Basic biographical details for Paula Hitler

 

    Paula was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife Klara Pözl. Paula was born in Hartfeld, Austria and was the only full sibling of Adolf Hitler to survive infancy after their brother Edmund died of measles in February 1900 (there is some confusion over the exact date, but the 2nd seems likely).

    After their mother died, Hitler turned over his share of their orphans pension to Paula when he went to Vienna to study art. I believe that Paula lived with her half-sister Angela throughout childhood, but details are very sketchy. She did not see Adolf between 1908 and 1921, when he arranged to meet her in Vienna and to her delight, took her shopping.

    Paula worked for an insurance company in Vienna until she was sacked for no other reason that the boss of the company disapproved of her brother's political activity in Germany. Paula appealed to Adolf for help and he provided her with a monthly income and a larger sum each Christmas. There are no details, but I do wonder if the man who sacked Paula suffered from sleepless nights after the Anschluss!

    Paula did work for some time as a hospital secretary, but eventually gave the job up because she found the work too difficult (I do not know if this was for medical reasons or not).

    She took the name Wolf (or Wolff) at her brother's insistence and it is interesting to note the Adolf himself used the name Wolf to denote his various headquarters throughout the war years: The Wolf's Gorge and Wolf's Lair.

    In 1959 she was persuaded to give an interview for British television and was filmed being interviewed by Peter Morley for the program which was broadcast in the London area by Associated Rediffusion, Channel 9, on 4 March 1959. During this interview she maintained that she thought that Adolf was not guilty of those crimes that he was accused of.

    Paula never married, or had children and died of natural caused on the 1st of June 1960 and was buried in the Bergfriedhof (Mountain cemetery) in Berchtesgaden under the name of Paula Hitler.

 

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© Michael Williams 2004: revised July 2012