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What happened to Hitler's family?

B

Brutuskend

Lifer
Dear Cecil:

What happened to Hitler's family? I know he had no siblings but surely there must have been others with the unfortunate surname. Were they persecuted or driven out of Germany/Austria? --Marc Ghafoor, via e-mail

Cecil replies:

What this tells you I don't know, but the rest of the world has shown a lot more interest in Adolf's relatives than Americans have. Historian Timothy Ryback brought the highbrows up to speed with a 2000 New Yorker article on the Hitler clan, but, U.S. tabloids having neglected the subject, ignorance remains high among the masses, including, if I may say so, you. No Hitler siblings? Nonsense--he had a sister, Paula, a half sister, Angela, and a half brother, Alois. Folks elsewhere are better informed. Over the past three years UK Third Reich buffs have had their choice of a book, a TV special, and various newspaper articles about the Hitler family's doings. But of course, you say--Europeans have reminders of World War II at every hand, history is more real to them, etc. Well, maybe. The fact remains that for years the descendants of some of Der Fuhrer's most obnoxious relatives have resided on Long Island, New York.

To be sure, obnoxiousness seems to be a Hitler family trait--Ryback says some of Adolf's relations still living in Austria hope to get their hands on royalties from Mein Kampf. (Lotsa luck--the cash and copyright were confiscated after the war.) The champs in the cheek department, however, were surely Brigid and William Patrick Hitler, the Nazi leader's sister-in-law and nephew, respectively. Brigid, born in Ireland, had eloped to London in 1910 with Alois Hitler, who sired William before bailing. In 1929 Willie began telling British reporters he was Hitler's nephew and allegedly tried to blackmail his uncle later. Adolf shut him up temporarily with money and jobs, but by 1939 Willie decided he'd do better working against the Nazis than for them and spent two years lecturing in the U.S. and Canada on the Hitler family's foibles. Brigid also attempted to cash in, first asking Hitler for money and when that went nowhere writing a book around 1940 claiming Hitler had visited her in pre-WWI Liverpool. Unpublished during her lifetime, the book came to historians' attention in the early 70s; some initially credited it, but I'd say most now regard it as a fraud.

After the war Hitler's relatives, including Brigid and Willie, decided to lay low, although in some cases not low enough--several in Europe died in Russian custody. Ryback tracked down Willie's sons on Long Island, but they wouldn't talk. (Brigid and Willie are long dead.) Journalist David Gardner has claimed that the sons agreed not to have children in order to end the Hitler bloodline. Still, it's premature to say we've heard the last of the house of Hitler. Ryback and another historian recently announced their discovery that Adolf had a mentally ill cousin. Far from profiting from her Hitler tie, in 1940 she was gassed.
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"Journalist David Gardner has claimed that the sons agreed not to have children in order to end the Hitler bloodline."

I doubt that's true. What person is going to agree to limit their own life just because a relative was a nutcase? If they decided not to have kids I bet it's for another reason.
 
Originally posted by: maddogchen
Ryback and another historian recently announced their discovery that Adolf had a mentally ill cousin. Far from profiting from her Hitler tie, in 1940 she was gassed.
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Ouch! 🙁
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Standard operating procedure right out of the Nazi handbook.


Ausm
 
"Commercial enterprises headed by distant American cousins of the far flung Hilter clan met differing fates during and after WWll.

The once renowned Hitler brand shower heads (based in Cincinnatti) went bankrupt early in 1946 due to bad publicity and a disastrous advertising slogan: "Hitler Shower -- Your bathroom's FINAL solution!"

Meanwhile the Hitler Moustache Wax Co. of Rochester, NY enjoyed strong sales right up until Dewey's unfortunate defeat in the 1948 Presidential election. The survivors kept a strong upper lip.

Finally, Hitler's Lux Lampshades Gmbh. of Vienna, Austria, importers to America of the Hitler Skintight Light Lampshade, ceased operations abruptly in April 1945 when their chief German supplier shut down.

Other members of the family changed their name and went into politics. See link below.
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Link.
 
ROFL

"The once renowned Hitler brand shower heads (based in Cincinnatti) went bankrupt early in 1946 due to bad publicity and a disastrous advertising slogan: "Hitler Shower -- Your bathroom's FINAL solution!" "
 
Originally posted by: no0b
ROFL

"The once renowned Hitler brand shower heads (based in Cincinnatti) went bankrupt early in 1946 due to bad publicity and a disastrous advertising slogan: "Hitler Shower -- Your bathroom's FINAL solution!" "
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:Q
 
Originally posted by: Fausto
It's beyond me why those 11 people haven't changed their names.
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What about this person:

Ludwig C Hitler - 1819 Hitler Road 1, Circleville, OH :Q
 
Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
Originally posted by: Fausto
It's beyond me why those 11 people haven't changed their names.
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What about this person:

Ludwig C Hitler - 1819 Hitler Road 1, Circleville, OH :Q
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I guess his family has been in that area for quite a while.
 
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