More than 80 years after his death, Hitler remains an object of fascination – not just because of what he did but because much about the man behind the carefully constructed public image remains shrouded in mystery.
Behind the military uniforms and theatrical rallies was a private life filled with complicated relationships, drugs, rumours of sexual fetishes and more than a few stories that sound too bizarre to be true.
A 2021 four-part docuseries, titled Hitler’s Secret Sex Life (currently streaming for free on Tubi) takes viewers behind closed doors to examine Hitler’s relationships with women, reported sexual proclivities and reliance on pharmaceuticals.
So, what was the real Hitler like? And how much of the lurid stories around his private life – and private parts – are actually true?
Behind closed doors
Hitler went to extraordinary lengths to cultivate an image of himself as disciplined, healthy and almost superhuman. He was famously presented as a vegetarian who avoided alcohol and cigarettes and preached healthy living – the very picture of Aryan health and vitality. Behind the scenes, however, his medicine cabinet was telling a very different story.
The documentary details Hitler’s heavy reliance on drugs and medication during his reign. Cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone and multiple other medications worked to put some pep in Hitler’s step. And, when the drugs dried up in 1945, the Führer’s long-time physician, Dr Theodor Morell, was expelled from the bunker in disgrace.
Hitler’s childhood was complicated. His father, Alois, was a heavy drinker who was reportedly prone to violence, while his mother, Klara, was fiercely devoted to her son.
He later reportedly recalled sleeping in his mother’s bed as one of his “happiest childhood memories” and kept her portrait above his bed throughout his life.
The documentary suggests these early experiences may have shaped Hitler’s later personality and sexual behaviour, although, as with much of the material in the series, it relies heavily on speculation rather than established fact.
It’s reported that his parents were uncle and niece – a practice not uncommon in rural areas in the late 1800s. Even Hitler’s body has become the subject of historical gossip, with unsubstantiated claims of “congenital defects” lingering for decades.
Call me ‘Führer’
Four women in particular feature prominently in accounts of Hitler’s romantic life. All were considerably younger than him and each either attempted or succeeded in taking their own lives.
First there was his half-niece, Angela “Geli” Raubal, who was 19 years younger than him. Their relationship has long been the subject of speculation, with some accounts claiming it became sexual and increasingly controlling. The documentary reports that his bedroom perversions at this time included Raubal standing above him and, well … I’ll leave that to your imagination. After five years together, Raubal was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound from Hitler’s own pistol.
And then there was Maria Reiter, who was 16 when she reportedly caught the Führer’s attention at his alpine retreat. But when Hitler ultimately lost interest in her, she reportedly attempted to hang herself from a clothesline but was saved by her brother.
Hitler then met Renata Müller, a popular German film and stage actress. According to accounts later attributed to people close to Müller, Hitler had a very particular idea of romance. The documentary states that he fell to the floor, declared he was unworthy and begged her to kick and verbally abuse him while he pleasured himself.
Müller’s fate was strange – in 1937, she was admitted to a sanatorium and when SS officers visited her there, she mysteriously fell from a balcony to her death.
Then there was Eva Braun – the woman who spent years living in the shadow of Hitler’s public life, before becoming his wife just hours before their deaths. She reportedly told her “hairdresser” that the two hadn’t consummated their relationship.
It’s suggested in the documentary that she also unsuccessfully attempted to take her own life twice – once with a pistol and then with sleeping tablets. As defeat became inevitable, she took a cyanide tablet alongside her new husband in the bunker.
We’ll never know the truth
And then there are the rumours Hitler’s followers would probably have preferred to remain buried: claims about his sexuality. After his death, the documentary details claims of a relationship with a fellow soldier during World War I, as well as allegations that he surrounded himself with gay men in the higher ranks of the Nazi Party.
And this is where things get murky. It’s the sort of story that sounds tailor-made for a documentary about Hitler’s sex life. But that doesn’t necessarily make it true. Of course, these particular claims can’t be proven and could instead be explained by anti-Hitler propaganda.
Much of the reporting in this documentary is unsubstantiated and based on speculation – it even admits in parts that some of the claimants were unreliable witnesses with an axe to grind. Documents and accounts that may prove these claims were destroyed either by Hitler himself or during the war, which may explain why speculation continues to be so pervasive today.
It’s easy to discredit a leader who held himself in such high regard, failed his nation, brought out the very worst in his people and lost the war. In hindsight, perhaps the world wants to believe Hitler was as evil and depraved in his private life as the Nazi Party was in its heinous policies and actions.
Which is perhaps why it’s such a fascinating documentary to watch. Why do we care about the truth of Hitler’s sex life? It’s less about salaciousness and more about discrediting and removing the humanity from a man who actively dehumanised a whole generation of innocent people. By presenting him as an anomaly, we create an essential point of difference between ourselves and a man we never want to see the likes of again.
Hitler’s Secret Sex Life is currently streaming for free on Tubi
