To whom did Adolf Hitler show a more human face? Family? Women who loved him immeasurably? Or maybe only dogs in whose company he was willing to be photographed? One thing is for sure. Many of these reports only looked good in the pictures.
The leader of the Third Reich seemed to love dogs and really enjoyed spending time with them. After all, he "loved animals, especially dogs." But was it really so?
Perhaps his behavior was merely an element of propaganda, showing him as a world-loving vegetarian nature? In order to find out whether the bloody tyrant actually preferred animals to humans, one needs to carefully examine his relationship with his relatives. Two- and four-legged.
"Forgotten" cousin
Family ties played a key role in Nazi ideology. The truly Aryan origin could be something to be proud of. Hitler, however, was ashamed of his ancestors rather than boasted of them. Especially when it comes to the branch of the Schicklgruber family living in Austria, as was the maiden name of the dictator's grandmother on the father's side. Its representatives were called ... a gang of "bogus and idiots" and the Führer seemed to agree with that sentence.
His disdain for his own relatives was revealed in full to one of his cousins, Aloisia Veit. She suffered from schizophrenia and spent many years in an institution for the mentally ill. In the 1930s, when she became ill, the hallucinations, anxiety, and bouts of anxiety she had to deal with remained virtually untreated.
Warm to schizophrenia, Aloisia Veit could not count on sympathy from her cousin.
Nevertheless, the woman's files show that in 1939 there was some improvement in her condition. So what if at the same time her cousin issued a decree under which doctors could euthanize people considered terminally ill? In practice, this meant allowing the unpunished murder of those who were considered an "unnecessary" part of society and an excessive "financial burden". And among the groups to which the document referred were - apart from epileptics, people with manic depression, deaf, blind, mentally disabled - also schizophrenics.
Aloisia was sent to the Hartheim Castle Institute, where one of the Nazi euthanasia centers was set up. Between 1940 and 1944, about 30,000 people "worthless" to the regime were murdered there as part of the secret Operation T4. Hitler's cousin shared their fate. She was gassed at the express orders of an almighty member of her family.
Bad big brother
The Nazi leader also did not treat his close family well. His younger sister Paula, whom he took over after his father's death in 1903, could testify to this. Although she always tried to express herself well about her older brother, she once admitted that he simply beat her up in the world. For whatever reason, he hit the girl in the face, which shows that he was no stranger to rage attacks in his early youth.
The future despot gained an overwhelming influence on his sister's private life. True, he supported her financially, but he only did so because Paula, before he even came to power, lost her job because of his views. During the Nazi rule, she already had to earn a living - she got a job as a secretary in a military hospital.
Meanwhile, Hitler proved many times that he was really ashamed of his family. He even ordered the girl to change her name to Paula Wolf! He also limited meetings with her to a minimum. For several years, they only saw each other once a year. However, this did not prevent him from torpedoing her marriage plans.
This was the case when the dictator's sister expressed her desire to marry Erwin Jekelius. Interestingly, it was the doctor who was responsible for the execution of her unfortunate cousin suffering from schizophrenia . As the director of a hospital for young people with disabilities and behavioral disorders, he often signed documents condemning people to death as part of T4 action.
Adolf also mistreated his younger sister Paula.
The Führer flatly refused his consent to the wedding of the young. And a potential brother-in-law ... sent to the Eastern Front. He managed to survive the war, but was captured by the Soviets and died there. Paula never got married.
Munich Golden Cage
Geli Raubal, daughter of his half-sister, found out how a despotic relative Adolf Hitler can be. Uncle completely fell in love with her. The almost incestuous nature of this relationship did not bother him at all. The example followed from the top - his parents were already so closely related that they had to apply for special permission to get married.
The young girl was treated completely differently than the rest of the family. The Nazi leader was not ashamed to show himself in public with her. He took her to the theater, opera and even to his speeches. They went shopping together and went on picnics. Eventually, Geli lived in the Munich apartment of the author of "Mein Kampf" on Prinzregent Platz.
Hitler was infatuated with Geli. However, over time, she also learned about his dark side.
However, it soon turned out that the close relationship with the future German chancellor looks good only on the surface. The Führer actually offered her a golden cage. It was he who decided about almost all aspects of her life. Among other things, he settled the question of her education. She was originally supposed to study medicine, but he sent her… to singing class.
Favorite niece was also guarded at every turn. She was not allowed to go to the ball alone, and even less so - to leave alone. Hitler jealously guarded all her relationships. Upon hearing of her planned engagement with Emil Mauric, one of the first members of the NSDAP and an accomplice of Adolf himself, he fell into a rage.
Certainly it was the enormous influence that he had on Geli that kept the future dictator's interest in the girl. Its total control finally pushed her to suicide on September 18, 1931. Although voices continue, she could also fall victim to her possessive uncle. Perhaps he ordered her murder, or even killed her himself in another fit of fury? The latter scenario is unlikely as Hitler was in Nuremberg at the time of his niece's death, but either way, his at least partial responsibility is undisputed.
The apartment where Geli committed suicide.
A shy 16-year-old affair
Pathological, though in a completely different way, was also the relationship between the head of the Nazi party and his future wife, Ewa Braun. While he willingly presented his niece to the world, he carefully hid his long-term partner from him.
