for potential interviewer bias stemming from the wording of the questions. Besides these limitations the source is significant because it offers a scientific framework that can be implemented to access current medical reports including Leikind’s 1945 intelligence assessment. Therefore, this investigation can determine whether Hitler’s reported symptoms correspond with PD by establishing the diagnostic parameters of the illness.
Source 2: Dr. Leikind, Morris. Declassified Medical Report on Adolf Hitler. Central Intelligence Agency, 1945.
The purpose of the document was to inform Allied intelligence agencies about Hitler’s psychological and strategic analysis to assess his leadership capacity and the impact on German strategic decision-making. The source documents Hitler’s “progressive tremors, rigidity and stooped posture”, signs characteristic of PDs, and states his use of a variety of medicines including strychnine and belladonna under Dr. Theodor Morell. Since it’s from 1945 it provides a near contemporary assessment of Hitler’s health rather than a later retrospective diagnosis. Nevertheless, this keeps it from being fully credible as wartime motives may have dictated the report of Hitler being incapacitated. Therefore, while it offers an insight into understanding Hitler’s condition, it cannot serve as absolute medical evidence. Additionally, since these observations come from Dr. Morell, whose methods and documentation have been widely questioned by those who knew him, this is an additional weakness. Also, its origin as a wartime intelligence report raises the question of possible propaganda motives. The depiction of Hitler as physically incapacitated may have been used to further demean his figure for the sake of Allied psychological warfare.
B. Investigation
"His left hand trembled uncontrollably as he clenched it behind his back, concealing the truth from his closest allies," wrote Speer in Inside the Third Reich. This passage refers to the physical decline of Adolf Hitler in the years toward the close of WWII. Beginning in 1943, several observers, including Speer, reported the following: Parkinson's tremors, shuffling gait, and a general stoop. These observations have caused speculation that Hitler had PD; a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with motor and non-motor impairments. This investigation examines whether Hitler's symptoms are compatible with a diagnosis of PD through critical analysis of eyewitness accounts, video footage, handwriting samples, medical reports, and historical data. Alternative diagnoses are also considered, such as amphetamine-induced parkinsonism and essential tremor, as well as the limitations of retrospective diagnosis.
B. 1 Physical evidence
Motor symptoms such as resting tremors, bradykinesia, and rigidity are defining features of PD. In Hitler's physical decline, as described by eyewitnesses and captured in visual evidence, one sees a close approximation to these symptoms. Particularly, Speer observed a "persistent tremor" in Hitler's left hand by 1943, which worsened during public appearances. To hide the tremor, Hitler frequently gripped items, like his riding crop, or stood with his left hand rigidly behind his back; Speer states that by 1945, Hitler's "posture was stooped" and he walked with a "shuffling gait," indicative of advanced stages of PD. Still, according to Speer, Hitler's sitting stance could also appear "rigid, with an especially pronounced stiffness which made every slight movement an effort". These accounts were further supported by the testimony of Siegfried Knappe, a Wehrmacht officer. Knappe described how Hitler needed support to get up from chairs and had an asymmetric gait, with his left side being weaker than his right. This is consistent with the usual unilateral onset of PD, where motor symptoms start on one side of the body before becoming bilateral. General Heinz Guderian, in his wartime observations, similarly noted that Hitler's steps had become "short and hesitant," with visible effort needed to maintain balance. Visual evidence supports these eyewitness accounts. A 1944 photograph taken during a military briefing shows Hitler holding his cap tightly in his left hand, possibly to hide his tremor.
A motion picture film from July 20, 1944, shortly after the unsuccessful
assassination attempt in the Wolf's Lair, shows a clear record of his tremor
between 1:35 and 1:50 minutes. This same recording shows Hitler's stooped
posture and diminished arm swing on the left side. Another film taken on March
20, 1945, shows Hitler when he is decorating young members of the Hitler Youth;
here also, his shuffling gait and labored movements are characteristic of
bradykinesia. According to the medical report in 1945, Dr. Morris Leikind
claimed that the occurrence of tremors, rigidity, and slowness of movements
matched with symptoms of PD or post-encephalitic parkinsonism. Leikind noted
that these symptoms likely worsened due to Hitler’s exposure to mustard gas
during World War I and his heavy use of medications like strychnine and
belladonna, administered by Dr. Theodor Morell. Speer, Hitler’s Minister for
Armaments, later described Dr. Morell as a “quack”, criticising his
unscientific medical methods. This combination of visual and eyewitness
evidence demonstrates how historians acknowledge the limitations of indirect
interpretation while reconstructing likely medical conditions from fragmentary
sources, ultimately pointing towards PD as a plausible explanation.
