Theodor (Theo) Gilbert Morell ( 2 of July of 1886 - 26 of maypole of 1948 ) was the personal physician of Adolf Hitler from 1936 until his suicide in 1945 . Morell was well known in Germany for his controversial holistic and unconventional alternative treatments.
Although Morell had medical training and a practicing license in Germany long before he met Hitler, after the end of World War II there were numerous investigations into his medical practice, being questioned by the Allies . Historians have speculated that the treatments prescribed by Morell contributed to Hitler’s precarious health from 1944.
First Years
Morell was the second child of an elementary school teacher. He was born and educated in a small village called Trais-Munzenberg in Hesse . He studied medicine in Grenoble and Paris , then received training in obstetrics and gynecology in Munich in early 1910 . By 1913 he had a doctorate and was a licensed doctor. A year after serving as an assistant physician in the Navy and Merchant Marine, he acquired a place in Dietzenbach. He served on the front during World War I , then as medical officer. By 1919 he practiced in Berlin, and the following year he married Johanna Moller, an actress and opera singer of very good economic standing. His unusual methods earned him the recognition of the Sah of Persia and the king of Romania , who invited him to be his personal physician.
Morell claimed to have studied with the Nobel Prize- winning bacteriologist Ilia Méchnikov , in addition to having taught medicine at prestigious universities, and sometimes called himself a professor. Morell held shares in numerous European mid-sized pharmaceutical companies .
However, in 1933 his practice was threatened because many of his patients were Jewish and his personal appearance of brown and corpulent complexion sometimes made him mistakenly believe that he was also a Jew. In fact, many people said that Morell was really mischling or half Jewish. In April of that same year it was united to the Nazi party, began to exercise its profession in prestigious places and to work like venerólogo. In 1936 he treated Heinrich Hoffmann , who suffered from gonorrhea who allegedly cured. Hoffmann and his assistant Eva Braun introduced him to Hitler and became part of his intimate circle at the Berghof .
Hitler physician
Hitler was suffering from cutaneous and intestinal pathology when, during a party at the Berghof , near Berchtesgaden , he met Morell, who said that he could cure him in a year. Morell’s wife was upset when he accepted the work of the Führer’s personal physician. Morell began treating Hitler with various commercial formulas, including a combination of vitamins and bacteria E. coli called Mutaflor. Hitler seemed to recover and Morell eventually became part of Hitler’s inner circle, remaining there until April 29, 1945. Some historians and diffuse sources have attempted to explain this association by citing Morell’s reputation in Germany for his success in treating syphilis , Which is speculated that Hitler feared, because it associated it directly with the Jews. Other observers have considered the possibility that Hitler had visible symptoms of syphilis towards the end of the war
As Hitler’s physician, Morell was constantly recommended to other members of the Nazi High Command, but most of them, including Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler, immediately distrusted him and discreetly rejected him for his appearance, and especially his little personal hygiene. Albert Speer wrote in his biography:
In 1936, when my circulation and my stomach rebelled … I called Morell’s private office. After a superficial examination … Morell prescribed me intestinal bacteria, dextrose, vitamins, and hormonal tablets.
For security, and after that, I was examined by Professor von Bergmann, the specialist in internal medicine at the University of Berlin. He concluded that he was not suffering from any problem in any organ, and that he only suffered from nervous symptoms caused by overwork. I slowed down as fast as I could and the symptoms disappeared. In order not to offend Hitler, I pretended to be following Morell’s instructions, and as my health improved, I became for a while in Morell’s window. (Albert Speer, Memoirs, 1969)
Goering called Morell “the Needle Chancellor” or Minister Injector , because of his apparent inclination to use injections when he faced any medical problem.
Morell held in the Berghof a rivalry with the physician Karl Brandt , who had been attending to Hitler since 1933. They argued frequently, though Hitler was usually on Morell’s side. Eva Braun later changed her mind about Morell, calling her office a “pigsty” and refusing to see him again.
In 1939 , Morell was inadvertently involved in the annexation of Czechoslovakia . Its president, Emil Hácha , was so frightened of the outburst of Hitler that he fainted. Morell injected him with stimulants to make him wake up, though he said they were vitamins, possibly containing methamphetamine. Ax soon collapsed before Hitler’s demands.
After the assassination attempt against Hitler, which occurred on July 20 of 1944 , Morell treated him with penicillin topically, which had only been introduced experimentally in front by the army American recently. Where he got it remains a mystery, as Morell said he did not know penicillin at all when he was interrogated by US intelligence officials after the war. Moreover, when members of Hitler’s inner circle were questioned for the making of The Bunker , some claimed that Morell owned a significant number of shares in a company that fraudulently promoted a product such as penicillin or sulfas.
By April 1945, Hitler was taking 28 pills daily, along with several injections (including many of glucose). On April 22, 1945, Morell was dismissed from the Führerbunker in Berlin by Hitler, who said he no longer needed medical help.
Morell escaped from Berlin on one of the last out-of-town flights, but was soon captured by the Americans. One of his interrogators was allegedly “disgusted” by Morell’s obesity and complete lack of hygiene. [ Citation needed ] Although he was held in a US camp inmates (on the site of the former concentration camp Buchenwald) and questioned because of its proximity to Hitler, he was never charged with any crime. Obese and suffering from speech impairment, he died in May 1948 after a stroke .
Substances given to Hitler
Morell had a medical journal about drugs, vitamins and other substances he administered to Hitler, usually in the form of an injection or in pills. Most were commercial preparations, some were his own. Since some of these compounds are considered toxic, many historians have speculated that Morell accidentally contributed to Hitler’s fragile health. Here is a list of some of the substances Theodore Morell administered to Hitler:
- Potassium bromide
- Nux Vomica
- Atropine
- Sodium Barbituric
- Oxedrine Tartrate
- Chamomile
- Testosterone
- Profenazona
- Caffeine
- Belladonna
- Escherichia coli
- Dihydroxycouidine
- Sulfinamide
- Cocaine (in the form of eye drops)
- Enzymes
- Vitamins
- Amphetamines
- Methamphetamine
- Proteins and lipids derived from animal tissues and fats.
Apparently, Morell never told Hitler (or anyone else) what he was administering, perhaps even telling him that the preparations contained different vitamins and “natural” ingredients. Some ingredients were later confirmed by doctors to whom Hitler had shown some of his pills when they treated him temporarily. Some preparations (like Glyconorm, a popular tonic in Switzerland used to fight infections) contained animal tissues like placenta, cardiac muscle, liver and testicles of bull. During his post-war interrogation, Morell claimed that another doctor had administered cocaine to Hitler and at least one doctor had been known to administer it as eye drops after he applied for them in the hours after the near-death. Successful assassination attempt on July 20, 1944. Cocaine was frequently used in Germany for medical purposes at the time, but it is said that Morell increased the dose ten times. Overuse of cocaine-based eye drops has been associated with psychotic behavior, hypertension, and other symptoms. However, historians have dismissed the possibility that Morell’s treatment had effects on Hitler when making decisions.
Morell was subject to numerous accusations made by members of Hitler’s inner circle. Many people said that he regularly injected Hitler with morphine without telling him, and that Morell himself was addicted to morphine. Some went too far in asserting that Morell used Hitler as a “guinea pig” for many of the drugs he was trying to develop to sell them later. But these allegations were made by people without medical knowledge and may not be reliable.