Did you ever see the movie Valkerie, starring Tom Cruise? Aside from Cruise lacking a German accent, it’s based on history—the assassination attempt on Hitler by his own officers on July 20, 1944. Cruise plays Claus von Stauffenberg, who tried to kill Hitler by detonating an explosive hidden in a briefcase. However, due to the location of the bomb at the time of detonation, the blast only dealt Hitler minor injuries.
An interesting bit of history linking Hitler to bleeding disorder medication was brought to my attention by our wonderful archivist, Richard Atwood of North Carolina. He writes:
“As a consequence of the assassination attempt at his headquarters on July 20, 1944, Fuhrer Adolph Hitler suffered multiple injuries from the time fuse bomb explosion. His personal physician for the previous seven years, Dr. Theodor Gilbert Morell, arrived almost immediately. Hitler had a severe gash on his head that affected his inner ear. He also had a swollen right forearm, bleeding and swollen left forearm, bleeding right shin bone, burns on two left hand fingers, burned hair, a calf burn, and multiple contusions and open wounds. Over 100 oak splinters were embedded in both legs, with more in his right leg. Psychologically, the bomb blast caused Hitler’s leg tremors to cease, yet his neurotic hand tremors continued, while, most importantly, it made him distrustful of almost everyone. Blood seeped steadily from Hitler’s ears. Dr. Morell treated Hitler with the usual daily intravenous injections of double glucose and Vitamultin-Calcium. Two days later, Dr. Morell recruited Dr. Erwin Gieslng, a major (med.) and ENT specialist, to examine Hitler. Dr. Gieslng found a large rupture in the right tympanic membrane (eardrum) and a slit-shaped central rupture in the left semicircular canals and cochlea, with slight deafness. The right ear continued to bleed. Dr. Giesing recommended simple cauterization, yet Dr. Morell proposed treating with Nateina, a controversial hemostatic that had allegedly been successful in treating the hemophilic Spanish royal family. Dr. Giesing performed the cauterization and Dr. Morell provided some blood staunching injections and the styptic tablets. The bleeding continued, and the cauterization – without local anesthesia – was repeated.
“The drug Nateina is described in the appendix:
“(Llopis of Madrid) A mysterious hemostatic used on Hitler’s middle ear after the Bomb Plot of July 1944. Nateina aroused interest in the medical world in 1930 when it was claimed to have been successfully used on the “bleeders” of the hemophilic Spanish royal family. In Germany it was marketed by Hageda of Berlin, a company close to Morell’s business empire.”
Richard notes that this medical biography of Hitler has transcriptions from Dr. Morell’s correspondence, diary, and medical data cards, plus Hitler’s medical records. The text includes eight pages of photographs; 18 pages for Tests and Checkups, 1940-1945; and seven pages for the medicines. Felipe Llopis, a farmaceutico in Madrid, formed the company Laboratorio Llopis to manufacture Nateina. A plant origin preparation in tablet form, Nateina contains vitamins A, B, C and D, plus calcium phosphate and lactose. To document the treatment of hemophilia with Nateina, Felipe Llopis published the Spanish text Hemofilia y su Tratamiento (Fundamentos científicos.) (Madrid;1929), along with a German translation, Hamophilie und ihre Behandlung (Leipzig; 1929). During the 1930s, medical researchers described the use of Nateina to treat hemophilia in medical journals published in Spain, The Netherlands and Germany.
Richard notes, “Nateina was basically a weak multivitamin of A, B, C, D, plus calcium. It might make you healthier, even strengthen your blood vessels, while the calcium could assist in the coagulation cascade. Nateina probably worked better as a placebo. Yet this Spanish treatment also had a following in Germany. Nateina came as a tablet for oral administration.”
You can read more about this fascinating topic in: David Irving’s 1983 book The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company. 310 pages.
