Excerpts from Loose Cannons: 101 myths, mishaps, and misadventures of military history, by Graeme Donald. 1st US publishing in 2011, UK 2009;
“Contrary to general opinion, Hitler was neither the vegetarian nor the teetotaler touted by Joseph Goebbels, who wished to project the image of a revolutionary ascetic. It is true that his doctors put him on a low-meat diet from time to time, but this was to reduce his excessive flatulence and profuse sweating.
Immediately after the death of his beloved Geli he frequently professed an abhorrence of meat, but Dione Lucas, a chef who used to prepare Hitler’s meals when he dined in Hamburg in the 1930’s, wrote in her Gourmet Cooking School Book: “I do not mean to spoil your appetite for stuffed squab, but you might be interested to know that it was a great favorite with Hitler, who dined at the Hotel often. Let us not hold that against this fine recipe, though.”
Both Robert Payne’s Life and Death of Adolf Hitler (1973) and J. H. Toland’s Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography (1976) mention his fondness for Bavarian hams and sausage, and Albert Speer’s memoirs mention Hitler’s insistence on a well stocked meat locker in his bunker.”