I was reading about the medical history of Hitler recently. And, it mentioned that Hitler suffered from syphillis. This could be verified based on the symptoms he seemed to exhibit. The theory is that he contracted the disease during the early part of the 20th century from a German (Jewish) prostitute. Many believe that this was a vital reason for his hatred towards Jews and his branding of syphillis as a 'Jewish disease'.

Is this TRUE?

Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room.

Jews were a scapegoat for the ills of Europe for 2,000 years. I don't think it required a personal experience for Adolph to buy into the anti-semantic feeling of the time.

As I recall, his hate was for Jewish bankers and industrialists, not Jewish hookers.

But if the story is true, it might have been one more straw on the camel's back.

I've heard a lot of people claim various things about Hitler's health based on his symptoms, but none seem to be convincing to me. Furthermore, he had a doctor (albeit a bit of a quack), and had health records, and they've been looked into.

There were a lot of reasons why Hitler hated the jews, but the biggest was the fact that he grew up in a racist town (Vienna) with a racist mayor (Lueger) and racist propaganda all around him. At the same time, he couldn't get ahead as an artist or as a worker because the city had been flooded by Jewish immigrants (mostly of eastern European origin) since the Russian pogroms that followed their defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

There is some evidence that Hitler never engaged in any sexual intercourse. The syphillis episode may be nothing more than rumor. aalan is closer to the actual reasons, his culture polarized him. But lets be clear about somethiong else as well, Germany was not the center of Anti-Semitism in the early to mid 20th century, look to France, Britain, Russia and Europe at large.

Poland probably had as much anti-semitism as Germany.

But a great point Dr. Krammer made in the History of Nazi Germany class at A&M was that the jewish population in Germany was miniscule - something like 2 percent. The Nazis could pick on them because they were so small, and their influence - which was grossly out of proportion to their size, made them hated.

Another key thing about the dying years of Weimar Germany: the collapse of the currency through hyperinflation destroyed the savings of the middle class particularly, and it was among these, not so much the poor, where the Nazis got the pivotal strength to grow from 3 seats in the Reichstag to 130.

And if you're a struggling middle class person, where do you learn firsthand that your money is worthless? At banks and from small shopkeepers.

Where were the Jews the most prevalent in the German economy?

You guessed it. Banks and small shopkeepers.

Hitler's message was kerosene and fate just happened to give him a really big spark.

[This message has been edited by aalan94 (edited 4/8/2009 9:49a).]

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Where were the Jews the most prevalent in the German economy?

You guessed it. Banks and small shopkeepers.

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Businesses they had been driven into in the first place due to institutional racism in the past.

everybody has to have a bogeyman and Hitler's adolescence in Vienna was a time with severe anti semitism as a political tool of the leading politician, as Aalan pointed out.

Whether he had syphillis is unknown but it is known that he exploited the frustration of Germans at losing a war they thought they had won and blaming it on somebody. He almost surely believed in what he was preaching, unlike Lueger.

Also keep in mind that his experiences in the trenches and getting gassed gave him a major case of untreated PTSD.

Match, meet kerosene.

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Match, meet kerosene

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Good one, huisache.

Hitler did not grow up in Vienna but in and around Linz which he later made the eastern capital of the third reich.

Linz is a hotbed for the nationalist political revival.

dcAg, I'm aware of that, but Hitler's formative years were very definitely in Vienna. That's where he became "politicized" as you will, which was a result of being homeless and impoverished in his own country while seeing "foreign invaders" who he thought were better off.

There's no evidence that he had any political thoughts prior to leaving Linz.

Political thoughts? You should dig deeper than that. Have you ever been to Linz? It is a very nationalistic town. It would be impossible for anyone to say that he didnt pick up his prejudices against Jews during his youth before moving to Vienna at 16.

Anyone's "formative" years are before they are too old to really reason about prejudice, hate and race. Those things happen for the most part when you are young and are tought by your surroundings and environment.

There are some theories that Hitler made a more "conscious" decision to hate Jews because of some incidents in art school.

Has it been debunked that his abusive father was thought to have Jewish antecedents?

If not, the seed of his hatred may have planted there, in his father's home.

dcAg, a few points:

I've never been to Linz before, but I was a German major in college and lived in Germany and traveled extensively in Austria.

Linz is a very nationalistic town, of that I have no doubt. However, that's because Linz, which has historically been completely irrelevant in the greater picture was suddenly thrust into the nationalistic spotlight after the Anschluss.

Since the war, it's been a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis as well.

I'm not saying that Hitler loved Jews and frolicked with them in the park, but by the time he left Linz, his only ambition was to be an artist. He was an anti-semite already, but became a politicized one in Vienna after suffering failure.

Even that was only a transformation into a disgruntled anti-semite, and it was his WWI experience and subsequent homecoming which was the last straw. It was certainly not an overnight process.

This is the narrative of Mein Kampf, and the first book of the "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" makes the same case.

primrose, I'm not sure that's been debunked, but it's always struck me as anti-Hitler propaganda. And it may be TOO GOOD to be true. It's like Obama's birth certificate. You don't have to believe everything you hear about the guy to not be a fan.

aalan,

I have studied in Austria and traveled extensively in Germany.

Hitler was an anti-Semite when he left Linz. His anti-Semitism was fueled even more the older he got. However dont discount Hitler's increasingly dislike for the Jews as a "populist" move either. Remember he was trying to grab onto things at different points in his life that would move him into increasingly popular positions.

Yes, he was a politician and would've parroted a populist doctrine. Anti-Semitism had many subscribers in Europe at the time.

Interesting stuff.

[This message has been edited by Savrola (edited 4/10/2009 7:56p).]

dc, I think we're arguing over something relatively minor. I have no doubt that he was more or less an anti-semite from grammar school on, just that he became more militant and outspoken (as opposed to just being a "hater" ) later on.

Machs nichts, as they say, ultimately.

I will say that his anti-jewish hatred was a real feeling, and not just parroting for public consumption as Lueger or others did. I think that rather than him promoting anti-semitism because it could get him elected, one would say it would be more likely for him to hide it if it hurt him.

But in fact, his anti-semitism drove some folks away from the party early on who could have been useful.

I think we agree on most parts however I did see something on the History Channel two nights ago saying that Hitler did grab onto anti-semitism because it was a popular stance during that time.

Of course he really "felt" it more than just a popular stance but still...

Chicken or the egg.

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I came here to do two things..drink beer and kick some ass..looks like we're almost out of beer.

add the US to anti-Semites list- heck the elder Kennedy was very vocal about it