Theodor Morell
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Theodor (Theo) Gilbert Morell (
July 22,
1886
May 26,
1948) was German dictator
Adolf Hitler's personal
physician. Morell was well-known in Germany for his unconventional,
holistic and
alternative treatments.
Although Morell had medical training and was licensed as a general practitioner in Germany long before he met Hitler, following
World War II there were investigations into his practice along with interrogation by the Allies and he came to be widely regarded as a
quack. Historians have speculated his treatment contributed to
Hitler's ill health.
Contents
[
[edit] Hitler's physician
Hitler was suffering from a skin
rash and
intestinal gas when, during a party at the
Berghof near
Berchtesgaden, he first met Morell, who said he could cure him within a year. Morell's wife was unhappy when he accepted the job as Hitler's personal physician. Morell began treating Hitler with various commercial preparations, including a combination of vitamins and
E. coli bacteria called
Multiflor. Hitler seemed to recover and Morell eventually became a part of Hitler's social inner circle, remaining there until shortly before the war ended. Some historians have attempted to explain this association by citing Morell's reputation in Germany for success in treating
syphilis, along with Hitler's own (speculated) fears of the disease which he associated closely with Jews. Other observers have commented on the possibility Hitler had visible symptoms of both Parkinson's disease and syphilis, especially towards the end of the war.
As Hitler's physician Morell was constantly recommended to other members of the Nazi leadership but most of them, including
Hermann Goering and
Heinrich Himmler, immediately dismissed him as a quack. As
Albert Speer related in his autobiography:
"In 1936, when my circulation and stomach rebelled...I called at Morell's private office. After a superficial examination...Morell prescribed for me his intestinal bacteria, dextrose, vitamins, and hormone tablets." "For safety's sake I afterward had a thorough examination by Professor von Bergmann, the specialist in internal medicine at
Berlin University. I was not suffering from any organic trouble, he concluded, but only from nervous symptoms caused by overwork." "I slowed down my pace as best I could and the symptoms abated. To avoid offending Hitler I pretended that I was carefully following Morell's instructions, and since my health improved, I became for a time Morell's showpiece." (Albert Speer,
Inside the Third Reich, 1970). In his memoirs, Speer made clear that he didn't consider Morell to be a "quack." Rather, he characterized him as an opportunist who, once he achieved status as Hitler's physician, became extremely careless and lazy in his work, and who was more concerned with money and status rather than actually providing medical assistance.
Goering called Morell
Der Reichsspritzenmeister, a nickname that stuck. This term does not have a precise
English translation. Among the translations of this nickname are "Herr Reich Injection Master" (Speer,
Inside the Third Reich), "The Reich's Injections Impresario" (Junge,
Until the Final Hour), and "The Master of the Imperial Needle" (O'Donnell,
The Bunker). However this term is translated, its underlying meaning is the same - it implied that Morell always resorted to using injections and drugs when faced with any medical problem, and that he overused these drug injections.
Morell developed a rivalry with Dr.
Karl Brandt, who had been attending Hitler since
1933. The two often argued, though Hitler usually sided with Morell.
Eva Braun later changed her opinion of Morell, calling his office a "pig sty" and refusing to see him anymore.
In
1939 Morell inadvertently became involved with the forced annexation of
Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakian president,
Emil Hacha, became so scared at Hitler's outburst that he fainted. Morell injected stimulants into Hacha to wake him and although he claimed these were only vitamins, they may have included
methamphetamine. Hacha meanwhile soon caved in to Hitler's demands.
Following the
July 20, 1944 assassination attempt against Hitler, Morell treated him with topical
penicillin, which had only recently been introduced into testing by the
U.S. Army. Where he acquired it is unknown and Morell claimed complete ignorance of penicillin when he was interrogated by American intelligence officers after the war. Moreover, when members of Hitler's inner circle were interviewed for the book
The Bunker, some claimed Morell owned a significant share in a company fraudulently marketing a product as penicillin.
By April 1945, Hitler was taking 28 different pills a day along with numerous injections (including many of
glucose). On
April 22,
1945 Hitler dismissed Morell from the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin, saying that he didn't need any more medical help. Nonetheless, Morell left behind a large amount of pre-prepared medicine; during the last week of Hitler's life, they were administered by Dr.
Werner Haase and by
Heinz Linge, Hitler's
valet.