History of Sorts

Many people believe that Adolf Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945. However, the statement that “Hitler died on 20 May 1956 in a traffic accident at the age of 74 in Nidwalden, Switzerland” is also true—depending on which Hitler you’re talking about.

Before I receive a flood of emails and comments telling me I’m wrong, let me explain. I am referring to a Hitler, but not Adolf Hitler. The man who died in Switzerland in 1956 was Adolf’s half-brother, Alois Hitler Jr.

Alois Hitler Jr. was born out of wedlock on 13 January 1882. His father, Alois Hitler Sr., had an affair with Franziska Matzelsberger while still married to his second wife, Anna Glasl-Hörer. After Anna died on 6 April 1883, Alois Sr. married Franziska, and their son officially took the surname Hitler.

Tragedy struck again on 10 August 1884, when Franziska died at the age of just 23. Soon afterwards, Alois Sr. married his housekeeper, Klara Pölzl. Their son, Adolf Hitler, was born five years later, making Alois Jr. Adolf’s older half-brother.

By 1896, at the age of 14, Alois Jr. had left home for Dublin, Ireland. His departure was largely due to increasingly violent arguments with his father and a strained relationship with his stepmother, Klara.

After finding work as an apprentice waiter, his life took a troubled turn. He was convicted of theft and served a five-month prison sentence in 1900, followed by another eight-month sentence in 1902 for a separate offence.

In 1909, Alois attended the Dublin Horse Show, where he met Bridget Dowling and her father, William Dowling. He presented himself as a wealthy hotelier travelling across Europe, but the reality was far less glamorous—he was working as a kitchen porter at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel.

Alois and Bridget courted at various locations around Dublin, and before long they were discussing marriage. On 3 June 1910, the couple eloped to London, where they lived for a time on Charing Cross Road. Bridget’s father initially threatened to have Alois charged with kidnapping, but he eventually accepted the marriage after Bridget insisted it had been her own decision.

The newlyweds later settled at 102 Upper Stanhope Street, a boarding house in the Toxteth district of Liverpool. In 1911, their only child, William Patrick Hitler, was born. Years later, William Patrick attempted to join the British armed forces but was rejected. He subsequently emigrated to the United States, enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, and fought against the forces of his uncle, Adolf Hitler.

Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Alois abandoned his wife and son. Returning to Germany, he entered into another marriage despite still being legally married to Bridget, committing bigamy. After the war, he falsely claimed to be dead, but the deception was eventually uncovered. In 1924, German authorities charged him with bigamy. He avoided conviction largely because Bridget chose not to pursue the case. She went on to raise William Patrick alone, receiving no financial support from Alois, and the couple were eventually divorced.

Sources

https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/hitler-brother-married-dublin-woman

 https://www.beachesofnormandy.com/articles/The_Hitler_family_feud/?id=cd6cb7aec4

https://www.dublincity.ie/library/blog/hitlers-irish-nephew

 https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GBSZ-73W/alois-hitler-jr.-1882-1956

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Matzelsberger-2#Biography