Introduction
One of the things that you may know about Adolf Hitler is that he was short – very short. However, you might be wondering whether this is true, or whether this is a common myth that has been perpetuated by uninformed people.
Adolf Hitler was actually around 5 feet 9 inches tall (1.75 meters). For the era, this was not particularly short, and it’s quite likely that few people thought of Hitler as a short man. This was something that was likely invented by his enemies in an attempt to undermine him and make him seem like a worse leader.
Height is an interesting thing when it comes to celebrities and historical figures, and if you’re curious about Adolf Hitler’s height, you’re in luck, because we’re going to learn more about it!
How Tall Was Adolf Hitler Really?
There are no official German records to tell us exactly how tall Adolf Hitler was, so nobody knows for sure. However, an Austrian Army record placed his height at approximately 1.73 meters, which is close to 5 foot 8.
It’s also worth noting that estimates do vary to some degree. David Irwing’s book “The War Path” stated that in 1939, Hitler stood at 5 foot 9 inches. The difference is minimal, and the two numbers corroborate each other to an extent, because of how close they are.
We may never find out exactly how tall Adolf Hitler was, but we can be sure that he was not as short as the history books like to make out. It’s probably that he was around the average height for a German man of his era.
He probably weighed around 155 pounds, which would have been considered a normal weight for his height.
Was Adolf Hitler Considered Short?
Adolf Hitler probably was not considered short for his time, no. However, history has written him as short, and you may be wondering why. There are a few potential explanations.
The first is that he had many enemies, and they would have been keen to say negative things about him whenever there was an opportunity. His being short was part of a long list of criticisms that were put about by nations like the British in an attempt to discredit him.
This was a common propaganda tactic, and probably worked to an extent! Other myths included the idea that he only had one testicle, which has been fairly thoroughly discredited at this point. Hitler’s physicians made no reference to this, and it was again probably just aimed at making him look undesirable and weak.
Additionally, some people may have thought of Adolf Hitler as short because he was frequently surrounded by guards – who may have been chosen for their physique and unusual height. These guards probably made Hitler look shorter than he really was, because they would have been taller than him.
If you look at photographs of Hitler, however, you will probably think that he’s about average height compared to others standing near him. He’s not significantly taller or shorter than others in most photos, which indicates that he was of about the average height for his time.
Although a major generalization, people tend to be taller now than in the past, which may have contributed to modern perceptions of Hitler being short.
How Does Hitler’s Height Compare With Other World Leaders?
If you were to measure Hitler up against, for example, Winston Churchill, you might be surprised by how tall he was. Nobody says that Churchill was short – he is regarded as a hero by many – and yet he only measured 1.68 meters. That means that Hitler was a good few centimeters taller; this would be surprising to many people.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a little taller, at 1.88 meters tall, so he would have stood taller than Hitler, but only by around 10-15 centimeters, depending on which measurement you believe in.
However, even modern world leaders don’t tend to be significantly taller than Adolf Hitler was, despite the general size increase humans have enjoyed. Joe Biden stands at 1.83 meters, while Boris Johnson stands at 1.75 meters.
Mussolini was only 1.69 meters tall, and Franco was just 1.63. Pol Pot was 1.75. Joseph Stalin is thought to have been between 1.65 and 1.68 meters tall, based on photographs (although statues of him depict a much taller man).
Some people suggest that there’s a link between being short and becoming a dictator, but it doesn’t seem that this is very likely. Although Napoleon was only 1.68 meters tall, he wasn’t exceptionally small for his time.
The only real link between dictators and being short is probably that many countries have attempted to discredit them in this way – rather than because most of them are actually short.
Would Hitler Be Short If He Was Alive Today?
Today, the average height for a German man is 5 foot 10 inches (or 1.79 meters). That means that even today, Adolf Hitler would be very close to the average, if perhaps slightly below it. Our current standards wouldn’t refer to Hitler as a short man – so it’s surprising that so many people think he was.
Of course, Adolf Hitler lived only around 80 years ago, which isn’t much time for the average height of a nation to have increased.
It’s quite likely that the average height will continue to increase and perhaps Hitler truly will be “short” for modern times at some stage in the future, but there’s no question that he was not unusually small for his time.
It is worth noting that Hitler once remarked that he wouldn’t have been able to join the SS himself if the requirements had been applied to him. This may have been due to his height, but since the height requirements changed regularly, this doesn’t tell us a lot about how tall he was.
How old was Adolf Hitler when he died? Age of Adolf Hitler when he died
Hitler was 56 years old when he died in 1945.
Conclusion
Overall, Adolf Hitler was a fairly normal height for his time. He was around 1.75 meters tall, or 5 foot 9 – which even today, would not make him a notably short individual.
