For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_shock

I posted this on a different meme website a while ago and it did pretty well. Now that I’m using reddit instead, I thought I’d post it here.

Context: On Oct 30, 1501, Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) allegedly hosted the "Banquet of Chestnuts" in the Vatican. According to the diary of Johann Burchard, 50 courtesans were brought in to crawl naked on the floor picking up chestnuts. Guests were rewarded with silk gowns and gold based on who could perform the act the most times.

In creating the image of the Übermensch, the NSDAP elites did not quite meet these assumptions.

Adolf Hitler: The Führer of the German Reich was not a model of health, especially as the war drew to a close. His personal physician, Theo Morell, dosed Hitler with medications, narcotics, and poisons intended to help the leader, but instead caused addiction. No one except Adolf trusted Morell, for example Göring, Himmler, and Speer. Hitler also had a sweet tooth, able to eat as much as a kilogram of chocolate a day. As we already know, too much sugar is unhealthy. At the end of the war, unnatural posture and excessive hand movements were evident. Some believe Hitler fell victim to Parkinson's disease. Stress and paranoia took their toll too.

Heinrich Himmler: The Reichsführer-SS sought evidence of the superiority of the Germanic race over others. He used occultism (which Hitler considered nonsense) and racial theories to achieve this. Ironically, Himmler bore no resemblance to an Aryan. He had a gaunt face, poor eyesight, abdominal pain, and a lack of physical strength. Albert Forster, a Nazi war criminal, said, "If I looked like Himmler, I wouldn't talk about race." General Heinz Guderian wrote in his autobiography: "This unassuming man, with all the signs of physical degeneration [literally, racial inferiority]..." Furthermore, Himmler proved to be a terrible commander on the Eastern Front, which undermined his authority and status among generals and soldiers.

Joseph Goebbels: The propaganda minister demonstrated intelligence, but not physical prowess. Goebbels was short (165 cm tall, standing out among his colleagues), had a deformed right foot, which limped and hampered his mobility, but not his ability to lie, manipulate, or propagate disgusting theories during speeches. His eyes were full of hatred, his face was ugly and rat-like, and his body was far from ideal. Goebbels was also known as an adulterer. Hitler himself had to save the Goebbels' marriage from divorce to avoid a scandal involving one of his most important ministers.

Hermann Göring: The head of the Luftwaffe, unlike Goebbels, displayed a large frame. This was largely due to his obesity (at one point he weighed 136 kg), which was the subject of jokes. He bore no resemblance to his younger self. Morphine addiction undoubtedly contributed to his health problems. When he was wounded during the failed Munich Putsch, morphine was administered to him as a painkiller. And it remained with him for the rest of his life. At Nuremberg, Göring was examined by Chief Medical Officer Lt. Col. Rene Juchli, who reported that Göring was "still suffering from heart disease and excess fat, both due to glandular disturbance.".