When they met, Ewa was only 17 years old. The 40-year-old Hitler started the romance very classically, with compliments, gifts and dating invitations. At times, however, he did not have time for Braun for long weeks due to the ongoing election campaign. She took it badly. She was sending notes, trying to call him, and her imagination told her the worst scenarios.
To keep Adolf with her, the girl tried to kill herself twice. The first time, in 1932, she used a pistol. The second time she swallowed a handful of sleeping pills. It was enough for the Führer to pay more attention to her. At least as long as the campaign was going on, the romance had to remain hidden after all. Officially, because Germany was the only bride of the future leader . Unofficially - he counted on the votes of unmarried members of the electorate.
This article was inspired by the book "Confession by Ewa Braun. In Hitler's shadow ”(Bellona 2018).
In order to reward Ewa for the specific nature of their relationship, a brilliantly climbing politician allowed her to act as the housewife in Berghof, his mountain residence. She appeared there as a hostess for the most trusted people, and also devoted herself to her passions:sports, photography and films. The reward for his romance with the man who plunged Europe into blood was also a life of luxury. Braun was not affected by food rationing. She did shopping in France, she spent her holidays in Italy, and when Adolf was away, she threw parties.
In return, however, the woman had to accept degrading treatment. The couple never came to the headquarters near Berchtesgaden together. Hitler was there a few hours earlier in the official column, and his beloved joined him later. When Ewa accompanied her partner on trips abroad, she officially acted as a secretary. Their relationship is well summed up by Peter Longerich in his book Hitler. Biography ":
In general, Hitler tried to keep Eve away from Berlin and avoided showing up with her on festive occasions; she was only allowed to take part in them as a member of the extended entourage of the dictator. (...) The knowledge we have indicates that Ewa Braun was not his advisor, muse or inspiration and that he was unwilling to arrange a private life with her, away from the world of politics.
Adolf Hitler hid his relationship with Ewa Braun from the world for years. It wasn't until just before he killed himself that he married her.
The most important blonde
In relationships with people, the Führer was an unbearable despot who can shower his relatives with gold, but in return expects total obedience. His relations with quadrupeds looked slightly different, at least on the surface. Dogs accompanied the criminal dictator practically throughout his adult life . During World War I, he saved a stray Jack Russell terrier named Fuchsl, whom he fed and taught tricks. When the pooch was stolen, he reportedly despaired a lot.
He was equally attached to the next furry friends. They were actually only German Shepherds, including an extremely faithful dog named Prinz and a female Bond. The representative of this breed was also Blondi, which he received in 1941 from Martin Bormann, deputy and personal secretary.
Hitler reacted enthusiastically to this vivid gift. He quickly taught the bitch to fetch, jump over hoops, climb a high fence, climb a ladder and, of course, ask for a nice plea. For special occasions, he also had a show of her "singing".
Photo from the period of the First World War. Hitler is seated first from the left, and Fuchsl is also there.
Beloved pet could, of course, sleep in his master's bedroom. A special wooden box has been prepared for Blonda for this purpose. The dog was taken care of by a specially delegated infantry sergeant and veterinarian, Fritz Tornow, but even during the greatest political crises, the chief took breaks to take his favorite for a walk.
The four-legged friend gained a great influence on the dictator's mood. If she did well and obeyed, he was in a good mood. If, on the other hand, she was not doing well, he would fall into one of his "more difficult" states. It even got to the point that - as one of the officers stated - the situation on the Eastern Front depended more on Blondi's obedience than on the opinion of the German commanders!
No wonder that a creature so important to the Führer ended up with him in a Berlin bunker, where he took refuge after seeing the coming catastrophe of the Third Reich. There, Hitler made the controversial decision to "test" a cyanide capsule previously provided by Himmler on it.
Could it be that Blondi's behavior had a greater influence on Hitler's decisions regarding the Eastern Front than on the council of generals?
How to explain the fact that the Nazi leader decided to kill his beloved dog? According to some, it was simply a test of the effectiveness of the poison. The failing dictator wanted to make sure that both he and Eve died before the Soviets entered the bunker.
However, there is also a second theory, advocated, inter alia, by the chief architect of the Third Reich, Albert Speer. According to it, Hitler did not want to let his favorite female dog end up in the hands of the Red Army . That's why Blondi and her puppy Wolf, killed by a shot, after the poison didn't work, had to die.
People or animals?
Ian Kershaw wrote that all the relationships Hitler entered into - whether we are talking about those with humans or with animals - were mainly based on submission and submission. Indeed, even in the case of Blondi, it clearly shows. Dog behaviorists judge that the preserved photos and videos show the dog's great submission and fear of her master.
Hitler demanded full obedience, this applied to both humans and animals. In the photo, General von Brauchitsch is greeting the leader of the Third Reich.
But how does dog training fare to dictate around its terms? It seems that marriage prohibitions, a name change order, and finally a death sentence are another matter entirely.
Hitler's nurse Erna Flegel, who stayed in the bunker in Berlin until the Red Army entered, added a post-script to these considerations. In 2005, she confessed that the death of Blondi caused a greater stir among those gathered in the underground shelter than the death of Ewa Braun herself . She described the latter as "a meaningless young girl." Apparently the disregard shown by the leader of his long-term partner was taken over by other people. A woman devoted to Hitler's death simply lost to a dog in the world ...
Inspiration:
This article was inspired by the book "Confession by Ewa Braun. In the shadow of Hitler "(Bellona 2018), describing the fate of a woman who spent her entire adult life with a monster in a fictional form.