William Patrick "Willy" Hitler (later
Stuart-Houston) (March 12, 1911 – July 14, 1987) was the nephew of
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
. Born to Adolf's half-brother
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:...
, and his first wife
Bridget DowlingBridget Elizabeth Hitler, née Dowling was Adolf Hitler's sister-in-law via her marriage to Alois Hitler, Jr. She was the mother of Alois Hitler's son William Patrick Hitler...
, William later moved to
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and subsequently escaped, eventually going to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he fought against his uncle in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
William Patrick Hitler was born in
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, the son of
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:...
, and his
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
-born wife Bridget Dowling. They had met in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
when Alois was living there in 1909, and eloped to Liverpool where William was born in 1911. Hitler's nephew is recalled by elderly former neighbours, and in Liverpool folklore variously as "Billy" or "Paddy" Hitler. The family lived in a flat at 102 Upper Stanhope Street, which was destroyed in the last German air raid of the
Liverpool BlitzThe Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, in the United Kingdom, during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe...
on January 10, 1942. It remained a bomb site for many years, but has now been rebuilt and landscaped. Dowling wrote a manuscript called
My Brother-in-Law Adolf, in which she claimed Adolf Hitler had moved to Liverpool with her and Alois from November 1912 to April 1913, in order to dodge
conscriptionConscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority. It is most often used in the specific sense of requiring citizens to serve in the armed forces...
in
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
. The story has been popular, but is dismissed by most
historianAn historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time...
s.
In 1914 Alois returned to
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, but Bridget refused to join him, as he had become violent. Unable to reconnect due to the outbreak of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, Alois abandoned the family, leaving William to be brought up by his mother. He remarried, bigamously, but re-established contact in the mid-1920s when he wrote to Bridget asking her to send William to
Weimar RepublicThe Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government, named after Weimar, the place where the constitutional assembly took place. Its official name was still Deutsches Reich , however...
Germany for a visit. She finally agreed in 1929, when William was 18. Alois had another son with his German wife,
Heinz HitlerHeinrich Hitler was the son of Alois Hitler, Jr. and his second wife Hedwig Heidemann and the nephew of German chancellor Adolf Hitler. When World War II began, he joined the Wehrmacht and served on the eastern front, where he was captured and died in prison in 1942.Unlike his half-brother...
, who, in contrast to his half-brother, became a committed Nazi and died in Soviet captivity.
In Nazi Germany
In 1933, William Patrick Hitler returned to
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
in an attempt to benefit from his uncle's rise to power. His uncle found him a job in a bank. Later, he worked at the
OpelAdam Opel GmbH, commonly known as Opel, is a German automaker. The company was founded on 21 January 1863, began making automobiles in 1899, and was acquired by General Motors in 1929...
car factory and then as a car salesman. Unsatisfied, William persisted in asking his uncle for a better job, and there were rumors he might sell embarrassing stories about the family to the press if he did not receive one; among the rumors would have been his father's bigamous marriage. In 1938, Hitler asked William to relinquish his British citizenship in exchange for a high-ranking job. Expecting a trap, William decided to flee Germany, then tried to
blackmailBlackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging nature...
Hitler with threats to allege to the press that Hitler's alleged paternal grandfather was actually a
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish merchant. Returning to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
he wrote an article for
LookLook was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles. A large-size magazine of 11 by 14 inches, it was generally considered the also-ran to Life magazine, which began publication only months earlier...
magazine titled "Why I Hate my Uncle."
In 1939, William and his mother went to the United States on a lecture tour on the invitation of
William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American newspaper magnate and leading newspaper publisher.Hearst was born in San Francisco, California, to millionaire mining engineer George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson. Following preparation at St...
, and were stranded there when
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out. After making a special request to President Franklin Roosevelt, William was cleared to join the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
in 1944; according to a story printed in newspapers at the time of his enlistment, when he went to the draft office and introduced himself, the recruiting officer replied, "Glad to see you Hitler, my name's
HessRudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent figure in Nazi Germany, acting as Adolf Hitler's Deputy in the Nazi Party. On the eve of war with the Soviet Union, he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom, but instead was arrested...
."
