Meatless Wonders: A Tyrant and a Victim

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Meatless Wonders:
A Tyrant and a Victim
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Anyone who has been a vegetarian for a while, particularly if they have come to this lifestyle for ethical or humanitarian reasons, has probably been triumphantly informed at some time or another that Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian. While those of us who believe that the world would be a better place if people ate less meat would like to deny this, there seems to be pretty valid evidence that Hitler did, during the latter years of his life, refrain from eating meat. Starting in his early forties, Hitler apparently suffered from chronic digestive problems such as acute abdominal pain during and after eating, severe indigestion and distention. It is reported that in an attempt to maintain his Indomitable Fuehrer image he refused to seek medical treatment, even though the pain was, at times, incapacitating. He reportedly attempted to treat himself by using the process of elimination to de-termine which foods were giving him the problems. He arrived at the conclusion that rich foods such as sweets, pastries and meat were a major part of the problem. As time went on he eliminated more and more foods from his diet until it mostly consisted of fruits, vegetables and grains. Even bread and butter and dairy products could bring on the symptoms. It is well known that Hitler was a lover of rich pastries and such delicacies as stuffed roasted squab. But the condition became more and more intolerable and at some point he evidently ordered his cook to serve him a vegetarian diet.
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There was apparently a health food fad in Germany at the time which became associated with Hitler's "vegetarian" diet. However, accounts of his day to day activities record that, when Hitler was feeling well, he would often lapse in his dietary self-discipline and indulge in his beloved sweets and roasted game birds, only to find himself suffering once again.
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While Hitler was attempting to cure his digestive problems, Edgar Kupfer was serving as a clerical worker and trying to stay alive in Dachau concentration camp. Kupfer's crime was voicing his pacifist viewpoints in Nazi Germany. His clerical position allowed him to secure the most rudimentary of writing materials which he used to keep a diary of his life in Dachau. The diaries were kept well hidden until the liberation of the camp on April 29, 1945. The original Dachuau Diaries are pre-served in the Special Collection of the Library of the University of Chicago along with a 38 page essay on vegetarianism, a letter written to a friend who questioned Kupfer's choice of the vegetarian lifestyle. Following are some brief excerpts from that letter.
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"I refuse to eat animals because I cannot nourish myself by the sufferings and by the death of other creatures. I refuse to do so, because I suffered so painfully myself that I can feel the pains of others by recalling my own sufferings."
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"I feel happy, nobody persecutes me; why should I persecute other beings or cause them to be persecuted?"
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"I feel happy, I am no prisoner, I am free; why should I cause other creatures to be made prisoners and thrown into jail?"
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"I feel happy, nobody wounds me, nobody kills me, why should I wound or kill other creatures or cause them to be wounded or killed for my pleasure and convenience?"
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"Is it not only too natural that I do not inflict on other creatures the same thing which, I hope and fear, will never be inflicted on me?"
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"These creatures are smaller and more helpless than I am, but can you imagine a reasonable man of noble feelings who would like to base on such a difference a claim of right to abuse the weakness and the smallness of others? Don't you think that it is just the bigger, the stronger, the superior's duty to protect the weaker creatures instead of persecuting them, instead of killing them? 'Noblesse oblige.' I want to act in a noble way."
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"And because it is much easier to win the smaller battles than the big ones, I think we should try to get over first our own trends towards smaller violence and cruelty, to avoid or better, to overcome them once and for all. Then the day will come when it will be easy for us to fight and to overcome even the great cruelties. But we are still sleeping, all of us, in habitudes and inherited attitudes. They are like a fat juicy sauce which helps us to swallow our own cruelties without tasting their bitterness."
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"I have not the intention to point out with my finger at this and that, at definite persons and definite situations. I think it is much more my duty to stir up my own conscience in smaller matters, to try to understand other people better, to get better and less selfish. Why should it be impossible then to act accordingly with regard to more important issues?
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"That is the point. I want to grow up into a better world where a higher law grants more happiness, in a new world where God's commandment reigns: You Shall Love Each Other."
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This article is intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this publication is intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical diagnosis and advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or health-care provider before starting any new diet or procedure involving your health. Prompt professional medical guidance is recommended for any health problem.