Adolf Hitler's only surviving food taster has claimed that the Fuhrer was a dedicated vegetarian during his stay at the "Wolf's Lair" in World War II.
Margot Woelk, 95, said that Hitler ate only the freshest fruit and vegetables during the two and a half years that she was forced to check his food for traces of poison.
During World War II, Woelk, a German citizen whose husband had been sent to fight, was taken by the Schutzstaffel (SS) to Hitler's Eastern Front headquarters in modern-day Poland, known as the "Wolf's Lair".
"It was all vegetarian, the most delicious fresh things, from asparagus to peppers and peas, served with rice and salads. It was all arranged on one plate, just as it was served to him. There was no meat and I do not remember any fish," she said.
Hitler's apparent enthusiasm for vegetarianism reflected the Nazi obsession with Aryan bodily purity. A Hitler Youth manual from the 1930s promoted soya beans, which it called "Nazi beans" as an alternative to meat.
