A postcard written by Adolf Hitler during World War One has revealed that the dictator had a phobia of visiting the dentist and suffered terrible dental problems as a result of poor oral hygiene. The card, which has surfaced in Munich, is dated December 21, 1916 and describes how Hitler had 19 teeth removed at a dental appointment; the writing has been examined and authenticated. Professor of history at the University of Augsburg, Ludwig Eiber, said that ‘The postcard is written in his handwriting and signed by him. There is no doubt that it is genuine.’
The card is marked with the stamp of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment, Hitler’s unit during the First World War; the future Fuehrer was in a Munich hospital recovering from a grenade wound to his thigh. This is the second postcard that Hitler sent to a fellow soldier called Karl Lanzhammer, in the short paragraph he jokes ‘you can’t imagine how nice I looked’ after the treatment and added ‘now I’m better.’
Hitler was well-known for hating trips to the dentist and his personal dentist Johannes Blaschke revealed how the German leader once insisted that root canal treatment be spread over eight days because he could not take the pain all in one go. According to the dentist, Hitler also had ‘terribly bad breath, abscesses and gum disease.’