Serving As Hitler’s Food-Taster Had Its Pros and Cons

One of the food testers of Adolf Hitler, Margot Woelk speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Berlin, Thursday, April 25, 2013. Margot Woelk was one of 15 young women who sampled Hitler’s food to make sure it wasn’t poisoned before it was served to the Nazi leader in his “Wolf’s Lair,” the heavily guarded command center in what is now Poland, where he spent much of his time in the final years of World War II. Margot Woelk kept her secret hidden from the world, even from her husband then, a few months after her 95th birthday, she revealed the truth about her wartime role. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Photo: Markus Schreiber/AP/Corbis

The food was delicious, only the best vegetables, asparagus, bell peppers, everything you can imagine. And always with a side of rice or pasta. But this constant fear — we knew of all those poisoning rumors and could never enjoy the food. Every day we feared it was going to be our last meal.” —Margot Woelk, one of fifteen young women who taste-tested Adolf Hitler’s food for poison during World War II, and the only who survived the Russians. 

Serving As Hitler’s Food-Taster Had Pros, Cons