Hitler Family

The Hitler family is the subject of historical and genealogical study concerning Adolf Hitler's ancestors, immediate relatives, collateral branches, and the disputed biological identity of his paternal grandfather. The family originated in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria and belonged to an Austrian German rural and lower-middle-class environment. Its history is documented through changing surnames, marriages, parish records, legal declarations, and the movements of relatives across Austria and, later, Germany and the United States. The family name was not always written consistently. Before Adolf Hitler's father adopted the form Hitler, variants including Hiedler, Hüttler, Hytler, and Hittler appeared in records. On 7 January 1877, Alois Schicklgruber formally changed his surname to Hitler. The change was connected with the family of Johann Georg Hiedler, who had married Alois's mother, Maria Anna Schicklgruber, and was later recorded as Alois's father. Because this recognition occurred decades after Alois's birth, historians cannot establish with certainty whether Johann Georg was Alois's biological father. Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, Johann Georg's brother, is another possible biological connection because he helped raise Alois and left him a substantial inheritance. The uncertainty surrounding Adolf Hitler's paternal lineage later generated political rumors, including an unsupported claim that Hitler had Jewish ancestry through a supposed man named Leopold Frankenberger. Historical research has found no reliable evidence for that claim. The family was Austrian German, and the available evidence does not establish a Jewish or Czech paternal origin. Adolf's father, Alois Hitler, worked for many years in the customs service and married three times. His first wife was Anna Glasl-Hörer. After their separation, he formed a relationship with Franziska Matzelsberger, with whom he had Alois Hitler Jr. and Angela Hitler. Following Franziska's death in 1884, Alois married Klara Pölzl, a relative from the Hiedler-Pölzl family. Their children included Gustav, Ida, Otto, Adolf, Edmund, and Paula; several died in infancy or childhood. Adolf was born in Braunau am Inn on 20 April 1889. The household moved among Braunau, Passau, Linz, and the rural property at Hafeld. Alois retired from the customs service in 1895 and attempted farming, but the venture lost value. Accounts of the household describe him as authoritarian and frequently absent in taverns or occupied with beekeeping, while Klara managed much of the care of the children. Adolf was particularly attached to his mother and resisted his father's preference that he pursue a civil-service career. Alois died in 1903. Klara later developed breast cancer and died in 1907, leaving Adolf and Paula without their parents while they were still young adults. The family became historically significant because Adolf Hitler became the leader of Nazi Germany and the central figure in the Holocaust and the Second World War. His relatives generally did not form a political dynasty. His half-siblings and their descendants lived largely outside public political life, although some were drawn into public attention because of their relationship to him. Adolf's nephew William Patrick Hitler was publicly critical of his uncle, served in the United States Navy during the Second World War, and later changed his surname to Stuart-Houston. William's sons retained that name and, according to reporting cited in the family literature, had no children. Adolf's sister Paula died in 1960 without children and was the last close relative to bear the Hitler surname on a tombstone. Later reports stated that only a small number of male descendants in the bloodline remained alive, none of whom had fathered children; such counts may vary according to how collateral and maternal relatives are defined.

The earliest documented line associated with the family begins with Stefan Hiedler, born in 1672, and Agnes Capeller. Their descendants lived in and around Spital, a locality of Weitra in Lower Austria. Martin Hiedler married Anna Maria Göschl and had at least three sons: Lorenz, Johann Georg, and Johann Nepomuk. Johann Georg and Johann Nepomuk became central to later accounts of Adolf Hitler's ancestry. Johann Georg Hiedler married Maria Anna Schicklgruber in 1842. She had a five-year-old illegitimate son, Alois Schicklgruber, who later became Alois Hitler. Johann Georg was subsequently recognized in official records as Alois's father, but that recognition was made only in 1876–1877, long after Johann Georg's death. The late legal revision leaves open whether Johann Georg was the biological father. Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, who was married to Eva Maria Decker and owned a relatively prosperous farm, took responsibility for Alois during the boy's childhood and later left him money. For that reason, both brothers have been discussed in genealogical analyses of Hitler's paternal ancestry. Alois Schicklgruber entered the customs service and used the surname Hitler after its formal change in 1877. His domestic life was complicated. He married Anna Glasl-Hörer, separated from her in 1880, and then lived with Franziska Matzelsberger. Their son, initially registered as Alois Matzelsberger, was later legitimized as Alois Hitler Jr.; their daughter was Angela. Franziska died from illness in 1884. Klara Pölzl, a young relative connected to the Hiedler family, had worked in the household and returned to care for the children. Alois and Klara received a church dispensation to marry despite their close relationship and wed on 7 January 1885. Klara and Alois had six children. Gustav and Ida died of diphtheria, and Otto died shortly after birth. Adolf was born in 1889, followed by Edmund in 1894 and Paula in 1896. The family lived in several Austrian locations as Alois's customs career required transfers. In 1895 he retired and moved the family to a farm at Hafeld near Lambach, but the enterprise was unsuccessful. The household later settled in Linz. Alois's authority and Adolf's resistance to his father's career expectations have been treated by biographers as important elements of Adolf's childhood. Alois died in 1903. Klara, who had devoted substantial attention to Adolf, developed breast cancer and died in 1907 after treatment by the Jewish physician Eduard Bloch. Adolf and Paula were then the surviving children living together from Klara's household. Adolf subsequently moved to Vienna and later to Germany, while Paula maintained a more private life. The family acquired exceptional historical visibility after Adolf Hitler's rise within the Nazi movement. His relatives did not collectively operate as a public institution, and there is no evidence of a family organization or commercial enterprise corresponding to the supplied brand label. His half-brother Alois Jr. became associated with restaurant work, and his half-sister Angela had children, including Geli Raubal. Adolf's sister Paula remained childless and died in 1960. A separate branch descended from Adolf's half-brother William Patrick Hitler. William criticized his uncle, served in the United States Navy during the Second World War, and after the war adopted the surname Stuart-Houston. His sons likewise used Stuart-Houston. Later accounts have emphasized that this branch did not continue through a new generation. Genealogical discussions also distinguish the direct male line from maternal relatives such as the Koppensteiners. The family therefore remains a historical subject defined by records, disputed ancestry, and the consequences of Adolf Hitler's political career rather than by present-day institutional activity.

• 1960

  Death of Paula Hitler

  [1]Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org

  Paula, Adolf's younger sister, died without children and was the last close family member to bear the Hitler surname on a tombstone.

• 1907

  Death of Klara Hitler

  [1]Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org

  Klara died of breast cancer after medical treatment, leaving Adolf and Paula without their parents.

• 1903

  Death of Alois Hitler

  [1]Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org

  Adolf's father died, leaving Klara to manage the household with the surviving children.

• 1889

  Birth of Adolf Hitler

  [1]Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org

  Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn on 20 April.

• 1885

  Alois Hitler marries Klara Pölzl

  [1]Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org

  Alois married Klara Pölzl after receiving a church dispensation for their close family relationship.

• 1877

  Alois Schicklgruber adopts the Hitler surname

  [1]Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org

  Alois Schicklgruber's surname was formally changed to Hitler, following the late recognition of Johann Georg Hiedler as his father.

A historical and genealogical subject, not a commercial brand.

1. 1Family of Adolf Hitleren.wikipedia.org