B. 2 Handwriting Analysis: Evidence of Micrographia
According to Prof. Dr. Bhattacharyya, micrographia is one of the
hallmark motor symptoms of PD associated with basal ganglia dysfunction, where
the handwriting becomes small and cramped. The decline in the handwriting of
Hitler, supported by data records, is visual proof in line with Parkinsonian
micrographia. Aside from descriptions of rigidity and tremor, it also brings
the burden of proof for the typical features discussed for PD. Clearly,
Hitler's handwriting follows a pattern of such decline over time. Handwriting
samples in the 1930s, the letters he wrote during his early years of
chancellorship, were in fluid and constant strokes with pressure. However,
letters addressed to Heinrich Himmler in 1944 show cramped writing, irregular
spacing, and distortions caused by tremor. For example, samples of handwriting
in June 1944, at the time of the Allied invasion of Normandy, show marked
anomalies: cramped, uneven strokes reflect heightened tremors, important as
micrographia worsens under stress, aligning with Parkinsonian motor decline
rather than random variation (see figure 3). This pattern reflects the
sensitivity of PD symptoms to stress and emotional strain. By 1945, most of
Hitler’s signatures were tremulous and hesitant; he could hardly sign his name comprehensively,
and most of them required several attempts to complete. Stress-related
exacerbation of the micrographia in critical instances of the war is evidenced.
Although the analysis of handwriting alone cannot confirm PD, this finding in
conjunction with other documented motor symptoms provides substantial support
for this diagnosis. Historians like Bullock or Kershaw attribute Hitler's
decline primarily to psychological strain, exposing a persistent
historiographical divide, while medical historians like Bhattacharyya view
these changes as conclusive of Parkinsonism, illustrating how the disciplinary
backgrounds of historians influence how they interpret the same evidence.
Therefore, this suggests that essential tremor is unlikely as it causes action tremors,
and does not produce resting tremors and progressive micrographia as documented
in Hitler’s case.
B. 3 Non-Motor Symptoms: Behavioural and Cognitive Changes
Non-motor symptoms are a critical component of PD, and many of Hitler’s documented behaviours align with these characteristics. Hypomimia, or reduced facial expressivity, is a hallmark symptom. Hitler, known for his animated gestures and intense speeches, was described in his later years as “mask-like” and emotionless. His vocal delivery also changed, becoming slower and monotone, likely due to muscle rigidity in his vocal cords. Cognitive and emotional changes also support the PD hypothesis. Waite described Hitler's progressive irrational decisions, and emotional instability. Particularly, this was most apparent in major military decisions such as the defence of Berlin in 1945. The cognitive rigidity of refusing to retreat when faced with obvious defeat is consistent with frontal-striatal dysfunction seen in advanced PD. Insomnia and nocturnal pacing, frequently reported by staff in the Führerbunker (Führer’s shelter), align with Parkinson’s-related sleep disturbances and anxiety. These symptoms likely compounded Hitler’s physical decline, further impairing his decision-making during critical periods.
B. 4 Alternative Diagnoses: Assessing the Evidence
While PD is the most likely diagnosis, other explanations must be considered. Amphetamine-induced parkinsonism, due to long-term use of the drug, shares many features of PD, including tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. Medical records show that Hitler received daily intravenous injections of amphetamine from 1942 onward. Amphetamine-induced parkinsonism, however, usually resolves after the drug is stopped and does not follow the progressive course seen in Hitler's illness. Another possible cause is essential tremor, which presents with rhythmic shaking of the hands but without other Parkinsonian features such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and micrographia. Moreover, essential tremor cannot explain the non-motor symptoms of hypomania, insomnia, and emotional instability that were present in Hitler's case. Another possibility is post-encephalitic Parkinsonism, a neurological sequel of encephalitis lethargica epidemics in the 1920s. However, there is no reliable evidence that links Hitler to this condition. Vascular Parkinsonism due to cerebrovascular damage can also be ruled out, since there was no history of strokes or ischemic events. None of these alternative diagnoses adequately explain the broad spectrum of symptoms in the case of Hitler.
