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Did Adolf Hitler's Parkinson Disease Affect His Conduct of World War

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Did Adolf Hitler's Parkinson Disease Affect His Conduct of World War tems: ys Op l S e Lieberman, Biol Syst 2013, 2:2 a n A ic c g c DOI: 10.4172/bso.1000111 o l e s o i s B Biological Systems: Open Access ISSN: 2329-6577 Case Report Open Access Did Adolf Hitler’s Parkinson Disease Affect his Conduct of World War II? Abraham Lieberman* Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, Barrow Neurological Institute, United States of America Abstract Adolf Hitler had Parkinson Disease. Although it affected him physically, it is unclear if it affected his ability to analyze, to conceptualize, to reason, or to think. Although it cannot be proven if he was cognitively impaired or a drug induced psychosis (a psychosis induced by the amphetamines he received as a treatment for his Parkinson disease) the evidence suggests he was not seriously cognitively impaired and that any unrealistic thinking resulting from amphetamines was, probably, a minor factor. Hitler was a life-long risk-taker, a gambler. His life-long risk- taking, his high stakes gambling, antedated his development of Parkinson disease and his use of amphetamines. His life-long risk-taking, his high stakes gambling is considered to be the reason he made startling (and favorable) decisions before World War II and the reason he made similarly favorable decisions early in World War II. His risk taking and high stakes gambling is also the reason he made startling bad decisions: decisions that ultimately led to Germany losing World War II. Adolf Hitler had Parkinson disease (PD). This is not in dispute: it has been documented in descriptions by his contemporaries including physicians. It has been documented by comparing samples of his handwriting from before he was diagnosed in 1934, to shortly before he killed himself in 1945. It has been documented by videos taken over his lifetime. There is a dispute as to whether Adolf Hitler had post-encephalitic or idiopathic PD. This cannot be resolved. However, it does not affect whether PD affected Hitler’s conduct: The effects of the disease, not its cause are in dispute. Parkinson Disease Can Affect Conduct in Several Ways By causing cognitive impairment often progressing to dementia. Dementia occurs, in time, in the majority of patients with PD. By imposing physical limitations, by impairing mobility. Videos of Dementia is characterized by disorientation, confusion, memory loss, Hitler, one month before he killed himself, reveal Hitler walking slowly inability to conceptualize and apathy. No one did a mini-mental status and not swinging his left arm [1]. He has a masked face, a stooped examination or a Montreal cognitive assessment on Hitler. Lacking such bent- forward posture and a resting tremor of his left arm [2,3]. Hitler objective evidence one can only speculate. Dementia, when developed, is stooped and tremulous but mobile. Hitler was more mobile than is readily recognized. It’s unlikely that Hitler’s associates, intelligent Franklin D. Roosevelt who, because of poliomyelitis, had been confined but misguided, would not have recognized dementia. Martin Bormann, to a wheelchair for his entire Presidency. And no one questions whether Hermann Goering, Josef Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, General Alfred Roosevelt’s poliomyelitis affected his conduct of the Presidency. Hitler Jodl and Albert Speer followed Hitler to the end. Apathy, a prominent was physically capable of performing his duties as Fuhrer or Leader of symptom of dementia, was absent in Hitler: He lacked must of the Germany until the day he committed suicide by shooting himself. symptoms on the PD Apathy Questionnaire: he remained interested in By causing depression. Depression severe enough to require daily events, he was concerned about his condition, and he had plans treatment occurs in up to 50% of PD patients [1]. Depression may be and goals for the future. an inherent part of PD as well as a reaction to a potentially debilitating Cognitive impairment, without dementia, harder to diagnosis illness. Hitler suffered four major depressive episodes before he without a neuropsychological examination, an examination which developed PD. The first episode occurred in 1907 after the death of his no one administered to Hitler, is difficult to discern from Hitler’s mother. Hitler was apathetic, retreating from his daily activities, he behavior. Patients with cognitive impairment may appear normal, was moody, guilt stricken and withdrawn. This resolved with time. The but close friends and associates may note changes in their personality second depressive episode occurred in November 1918 after Hitler was and behavior. Often the patients are described as being impassive, gassed and temporarily blinded. Upon learning of Germany’s surrender, indifferent, indecisive, moody, withdrawn. The patients are repeatedly Hitler, whose eyesight was recovering, became depressed and probably asked if they are depressed which