Almost a century after his death, Adolf Hitler remains alive in the conversations for the atrocities he committed on jews, going down in history as one of the world’s most hated leaders. What made him the way he was? Scientists are uncovering hidden facts about the Nazi dictator and finding some truly unbelievable facts.
Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator, a documentary produced by Blink Films that airs on Channel 4, has presented the results of a one-of-its kind analysis of Hitler’s DNA sample. Turi King and Alex J Kay, who were part of the documentary, shared the interesting findings in a column for History Extra, the official website for BBC History Magazine.
Hitler had Kallmann syndrome
The full genome sequencing of Hitler’s DNA derived from the small swatch of fabric cut from the sofa where Hitler shot himself on 30 April 1945, offers fresh insight into Hitler’s health and private life. One revelation that stood apart was the discovery of a mutation linked to Kallmann syndrome, specifically a gene deletion associated with Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism. The disorder can affect testosterone production, sexual development, and libido. Symptoms may include underdeveloped genital organs, infertility, and impaired sense of smell.
“This was a gasp moment in the study, and of particular interest to historians. The revelation that Hitler had some form of Kallmann syndrome is intriguing because of the implications for his private life. The finding suggests there could have been a causal relationship between Hitler’s genetic make-up and particular facets of his behaviour,” wrote the researchers.
Possible reason behind his intimacy avoidance
Another condition that Hitler had and that his historical medical records already indicate is that he had right-sided cryptorchidism – an undescended testicle. According to researchers, the condition was discovered after a lost medical file was found in 2010 that had details about a physical examination that Hitler went through during his incarceration in Landsberg prison in 1923 following the failed Munich putsch.
There have been eyewitness accounts that say Hitler was obsessively private about his body and not interested in sexual relationships. He was also known to avoid intimacy with longtime partner Eva Braun.
“I can never recall having seen him in a bathing costume, nor had anyone else. A story, probably authentic, was frequently told that Hitler’s old army comrades, who had seen him in the wash-house, had noted that his genital organs were almost freakishly underdeveloped, and he doubtless had some sense of shame about displaying himself. It seemed to me that this must all be part of the underlying complex in his physical relations, which was compensated for by the terrifying urge for domination expressed in the field of politics,” Ernst Hanfstaengl, one of Hitler’s closest confidants wrote.
“Kubizek’s account, together with the language Hitler himself used in Mein Kampf, does point at the least to an acutely disturbed and repressed sexual development,” according to the historian Ian Kershaw, author of the definitive biography of Hitler.
While genetics alone cannot define personal behaviour, this discovery adds plausibility to theories that Hitler’s reclusiveness and extreme devotion to political power were partly rooted in physical and psychological shame.
Hitler’s Kallmann syndrome could be an explanation behind his seemingly “disturbed and repressed sexual development”.
Hitler’s DNA placed him in the top 1 per cent for schizophrenia, for autism and for bipolar disorder
Another secret that Hitler’s DNA uncovered was his possibility of having certain psychiatric conditions. The genome study examined his polygenic score, a cumulative genetic marker linked to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. Hitler’s DNA placed him in the top 1 per cent for schizophrenia, for autism and for bipolar disorder. However, researchers made it clear that Hitler’s polygenic score being high is not diagnostic, and cannot be deduced from his DNA that he would have been diagnosed with any of these conditions.
“What makes Hitler so unusual is not the possibility that he might have had any one of these disorders on its own, but rather the fact that his placement in the top 1 per cent for the polygenic scores of all three of these conditions is exceptional: none of the other individuals in the population analysis had the same result. Still, we know that numerous environmental factors, such as adverse life events, would have had a big influence on his likelihood of developing them,” say researchers.
What truly shaped Hitler
What also may have moulded Hitler into the person he was could also be environmental and social factors. Hitler had an unusually traumatic childhood. He was known to experience abuse at the hands of his father. He lost four out of five siblings and also both his parents by the age of 19. Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf how his mother’s death had been “a dreadful blow” to him. These early events may have shaped him into the person he became, regardless of the genetic makeup.
While these genetic discoveries reveal a lot more about Hitler than we knew before and reinforce the fact that he was a deeply damaged individual, this couldn’t have alone made him a cruel dictator.