Later life
William Patrick Hitler served in the US Navy as a Pharmacist's Mate (a term later changed to Hospital Corpsman) before being discharged in 1947, after being wounded during the course of the
warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After leaving the service he changed his last name to Stuart-Houston, married, and moved to Patchogue, Long Island, where he and his wife had four sons. He used his medical training to establish a business analyzing blood samples for hospitals.
He was married to Phyllis Jean-Jacques, born in Germany in 1923 or in 1925 (d. 2004), whose sister had kept in correspondence with William via mail. After their relationship had begun, William, Phyllis, and Bridget sought anonymity in the U.S. William and Phyllis married in 1947 had their first son Alexander Adolf in 1949. They would later have three more sons, by the names of Louis (b. 1951), Howard Ronald (b. 1957), and Brian William (1965).
William died July 14, 1987 in
Patchogue, New YorkPatchogue is a waterfront village on the south shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 11,919 at the 2000 census...
,
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was buried alongside his mother, Bridget, at
Holy Sepulchre CemeteryHoly Sepulchre Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located in Coram, New York. The cemetery was founded in 1942, and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre....
in
Coram, New YorkCoram is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 34,923.Coram is a community in the Town of Brookhaven served by the Longwood Central School District.- History :...
. Phyllis died on November 2, 2004.
Howard Ronald Stuart-Houston, a Special Agent with the
Criminal Investigation Division of the
Internal Revenue ServiceThe Internal Revenue Service is the United States federal government agency that collects taxes and enforces the internal revenue laws. It is an agency within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is responsible for interpretation and application of Federal tax law. The official U.S...
, died in an automobile accident on September 14, 1989 without having had any children. Howard Ronald is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram, New York. It has been said that these three have vowed not to have children themselves, and none of them have married. However, Alexander, now a social worker, has said that he knows of no such pact, and that if it had been made, it was made by the other two brothers without his involvement.
In the media
His story has featured in documentaries as well as works of fiction.
Beryl BainbridgeDame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE is an English novelist.A five-time nominee for the Booker Prize, Bainbridge has never won. She has nonetheless been described as "a national treasure".- Biography :...
's 1978 novel
Young AdolfYoung Adolf is a novel written by author Beryl Bainbridge, and first published in 1978 by Duckworth. Presented as biographical fiction, the book's main character is 23-year-old Adolf Hitler. Hitler visits relatives in England, where he gets into serious trouble with the English.-Further reading:*...
depicts the alleged 1912–13 visit to his Liverpool relatives (including the infant William) by a 23-year-old Adolf Hitler, finding dark humour in his maladjustment and ordinariness.
Grant MorrisonGrant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. He is best-known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings.-Early years:...
and
Steve YeowellSteve Yeowell is a British comics artist, well-known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic 2000 AD.-Biography:...
's 1989
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
The New Adventures of HitlerThe New Adventures of Hitler was a highly controversial comic series written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Steve Yeowell which first appeared in Cut, a Scottish arts magazine in 1989 before being reprinted in the anthology Crisis in 1990....
is likewise based on the supposed Liverpool visit. It sparked controversy in the early 1990s and has not been reprinted since. In October 2005,
The History ChannelHistory, formerly known as The History Channel, is an international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts programs regarding historical events and persons, as well as various metaphysical, pseudoscientific, and paranormal phenomena—-often with observations and explanations by noted...
aired a one hour documentary entitled
Hitler's Family, in which William Patrick Hitler is profiled along with other relatives of Adolf Hitler.
In April 2006,
Little Willy, a play by Mark Kassen examining the life of William Patrick Hitler, opened at the Ohio Theater in New York before moving on to the West End in London.
See also
- Werner G. Goering
Capt. Werner G. Goering was an American bomber pilot and the nephew of Nazi Reichsmarschall and Commander of the German Luftwaffe Hermann Göring. During World War II, Werner G. Goering piloted B-17 Flying Fortresses on 48 bombing missions against occupied Europe.Werner Goering was born and raised...
, nephew of Herman Göring
External links
- Hitler Family Tree
- Getting to know the Hitlers from the Daily Telegraph
- Author talks about 'the Last of the Hitlers' CNN
Cable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States...
interview.
- "The Hitler family tree", (2002) by Hal Bastin, accessed April 15, 2006
- The Diocese of Rockville Centre - Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
- Kilgannon, Corey. "Three Quiet Brothers on Long Island, All of Them Related to Hitler", The New York Times, 24 April 2006