Heinz Hitler

Heinrich "Heinz" Hitler (14 March 1920 – 21 February 1942) was the son of Alois Hitler, Jr. and his second wife Hedwig Heidemann. He was also a nephew of Adolf Hitler, who reportedly called Heinz his "favorite nephew". Heinz was a strong supporter of the Nazis and when World War II began, he joined the Wehrmacht and served on the Eastern Front. He was captured by Soviet troops and died in prison in February 1942.[1]

Heinrich N Hitler
Heinz Hitler in uniform during the war
Nickname(s)Heinz
Born(1920-03-14)14 March 1920
Magdeburg, Weimar Republic
Died21 February 1942(1942-02-21) (aged 21)
Near Moscow, Soviet Union
Buried
Unknown, probably Butyrka prison
Allegiance Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1939–1942
RankUnteroffizier
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsIron Cross 2nd Class
RelationsAlois Hitler, Jr. (father)
Hedwig Heidemann (mother)
William Patrick Hitler (half-brother)
Adolf Hitler (uncle)

Heinz attended an elite military academy, the National Political Institutes of Education (Napola) in Ballenstedt/Saxony-Anhalt.[1] Aspiring to be an officer, Heinz joined the Wehrmacht as a signals subofficer with the 23rd Potsdamer Artillery Regiment in 1941, and he participated in the invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. On 10 January 1942, he was ordered to collect radio equipment from an army post. He was captured by Soviet forces and died at the Butyrka military prison in Moscow, aged 21.

Former classmate Hans-Wolf Werner describes how he benefited from his family connection with Adolf Hitler:

"One of the lads had a car. They tore through Magdeburg without a licence. The police stopped them and he showed his ID "Heinz Hitler" and the police just saluted and let them drive on (laughs)."[2]

See also

Notes

  • [1] Maser, Werner (1971). Adolf Hitler: Legende, Mythos, Wirklichkeit (in German). München & Esslingen: Welsermühl, Wels. pp. 60, 447.

References

  1. "Heinrich "Heinz" Hitler". Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  2. 1944 Hitlers family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at1LpnrvJfI
  • Vermeeren, Marc (2007). De jeugd van Adolf Hitler 1889-1985 en zijn familie en voorouders (in Dutch). Soesterberg: Uitgeverij Aspekt. ISBN 90-5911-606-2.
  • Oliver Halmburger (director), Thomas Staehler (director), Timothy Ryback (consultant), and Florian Beierl (consultant) (2005). Familie Hitler. Im Schatten des Diktators (documentary film) (in German). München: Loopfilm GmBH and Mainz: ZDF-History.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.