Hitler. One of the most famous vegetarians of all time. Loved the animals. Especially at midnight. Let me explain…
Adolf Hitler grew up carnivorous. One day he decided to be a vegetarian. You get a brownie point if you know why he went vegetarian.
Because his doctor told him he had to. Because eating meat made him fart and sweat and smell. A lot.
Did he genuinely care for the animals? Who knows. What I have managed to gather however, is that he did not go vegetarian out of a love of animals. Nor did he go vegetarian.
Wait, what? I hear you say. Well, heres the thing see, a vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat. Hitler ate meat. He did not eat it when on official business. He did not eat it when out in public. He did eat stuffed squab when his personal chef made it for him, at his request. And he requested it very often. He also ate Eva’s sausages, also a personal request. He and Eva used to eat them around midnight most nights. Guess even Eva couldn’t escape his gas.
He did say he was a vegetarian though. He did use vegetarianism as a propaganda tool. He did use it as a reason to regale his guests with stories of how the animals are killed. He did take ‘moral highground’ whenever he saw the opportunity. He also continued to eat meat right up until his dieing day.
He did have a cunning plan. He would milk this for all it’s worth. Chuck it into the propaganda machine and turn it into something he could use to further his main cause: himself. When I imagine Hitler, he seems like the kind of guy that if he cannot have meat, no-one can. Once he had to be vegetarian (for the most part) so would everyone else – as many people as he could muster to convert. Because how dare they enjoy something that The Fuhrer cannot. But, I never met the guy, so this is just my conjecture.
Does Hitler being a pretend vegetarian make me want to not be a vegan? No. Does the thought of if he was genuine in being veg, would I stop then? The answer is still no. the fact that this is a concern for people concerns me. If you’re a liberal, did you know George Bush is a carnivore? If you’re a conservative, you do know Obama is a carnivore, right? Either way, todays politicians, totes evil because they’re carnivores. Sound ridiculous? That’s because it is. Hitler wasn’t evil because he attempted a veg diet to cure his flatulence. Hitler was evil because he killed 6 million people and tried to take over the world. Get your head on straight.
If you still feel like Hitlers proposed vegetarianism makes such a diet evil, consider his other policies. He believed in killing black people. This I don’t stand behind. He believed in work-for-the-dole for those without work. This I do stand behind – though I dislike the images of the dolers, who hold their shovels like army rifles and march like well trained army men. Hitler stood for killing people who belong to unions. This I do not stand behind. Hitler stood for providing healthcare for all (German) persons. This I stand behind. Hitler stood for telling a lie over and over again until people believe it (like claiming to be vegetarian). I do not stand behind this. Do you see the pattern? You can agree with someones policies without agreeing to all of them. You can agree with vegetarianism without agreeing to everything Hitler. Reagan, Romney, Obama, they all did it when they proposed universal healthcare. I’m doing it right now.
On another note, have you ever seen those fridge magnets that say things like “the more I get to know people the more I love my cat/dog/bird/thing” and think ‘naaaw, how cute’? Did you know that it was propaganda expert Joseph Goebbels who coined the phrase? He was referring in part to Hitler, and his love of animals. Still like those magnets?
To me, Hitler was a douche, one who had some pretty nifty ideas and a lot of bad ones. Being vegetarian, not a bad choice. Killing people, not so great.
Hope I didn’t offend anyone with my Hitler talk. It is not my intent to offend, only to entertain and discuss.
Summer Tay.
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