Hitler vegetarian? how come people use this as an argument against vegetarianism?

Question

so firstly, was hitler a vegetarian? Some people think that he was vegetarian, or semi-vegetarian or something. Secondly, why do people use the fact that hitler was a vegetarian (if he was) as an argument against vegetarianism??? According to that "logic" then every non-smoker and person who doesn't drink is a nefarious b*****d as well

Answer 1

No, Hitler was not a vegetarian.  He was told to follow a vegetarian diet by his doctors to treat a stomach condition, but there are firsthand accounts from his personal chef that he didn't take this advice.

Secondly, people bring it up as though it's an indictment of vegetarianism that we have something "in common" with Hitler.  Well, Hitler wore pants, too.  Are all of those people going to stop wearing pants so they don't have something "in common" with Hitler?!?

Answer 2

Most sources seem to suggest that Hitler wasn't vegetarian by choice, but was advised by his doctor/s to stick to a largely vegetarian diet for medical reasons. He apparently had difficulty sticking to it though.

But like you I don't give a toss what the truth of the matter is.

Some unimaginative people see 'Hitler was vegetarian!' as an unanswerable Gotcha! argument against vegetarianism; they fancy they have found the ultimate unanswerable argument that will leave us all confused and defensive.

But as we often have occasion to point out to those same people on V&V, veg*ns are not all of one mind, they are a huge diverse group of people whose views, politics, behaviours, ideas and personalities vary as widely as those of meat-eaters or any other group.

I'm sure there are racist and fascist veg*ns; I despise all they stand for, but I'm not going to start eating meat just because they don't. There are veg*n V&V users whose views appall me too.

But I'm sure we'll always get the occasional person with no other argument churning out the tired old Hitler c**p

Answer 3

Using the "Hitler was a vegetarian" line to make a statement of why vegetarianism is bad is just as stupid as saying "Jeffrey Dahmer was an omnivore" to make eating meat look bad.

I'm really not sure why people would bring this up in conversation because realistically, hitler being a vegetarian doesn't mean anything.

Answer 4

That is just as lame an argument as veg*ns using the argument that Einstein was a vegetarian.  

Answer 5

Scholars agree that, in addition to being a teetotaler and a non-smoker, Adolf Hitler practiced some form of vegetarianism. The vegetarianism of Adolf Hitler is believed by most experts to have been based on Richard Wagner's anti-Semitic historical theories which connected the future of Germany with vegetarianism. Hitler believed that a vegetarian diet could both alleviate his personal health problems and spiritually regenerate the human race. In spite of these beliefs, reports state that Hitler occasionally ate meat during the 1930s. While Hitler reduced his meat consumption, he may have not eliminated it entirely, with culinary accounts indicating a sporadic preference for sausage, squab, liver dumplings, ham, and caviar. As a result, many vegetarians dispute the claim that Hitler was a vegetarian.

Answer 6

Hitler also had a moustache.  Is having a moustache bad now?

Answer 7

Hitler was never a vegetarian.

In order to be vegetarian, you need to give up all animal flesh and intend to  keep it that way.

Hitler never stuck to it and he never intended to.

He is only associated with vegetarianism because his doctor ordered him to follow it. Any reference to quotes that made him sound like a passionate/compassionate animal lover were all designed to make him seem like a better person than he was. He was either told to say those things or were only falsely written into history by his propaganda machine.

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/hitler.htm...

http://veg.ca/content/view/171/113/

President Bush and d**k Cheney seriously need to die in a fire along with every other lying, power-hungry politician but even if they were all vegetarian, that wouldn't stop me from agreeing with them on that one issue. Just because an evil person does something, it doesn't make it evil, bad or even less than great.

Answer 8

you sound a little woozy, you should really eat a hamburger before you faint!

Answer 9

No..hitler was not a vegetarian.  He stopped eating some meat for a short time due to stomach issues.  The only people who feel the need to connect Hitler and vegetarianism are immature little pee-ons who have no goal in life : )

There is no such thing as being semi-vegetarian.  Either you  are or you aren't.  

Answer 10

He also came up with the idea for a volkswagon (people's car) and blow up dolls (so his soldiers can settle their urges w/o contaminating their blood).  Aspirin by bayer was also tested on the prisoners of the concentration camps.  So, by that logic, we should stop driving VWs, having s*x w/ plastic toys, and taking aspirin.

OK, I don't have sources for those, but those are also rumors.  Honestly, this already shows that people have false logic, so why bother dealing with them.

Answer 11

Hitler wanted to be a vegetarian and promoted it among his close associates because he believes "it promotes discipline and displays strength of character". He was an on and off vegetarian (for medical reasons) because ironically, he didn't have the discipline nor the strength of character to be one consistently. His last meal though was vegetarian (spaghetti with marinara sauce).

The only reason why non-veggies point this fact out is to counter some equally fantastic mythical claim by some of the more fanatical vegetarians that they are less violent and more compassionate than non vegetarians. I personally don't use the "Hitler" example too much. I would point out to Pol Pot, a vegan who was responsible for the murder of an estimated 2-3 million of his countrymen. Or Charles Manson, another vegan who is one of the most notorious murderers of our time (Well mine anyway. You are probably a lot younger). Plus all those PETA activists and ELF and ALF "operators" who are responsible for more than 600 violent crimes since 1991. But again, only for argument purposes against fanatics. With others I have an stimulating and intelligent discussion instead.