they are not. None of the above developed hysterical blindness. He became apathetic, withdrawn, and applies to Hitler. retreated from his daily activities. This resolved with time and his entry into politics. The third depressive episode occurred after the aborted Beerhall Putsch in November 1923. He became withdrawn, retreated *Corresponding author: Abraham Lieberman, Muhammad Ali Parkinson from his daily activities and contemplated suicide. This resolved with Center, Barrow Neurological Institute, 50 W Thomas Rd, Phoenix, time. The fourth episode occurred after the suicide of his niece and Arizona 85013, United States of America, Tel: +1 602-406-3000; E-mail: lover, Geli Raubal. Hitler became withdrawn, retreated from his daily [email protected] activities and contemplated suicide. Received May 25, 2013; Accepted June 13, 2013; Published June 17, 2013 During World War II after he developed PD, Hitler was often sad Citation: Lieberman A (2013) Did Adolf Hitler’s Parkinson Disease Affect his Conduct of World War II? Biol Syst 2: 111. doi:10.4172/bso.1000111 and upset but he was not depressed: he did not become apathetic, he did not withdraw from his daily activities and did not contemplate Copyright: © 2013 Lieberman A. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted suicide-only at the very end, and with Berlin besieged and the Russians use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and about to overrun his bunker did he commit suicide [4]. source are credited. Biol Syst Volume 2 • Issue 2 • 1000111 ISSN: BSO, an open access journal Citation: Lieberman A (2013) Did Adolf Hitler’s Parkinson Disease Affect his Conduct of World War II? Biol Syst 2: 111. doi:10.4172/bso.1000111 Page 2 of 4 There is evidence of a change in Hitler’s behavior. Thus Speer, von Seisser, and the military commander of Bavaria, General Otto Hitler’s architect and armament’s minister wrote, after the War [1]. “Up Hermann von Lossow, would support his coup, his putsch. He also to 1938 Hitler allowed his associates to take full responsibility for their believed the German people would support him, a relatively unknown assigned fields… Later a change took place… he avoided discussion. politician who had seized power illegally. Hitler’s gamble failed, he was This tendency…was connected with his growing suspiciousness. Hitler arrested and served time in prison. Hitler learned to be suspicious of now lacked the capacity for thinking- out large scale conceptions.” promises and to become a better judge of people and their motives. He Whether this represented cognitive impairment or suspiciousness of his also learned that power had to be seized “legally”, that is the gaining generals who were, according to Hitler, losing the War is unresolvable. of power had to have the outward appearance of being “lawful.” And, in 1933, through a series of political maneuvers, Hitler legally became H. Trevor – Roper, an eminent historian, comments: “The extent of Germany’s Chancellor [7-10]. his knowledge and his amazing grasp of detail, have been universally, if at times reluctantly admitted…those who attended staff conferences in In 1936, after Hitler had consolidated his control in Germany, the first two years of the War, have described his earlier, more patient after he met leading politicians from France and Great Britain, after he methods…feeling his way warily and learning what he could. Later, studied them carefully and took his measure of them and found them how different had the conference table become…Hitler was now the wanting, Hitler gambled that he could re-occupy the Rhineland: the ultimate authority.” Trevor Roper minimalizes the role of disease in region west of the Rhine that, after Germany’s loss in World War I was Hitler’s decline: “most historical dictators have passed through similar de-militarized, and served as an unarmed “buffer” between France and states of development…. but once the system begins to collapse--- the Germany. In 1936 Hitler’s armed forces were one-hundredth the size of reason is the ultimate inefficiency of dictatorships.” France’s and militarily and technically inferior. He gambled, correctly, that France, traumatized by its losses in the World War I, would not Lastly the issue of the use of drugs, amphetamines, on Hitler’s oppose him. Hitler’s reoccupation of the Rhineland removed the Rhine, behavior should be discussed. Amphetamines, administered by Hitler’s the great natural barrier between France and Germany, as a French physician, Dr Morrell, could’ve resulted in paranoia and a loss of defense [7-10]. As Ian Kershaw wrote: “Few thought Hitler would take impulse control and a psychosis similar to schizophrenia including great risks over the Rhineland when conventional diplomacy could lack of concentration, disorganization of thought, lack of insight, succeed. In any case French military leadership grossly exaggerating inability to carry-out daily activities (much less run a government) German armed strength had made it plain that they opposed military and auditory and visual hallucinations [5,6].
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