In an astonishing revelation found in the memoirs of Christa Schroeder, German dictator Adolf Hitler's secretary, Hitler often hallucinated about happier romantic times because his doctor often injected him with hormones procured from the testicles of bulls.
According to Schroeder's book, the Führer's mood was known to change in the blink of an eye, and his periodic bursts of bonhomie perplexed and overwhelmed most in his inner circle.
Schroeder worked for the Führer from 1933 until the end in May 1945.
She had replied to a tiny advertisement in a newspaper asking for a woman with secretarial skills. The job turned out to be in the Munich office of the Nazi party and after Hitler had been made Chancellor in 1933 she became his main secretary at the age of 25.
Hitler became so relaxed in Schroeder's company that he would talk with surprising openness about his childhood.
"Our room was a place where he felt unburdened... Often he would speak affectionately of his mother, to whom he was very attached, and also of his father's violence.
She recalled Hitler saying-"I never loved my father but feared him. He was prone to rages and would resort to violence. My poor mother would then be afraid for me. I had read that it was a sign of bravery to hide pain so I decided that when he beat me next time I would make no sound. When it happened - I knew my mother was standing anxiously at the door - I counted each stroke out loud."