B. 5 Conclusion
A historian can treat such conclusions as probabilistic reconstructions rather than clinical certainties, although the weight of the evidence most likely points to PD. Nevertheless, the cumulative weight of coherent eyewitness testimony and contemporary record allows historians to conclude with reasonable probability that Hitler’s symptoms were Parkinsonian in nature. His motor symptoms, including tremors, rigidity, bradykinesia, and micrographia, align closely with diagnostic criteria for idiopathic PD. Non-motor symptoms, such as hypomania, cognitive decline, and emotional instability, further corroborate this diagnosis. Alternative explanations, including amphetamine-induced parkinsonism and essential tremor, fail to account for the progressive and multifaceted nature of Hitler’s symptoms. Although the retrospective diagnosis is subject to limitation, the consistency of observations from eyewitness accounts, video footage, handwriting analysis, and medical reports presents evidence. Therefore the investigation underlines the complexity of historical medical assessments, pointing to how important interdisciplinary approaches are when dealing with figures like Hitler.
C. Reflection
The exploration of Hitler’s PD led to a development in my understanding of the difficulties of interpreting biased and incomplete evidence with regard to historical issues. Particularly, one of the key issues throughout the research process has been reconciling the needs of medical analysis with those of the historian. It’s easy to view Hitler's symptoms in the context of modern medicine. However, it’s much more difficult to prove conclusively that these symptoms were definitely those of someone with PD. While tremors and stiffness visible in film evidence may well point to symptoms of the condition, these may also be linked to stress, prescribed medications, and a variety of other conditions such as schizophrenia or autism. To overcome such difficulties, multiple approaches have been considered here, including those of the medic, the eyewitness, and film evidence. The use of pictorial evidence also contributed to methodological challenges. On several video clips, the trembling seemed rather evident; but I soon realised that camera angle, the video quality, and even camera motion might cause an exaggeration of the tremors. I understood that I was consciously seeking signs of Parkinsonism, thus bringing confirmation bias into my analysis. This experience clearly showed me that video evidence is not an objective source of information, but is rather grounded in the assumptions of both the video documentarist and the historian analyzing the video.
Eyewitness testimony, especially the observations of Speer, also had to be carefully analysed. Speer was able to offer vivid observations regarding Hitler’s physical ailment, but his writings post-war were colored by his need to disavow Nazi responsibility. This created the problem of how to distinguish observation from the need to save his own life, though the problem was mitigated to the extent that his observations were cross-checked against other reports and medical opinion. Further, the investigation emphasised the need to study history from different angles without getting swayed by empathy and moral judgments. This was evident in the study of the leaders that were subjected to medical evaluation compared to leaders like Roosevelt who suffered from Poliomyelitis. Finally, this research showed the process of constructing historical knowledge from interpreting partial, prejudiced, and circumstantial evidence.
D. Endnotes/ References
ABC Australia. (1990, May 8). Good Morning Mr. Hitler [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uzhsy84Mus
Adolf Hitler: The bloody legacy [Film]. (n.d.). (Covers 1919–1945).
Bhattacharyya, K. (2015). Adolf Hitler and His Parkinsonism. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 18(4), 387–387. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.169536
Boldt, G. (1973). Hitler: The last ten days, an eyewitness account. New American Library.
Bullock, A. (1962). Hitler: A study in tyranny. Harper & Row. (Original work published 1952)
Der Marsch zum Führer [Film]. (1938). [Nazi propaganda film].
Figure - PMC. (2015). Retrieved June 17, 2025, from Nih.gov website: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4683874/figure/F4/
Figure - PMC. (2015). Retrieved June 17, 2025, from Nih.gov website: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4683874/figure/F2/
Figure - PMC. (2015). Retrieved June 17, 2025, from Nih.gov website: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4683874/figure/F3/
Gupta, R., Kim, C., Agarwal, N., Lieber, B., & Monaco, E. A. (2015). Understanding the Influence of Parkinson Disease on Adolf Hitler’s Decision-Making during World War II. World Neurosurgery, 84(5), 1447–1452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2015.06.014
Hägglund, J. V. (1992). Hitler’s Parkinson’s disease: A videotape illustration. Movement Disorders, 7(4), 383–384. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.870070418
Hitler, A. (1974). Hitler’s letters and notes (W. C. Langer, Ed. & Trans.). Harper & Row.
Knappe, S., & Brusaw, C. T. (1992). Soldat: Reflections of a German soldier, 1936–1949. Dell Publishing.
Leikind, M. (1945). Declassified medical report on Adolf Hitler. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/HITLER%2C%20ADOLF%20%20MEDICAL%20ASSESSMENT%20%28DI%20FILE%29_0002.pdf
Lieberman, A. (1997). Hitler’s Parkinson’s disease began in 1933. Movement Disorders, 12(2), 239–240. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.870120216
Riefenstahl, L. (Director). (1935). Triumph of the Will [Film]. Universum Film AG.
