Landmark new DNA research has revealed that Adolf Hitler had a rare genetic disorder that might have meant that he had a micropenis, among other sexual development issues.
Hitler – probably history’s greatest monster – likely had Kallmann syndrome, which affects puberty and sexual development, according to analysis of a blood sample.
Did Adolf Hitler really have a micropenis?
New analysis of a blood sample has revealed that Hitler had a secret genetic disorder that would have meant he had lower testosterone, potentially undescended testicles, and other problems with puberty that could have even meant he had a micropenis.
Kallmann syndrome affects puberty from happening in the typical fashion, which means that it is likely that he would have found it tough to form sexual relationships in a traditional way.
These new findings are set to be revealed in a documentary called Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator which also sets to rest a few pervasive myths that have grown up around the former Nazi leader.
The film claims to debunk the myth that Hitler had Jewish ancestry, and puts forward the argument that he was neurodivergent and had mental health issues.
Another interesting claim is that it is likely that he had a micropenis, caused by the developmental issues of his Kallmann syndrome.
This research has been taken seriously – scientists claim
The DNA sample that provided the backbone for this study was taken from a bloodstained piece of fabric that a US Army colonel cut out of the couch where Hitler died in 1945.
Obviously, these findings are going to cause a stir, but the researchers who did the work said that they wanted to do things properly.
Lead geneticist Professor Turi King said that she was initially hesitant to take the role, but agreed in the end.
“I agonised over it,” she admitted.
“But it will be done at some point, and we wanted to make sure it’s done in an extremely measured and rigorous fashion.
“Also, to not do it puts [Hitler] on some sort of pedestal.”
She continued: “If he [had looked] at his own genetic results, he would almost certainly have sent himself to the gas chambers.”
Tales from the First World War, where Hitler was a soldier, recounted that he was routinely bullied for the size of his penis, and this condition means that he had around a one-in-10 chance of having a micropenis.
In 1923, a medical examination showed that he had an undescended testicle.
Historian Alex J Kay, an expert on Nazi Germany, says this could help to explain Hitler’s ‘highly unusual and almost complete devotion to politics in his life’.
The researchers don’t want these results to increase stigma
The scientists behind the research, while cognizant of the headlines that will come, don’t want to stigmatize anyone with the conditions that have been attributed to Hitler in the film.
Psychologist and Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen – Sacha’s cousin, as it happens – said: “Behavior is never 100 per cent genetic,
“Associating Hitler’s extreme cruelty with people with these diagnoses risks stigmatizing them, especially when the vast majority of people with these diagnoses are neither violent nor cruel, and many are the opposite.”
