Klara Hitler néeNEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Pölzl (12 August 1860 – 21 December 1907) was an Austrian woman, the wife of
Alois HitlerAlois Hitler was an Austrian civil servant who was the father of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
and the mother of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Family background and marriage
Born
Klara Pölzl in the
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n village of Spital,
WeitraWeitra is a small town in the district of Gmünd in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is located within the rural Waldviertel region on the upper Lužnice river, near the border with the Czech Republic. The municipality consists of the Katastralgemeinden Brühl, Großwolfgers, Oberwindhag,...
, her mother was
Johanna HiedlerJohanna Pölzl born Hitler , was the maternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler.Johanna was born and lived her entire life in the village of Spital in the Waldviertel of Lower Austria. On 5 September 1848, Johanna married Johann Baptist Pölzl , a farmer and son of Johann Pölzl and Juliana Pölzl...
. Either Hiedler's father
Johann Nepomuk HiedlerJohann Nepomuk Hiedler, also known as Johann Nepomuk Hüttler , was a maternal great-grandfather and possibly also the paternal grandfather of Adolf Hitler....
or the latter's brother was most likely the biological father of her later husband Alois. Moreover, Klara's grandfather Johann was her future husband's step-uncle.
At age sixteen Klara came to work for her uncle
Alois HitlerAlois Hitler was an Austrian civil servant who was the father of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
as a housekeeper. After the death of his second wife Alois and Klara were married on 7 January 1885 in a brief wedding held early that morning at Hitler's rented rooms on the top floor of the Pommer Inn in
BraunauBraunau may refer to:* Braunau am Inn, Austria* Braunau, Switzerland* Broumov, Czech Republic, also known as "Braunau" in German** the Braunau meteorite of 1847, which fell in Vychodocesky, Czech Republic...
. Alois then went to work for the day at his job as a customs official. Klara carried on calling Alois "uncle" following the marriage. Their first son Gustav was born four months later, on 15 May 1885. Ida followed on 23 September 1886. Both infants died of
diphtheriaDiphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
during the winter of 1886-1887. A third child, Otto, was born and died in 1887.
AdolfAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was born 20 April 1889, followed by Edmund on 24 March 1894 and
PaulaPaula Hitler was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl...
on 21 January 1896. Edmund died of
measlesMeasles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
on 28 February 1900, at the age of five. Klara's adult life was spent keeping house and raising children, for which, according to Smith, Alois had little understanding or interest. Historian Alice Miller later wrote, "The family structure could well be characterized as the prototype of a totalitarian regime. Its sole, undisputed, often brutal ruler is the father. The wife and children are totally subservient to his will, his moods, and his whims; they must accept humiliation and injustice unquestioningly and gratefully. Obedience is their primary rule of conduct."
Klara was a devout Roman Catholic and attended church regularly with her children. Of her six children with Alois, only Adolf and
PaulaPaula Hitler was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl...
survived childhood.
Later life and death
When Alois died in 1903 he left her a government
pensionIn general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
. She sold the house in
LeondingLeonding is a city situated to the southwest of Linz, Austria in the state of Upper Austria. It has a population of about 22,269 and an area of 24.05 km²...
and moved with young Adolf and Paula to an apartment in
LinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, where they lived frugally. Three or four years later a tumor was diagnosed in her breast. Following a long series of painful
iodoformIodoform is the organoiodine compound with the formula CHI3. A pale yellow, crystalline, volatile substance, it has a penetrating odor and, analogous to chloroform, sweetish taste. It is occasionally used as a disinfectant...
treatments given by her doctor
Eduard BlochDr. Eduard Bloch was a Jewish-Austrian doctor practicing in Linz . Until 1907 Bloch was the doctor of Adolf Hitler's family...
, Klara died at home in Linz from the toxic medical side-effects on 21 December 1907. Adolf and Paula were at her side. Owing to their mother's pension and money from her modest estate, the two siblings were left with some financial support. Klara was buried in
LeondingLeonding is a city situated to the southwest of Linz, Austria in the state of Upper Austria. It has a population of about 22,269 and an area of 24.05 km²...
near Linz.
Adolf Hitler had a close relationship with his mother, was crushed by her death and carried the
griefGrief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
for the rest of his life. Speaking of Hitler, Bloch later recalled that after Klara's death he had seen in "one young man never so much pain and suffering broken fulfilled". Decades later in 1940 Hitler showed gratitude to Bloch (who was Jewish) by allowing him to emigrate with his wife from Austria to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Sources
- Marc Vermeeren, "De jeugd van Adolf Hitler 1889-1907 en zijn familie en voorouders"; Soesterberg (2007), 420 blz. Uitgeverij Aspekt. ISBN 978-90-5911-606-1
- Bullock, Alan. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny (1953) ISBN 0-06-092020-3
- Fest, Joachim C. Hitler Verlag Ullstein (1973) ISBN 0-15-141650-8
- Kershaw, Ian. Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris, W W Norton (1999) ISBN 0-393-04671-0
- Maser, Weiner. Hitler: Legend, Myth and Reality, Penguin Books Ltd. (1973) ISBN 0-06-012831-3
- Smith, Bradley F. Adolf Hitler: His Family, Childhood and Youth, Hoover Institute (1967; reprinted in 1979), ISBN 0-8179-1622-9
See also
- Alois Hitler
Alois Hitler was an Austrian civil servant who was the father of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
- Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
- Paula Hitler
Paula Hitler was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl...
- Angela Hitler
Angela Franziska Johanna Hammitzsch , first married to Leo Raubal, Sr., was the elder half-sister of Adolf Hitler.-Life:...
- Alois Hitler, Jr.
Alois Hitler, Jr., born Alois Matzelsberger , was the son of Alois Hitler and Franziska Matzelsberger, and was the half-brother of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
- William Patrick Hitler
William Patrick "Willy" Stuart-Houston was the nephew of Adolf Hitler. Born to Adolf's half-brother Alois Hitler, Jr., and his first wife Bridget Dowling, William later moved to Germany and subsequently escaped, eventually going to the United States where he enlisted to fight in World War...
- Leopold Frankenberger, Jr.