Hitler’s Tremors: A Gut-Brain Connection? 

By Peter David Orr

Adolf Hitler had Parkinson’s disease and displayed symptoms of drug abuse fostered by his physician, Dr. Theodor Morell. These claims have so often been repeated uncritically that most people regard them as settled history. However, a plausible alternative fits: Hitler’s symptoms were rooted in percussive injuries sustained during World War I and amplified by the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt. Injuries to the gut and brain from bomb blasts can cause microbiome dysbiosis and vagal nerve dysfunction, and manifest decades later.

Recent studies on soldiers show that blast or chemical-induced brain and gut trauma, can disrupt gut bacteria and nerve signaling, lying dormant for years before symptoms appear. This gut-brain axis pathology can mimic Parkinson’s. During WW1, Adolf Hitler was almost killed by a British Mustard Gas attack during the Battle of Ypres, and he suffered at least three (documented) serious percussive blast injuries. 

Consider this: In 1936, Dr. Morell diagnosed Hitler with severe gut dysbiosis—abdominal cramps, bloating, diarrhea—noting symptoms began around 1924 and were episodic (clearing up for months before returning). Often called a “quack,” Morell may have actually been ahead of his time: fecal analyses confirmed abnormal bacterial flora, likely small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). His Mutaflor probiotic alleviated symptoms of the gut but ultimately could not reverse the damage already been done to Hitler's nervous system.

Short-term symptoms don't always match long-term symptoms, which often don’t appear for years. It's not uncommon for symptoms that didn't show up immediately to manifest decades later, like gut dysfunction and tremors. This matches Hitler's symptoms in 1935 and then again during the WW2. The 1944 assassination bomb blast piled on another layer of concussive gut and brain injury, and could, in and of itself, explain reports of slow walking, shuffling, sleep dysregulation, and hand tremors. Remarkably, Hitler’s left-hand tremor, present since 1942, vanished for three months following the 1944 assassination attempt. This suggests a gut-neurological link. Claims of slumping shoulders or shuffling gait lack primary evidence and they may have been the result of any number of things, like normal aging, lack of sleep due to an unsustainable schedule, etc. Though these symptoms have been emphasized by historians in more recent times, the only primary source we have for a diagnosis (Dr. Morell’s diaries) note only intestinal cramps, diarrhea, physical exhaustion, sleep disturbances, and tremors. 

When attempting to diagnose Hitler's symptoms as this or that disease, it's important to understand that our perceptions have been clouded by effective war-time propaganda.  Perhaps you've seen clips like, "Hitler does a jig" or "Hitler on meth" or "Hitler's hand shakes uncontrollably".  If you don't know these are film tricks, please consult a first-year film student. These clips were manipulated to turn normal hand and body movements into abnormal ones. If you've seen video clips of Hitler's tremors; you've seen that film trick. Film tricks aren't evidence of any disease. Anyone who diagnoses Hitler's medical condition or suggests he's "high" based on film tricks should be embarrassed. 

Furthermore,  the stress Hitler was under, and the upside-down schedule he kept, could have produced many of his symptoms.  There's anecdotal evidence of this, that even casual observers may have noticed. Take a look at photos and film footage of US Presidents before they took office and then 4 or 8 years later. You'll see declining posture, markedly wearier faces and expressions, less spring in their step, etc. I'm not just talking about President Biden, either.  Even our youngest Presidents visibly age in four years under the stress of office, even in the absence of a World War.  If you only saw that person before they were President and then in the last months of their term, you'd probably be shocked at the difference. You might even assume that an potential illness accounts for these physical changes.  However, normal aging could explain what you're perceiving.

Research indicates that the second most rapid decade of aging for men (beyond the last few years of life) is ages 50 to 60. In short, aging for men is most noticeable during those years. This is driven by natural hormonal, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular changes.  Testosterone levels, which decline gradually from the 30s, drop more sharply in the 50s by approximately 1–2% per year, according to a 2018 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, leading to reduced muscle mass, energy, and libido that visibly age the body. Concurrently, metabolism slows markedly, with increased fat accumulation and decreased insulin sensitivity, as noted in a 2020 Nature Reviews Endocrinology study, contributing to weight gain and a frail appearance often mistaken for disease-related changes. Musculoskeletal decline accelerates due to sarcopenia and early osteoporosis, per a 2019 Journal of Bone and Mineral Research study, causing posture changes like slight stooping, which in Adolf Hitler’s case at age 56 in 1945 may just have been normal aging compounded by lack of regular exercise, chronic sleep depravation, and war stress. 

Unlike Parkinson’s, with unrelenting symptoms, Hitler’s tremors, first noted after 1942 influenza in Ukraine, came and went. His stomach ailment came and went, even before Dr. Morell treated him and was able to get the symptoms under control.  In fact, Dr. Morell was able to get Hitler's gut symptoms under control for years.  This episodic pattern fits microbiome dysbiosis and vagal nerve dysfunction from trauma better than Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the progressive loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, leading to unrelenting tremors, stiffness, and slow movement. Parkinsonism, however, is a broader syndrome mimicking these symptoms but triggered by various causes, such as brain trauma, chemical exposure, or inflammation, often with episodic patterns.  

I'm not a medical expert, so I'm hoping to hear from those who are. Is my hypothesis reasonable? Whether or not you're an expert, please consider and comment on the alternative explanation for Hitler's symptoms that I've presented.

What does this topic have to do with the possibility that Hitler escaped? Many have suggested that Hitler was too sick and debilitated.  What's your take on this notion, and what evidence would you cite to back up your opinion?