Rosenbaum, R. (1974). The psychopathic god: Adolf Hitler. Harper & Row.
Speer, A. (1970). Inside the Third Reich (R. & C. Winston, Trans.). Macmillan. (Original work published in German 1969)
Trevor-Roper, H. (1947). The last days of Hitler. Macmillan.
E. Appendix
Interview conducted by candidate with Mr. Souradip Mookerjee, MB/PhD graduate from the University of Cambridge in the field of medicine, 27th December 2024
What are typical symptoms and progression of Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically presents with several hallmark motor and non-motor symptoms. On the motor side, one of the earliest and most noticeable signs is a resting tremor, often beginning in one hand before progressing to other parts of the body. Other motor symptoms include bradykinesia (slowness of movement), rigidity, and postural instability, which can cause balance issues. Additionally, patients may exhibit a shuffling gait and difficulty initiating movement, often described as “freezing.” Non-motor symptoms such as anosmia (loss of smell), REM sleep disturbances, and mood disorders like depression often precede the motor symptoms by years. One distinct feature of Parkinson’s is micrographia, where handwriting becomes progressively smaller and harder to read due to difficulty in fine motor control. Facial masking, where patients lose the ability to show expressions, results in a “neutral” or expressionless face. Speech issues such as hypophonia (soft speech) and monotone voice are also common due to muscle rigidity in the vocal cords. As the disease progresses, patients may experience increased difficulty with swallowing and cognitive decline, though the latter is not universal. These symptoms typically worsen over time as the underlying neurodegeneration advances.
Based on these two pictures, what features common to Parkinson’s disease are visible?
In these images, several characteristics associated with Parkinson’s disease are apparent. Firstly, the positioning of one hand behind the back is consistent with an attempt to hide a tremor, a common coping mechanism for patients in early or moderate stages of the disease. Additionally, a slight stoop in posture, visible in these pictures, aligns with the rigidity and bradykinesia seen in Parkinson’s. Facial masking may also be inferred if the subject appears expressionless or neutral in demeanor, which is a result of decreased muscle activity in the face. Furthermore, the stance depicted in the pictures shows a slight asymmetry, which could indicate that the disease predominantly affects one side of the body, especially in its early stages. However, it is important to note the limitations of analyzing static images, as some features, such as tremors, cannot be directly observed without motion.
What about treatment during the 1930s? Was there anything available for Parkinson’s back then?
During the 1930s, effective treatment options for Parkinson’s disease were extremely limited. The disease was first described in detail by James Parkinson in 1817, but understanding of its underlying mechanisms remained rudimentary well into the 20th century. No pharmacological treatments existed to address dopamine deficiency, as levodopa therapy was not introduced until the 1960s. Treatments available in the 1930s focused primarily on managing symptoms rather than addressing the underlying condition. These included experimental surgeries, physical therapy, and medications such as belladonna derivatives, which attempted to manage rigidity and tremors with limited success. The lack of effective treatment options often meant that patients faced a significant decline in quality of life and shortened life expectancy. This historical context is critical when considering whether figures like Hitler, if diagnosed, could have had access to interventions to mitigate their symptoms.
What is your personal opinion on whether Hitler likely had Parkinson’s disease?
In my opinion, based on the descriptions of Hitler’s symptoms, such as tremors, stooped posture, and his reportedly shuffling gait, it is plausible that he exhibited signs consistent with Parkinson’s disease. However, the absence of a clinical diagnosis and reliance on anecdotal reports and video footage complicate definitive conclusions. Stress, medication side effects, or other neurological conditions could also account for these symptoms. Thus, while the evidence points toward Parkinson’s as a possibility, it remains speculative without concrete diagnostic tools or firsthand medical records.
History HL Internal Assessment
An investigation into the Historical Debate of Hitler’s Alleged Parkinson’s Disease
Research question
Did Hitler have Parkinson's disease?
Word count: 1199
A. Identification and evaluation of sources
"Medicine is the science of uncertainty and art of probability", stated the so-called father of modern medicine, Sir William Osler. Ever since the last years of WWII, debates have persisted about whether Adolf Hitler's deteriorating health and changed behaviour were symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). This paper investigates this question by analyzing two key medical sources: an expert interview and a declassified report. These provide critical information on Hitler's health from complementary perspectives: expert medical analysis and medical documentation.
