William Patrick Hitler

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Patrick Hitler as a member of the US Navy between 1944 and 1947

William Patrick Hitler (later Stuart-Houston ) (born March 12, 1911 in Liverpool , England , † July 14, 1987 on Long Island , New York ) was the half-nephew of Adolf Hitler .

Life

William Patrick Hitler was the son of Alois Hitler Jr. and Irish Bridget Dowling (1891 to 1969). William's father Alois lived temporarily in Dublin , where he met Dowling in 1909. In 1910 the couple married and moved to Liverpool. There William, the only child from this connection, was born in 1911.

William Hitler worked as an accountant in London . When his uncle Adolf Hitler came to power , he hoped to make a career with his help. He gave up his job and traveled to Germany . After making contact, the uncle found the nephew a job at the car manufacturer Opel , which, however, did not appeal to William Patrick , who was strongly inclined to be extravagant . Letters from this period also suggest that he was at least trying to extort money and other benefits from his uncle by threatening to divulge family secrets. The dictator is said to have promptly referred to him as one of his “most disgusting relatives”. William Patrick soon returned to England - whether he was disappointed with his uncle Adolf, as he said himself, or under pressure, is not exactly known. He then gave lectures and wrote a book about his experiences with Adolf Hitler.

In 1939, William Patrick moved to the United States with his mother . When the Second World War broke out and the German Reich declared war on the USA in 1941 , William Patrick Hitler stayed there. He now took advantage of his uncle's level of awareness in the sense that he was occasionally able to appear as a sought-after interview partner in the American public. In a humorous and eloquent manner, he positioned himself in the manner of the sympathetic nephew who dutifully opposes his uncle's heinous machinations. He then volunteered for the Naval Medical Corps of the US Navy , but was initially turned away by the authorities, who were always suspicious of him. In 1944, with the sympathy of the American press, he finally succeeded in being accepted into the US Navy . However, he was never assigned to a deployment close to the front.

William Patrick Hitler was discharged from the US Navy in 1947. If he dealt quite openly with his relatives to the “Führer” during the war, he soon seemed to have a not inconsiderable fear of possible reprisals. In any case, William Patrick, who once liked to be dazzling, withdrew completely from the public.

Late years

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung according to which he later moved to Patchogue on Long Iceland about where he operated a laboratory for blood tests. He died in 1987 and is now buried in a Catholic cemetery on Long Island near New York. On the gravestone, however, there is the pseudonym Stuart-Houston, which is strikingly similar to the name of the historical figure Houston Stewart Chamberlain , whose ideas helped shape Adolf Hitler's worldview.

family

William Hitler had four children with his wife Phyllis (1925-2004), whom he married in 1947, but they did not bear the name Hitler. The first-born son (* 1949) has the first name Alexander Adolf . The children were able to obtain a court ruling according to which their current surname cannot simply be disseminated in the public media. Two of the three surviving sons opened a horticultural business, from which they have since withdrawn, the third is a social worker and psychotherapist . Adolf Hitler's three grand-nephews are, according to general knowledge, childless.

Film documentaries

  • Oliver Halmburger and Thomas Staehler: Hitler family. In the shadow of the dictator. Documentary. With the collaboration of Timothy Ryback and Florian Beierl. Oliver Halmburger Loopfilm GmbH, Munich and ZDF-History, Mainz 2005. Broadcast in an expanded and revised 44-minute version on November 8, 2011 under the title Hitler's Family as part 1 of the 6-part ZDF series Secrets of the Third Reich .

literature

  • Wolfgang Zdral: The Hitlers. The Führer’s unknown family . Campus Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 2005, ISBN 978-3-593-37457-4 , or paperback edition: Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 2008, ISBN 978-3-404-61631-2 , pp. 152-194.
  • David Gardner: The last of the Hitlers . Worcester, BMM, 2001. ISBN 0-9541544-0-1 .
  • Marc Vermeeren: De jeugd van Adolf Hitler 1889–1907 en zijn familie en voorouders . Soesterberg, 2007. Uitgeverij aspect. ISBN 978-90-5911-606-1 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hitler, William Patrick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stuart-Houston, William Patrick (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American-British accountant and author, Adolf Hitler's half-nephew and the son of Alois Hitler junior
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Liverpool , England , UK
DATE OF DEATH July 14, 1987
Place of death Long Island , New York