Source 1: Mr. Souradip Mookerjee, MB/PhD graduate from the University of Cambridge in the field of Medicine. Interview regarding Parkinson’s disease and whether or not Hitler suffered from the condition. Conducted by candidate. 27 December 2024.
The intention behind this personal interview was to provide an assessment of the challenges in diagnosing Parkinson's disease in historical figures without the use of clinical data. This was ideal as the interview was conducted with Mr. Mookerjee who has a PhD in Medicine whilst also having received the "Barrett Prize” for a project in Pathology particularly in Parkinsonism. The content centres on the degree to which historical accounts and visual evidence of Hitler could be utilised to identify the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as bradykinesia, rigidity and tremors.
The value of this source lies in its expert medical insight and methodological grounds for determining whether claimed symptoms by Hitler demonstrate Parkinson's disease. It gives a contemporary concept of neurological disorders and enables one to understand what constitutes proper medical evidence, making the inquiry more analytical. However, one of the limitations is that the interview has to be recent and retrospective. Mr. Mookerjee does not personally examine Hitler and his responses are based on secondary accounts. Moreover, the interview leaves room for potential interviewer bias stemming from the wording of the questions.
Besides these limitations the source is significant because it offers a scientific framework that can be implemented to access current medical reports including Leikind’s 1945 intelligence assessment. Therefore, this investigation can determine whether Hitler’s reported symptoms correspond with PD by establishing the diagnostic parameters of the illness.
Source 2: Dr. Leikind, Morris. Declassified Medical Report on Adolf Hitler. Central Intelligence Agency, 1945.
The purpose of the document was to inform Allied intelligence agencies about Hitler’s psychological and strategic analysis to assess his leadership capacity and the impact on German strategic decision-making. The source documents Hitler’s “progressive tremors, rigidity and stooped posture”, signs characteristic of PDs, and states his use of a variety of medicines including strychnine and belladonna under Dr. Theodor Morell. Since it’s from 1945 it provides a near contemporary assessment of Hitler’s health rather than a later retrospective diagnosis.
Nevertheless, this keeps it from being fully credible as wartime motives may have dictated the report of Hitler being incapacitated. Therefore, while it offers an insight into understanding Hitler’s condition, it cannot serve as absolute medical evidence. Additionally, since these observations come from Dr. Morell, whose methods and documentation have been widely questioned by those who knew him, this is an additional weakness. Also, its origin as a wartime intelligence report raises the question of possible propaganda motives. The depiction of Hitler as physically incapacitated may have been used to further demean his figure for the sake of Allied psychological warfare.
B. Investigation
"His left hand trembled uncontrollably as he clenched it behind his back, concealing the truth from his closest allies," wrote Speer in Inside the Third Reich. This passage refers to the physical decline of Adolf Hitler in the years toward the close of WWII. Beginning in 1943, several observers, including Speer, reported the following: Parkinson's tremors, shuffling gait, and a general stoop. These observations have caused speculation that Hitler had PD; a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with motor and non-motor impairments. This investigation examines whether Hitler's symptoms are compatible with a diagnosis of PD through critical analysis of eyewitness accounts, video footage, handwriting samples, medical reports, and historical data. Alternative diagnoses are also considered, such as amphetamine-induced parkinsonism and essential tremor, as well as the limitations of retrospective diagnosis.
B.1 Physical evidence
Motor symptoms such as resting tremors, bradykinesia, and rigidity are defining features of PD. In Hitler's physical decline, as described by eyewitnesses and captured in visual evidence, one sees a close approximation to these symptoms. Particularly, Speer observed a "persistent tremor" in Hitler's left hand by 1943, which worsened during public appearances. To hide the tremor, Hitler frequently gripped items, like his riding crop, or stood with his left hand rigidly behind his back; Speer states that by 1945, Hitler's "posture was stooped" and he walked with a "shuffling gait," indicative of advanced stages of PD. Still, according to Speer, Hitler's sitting stance could also appear "rigid, with an especially pronounced stiffness which made every slight movement an effort". These accounts were further supported by the testimony of Siegfried Knappe...
A motion picture film from July 20, 1944... [continue with the rest of the paragraph as in your original text]
B.2 Handwriting Analysis: Evidence of Micrographia
According to Prof. Dr. Bhattacharyya, micrographia is one of the hallmark motor symptoms of PD... [continue with the rest of your original text for this section]
C. Reflection
[Paste the full reflection text here – cleaned as in my previous response]
D. Endnotes/ References
E. Appendix
Interview conducted by candidate with Mr. Souradip Mookerjee...
