"Bill" Hitler?

[Panzer 3]

Hi schnellmann,
was the guy small and thin with little round glasses ?
Dave

[schnellmann]

Hi schnellmann,
was the guy small and thin with little round glasses ?
Dave

[davejb]

I remember at primary school there was a girl named Elizabeth Goring ,wrong spelling i know but who knows, perhaps a change by deed poll?

[Matt L]

I know an Englishman named Goring too- it wouldn't surprise me if the change, if there was indeed one and 'Goring' isn't a perfectly normal variation of the name, were just an immigration offical who didn't bother with the Umlaut or even a family who dropped it to make things easier in a new place that didn't use it.

The 'Bill Hitler' thing sounds like a myth to me too since Adolf changed his name after he got into politics, yes? His real surname was Schickelgruber or something similar- I think Hitler's no more a real family name than Stalin is...

[gooseandspoons]

Schickelgruber!, that's a mouthful, imagine saying that ten times fast at a rally!

[CMc]

Not true that one I'm afraid, Hitler's name was Hitler from birth, his father had been born Alois Schickelgruber, but had changed it to Alois Hitler some time before his son's birth. Adolf Hitler was then always known by that name as it was the legal surname of his family. The name did exist previous to that as far as I know, it was sometimes seen as Heidler and other variations, as is common with surnames in many countries (it's particularly so with Scots highland names incidentally, my own surname is McArthur, but this is more commonly seen as MacArthur, as in the case of the U.S. General famous for his role in the Pacific Campaign of World War II, and the Korean War.)

The reason the name Hitler isn't around any more is probably more to do with the fact that few people would want to be known by the name since World War II, which could've had some nasty repercussions just after the war, or even now, and I doubt protesting that there's no relation would do much to save you! Regarding fictional characters with the name Hitler, the 1990s BBC Comedy program 'Bottom' starred Ade Edmonson as a character called 'Eddie Hitler'.

You are right on Stalin's name being a psuedonym, Matt L. His name was originally Josef Vissarianovich Jugashvilli, which would've taken up a fair bit of room on the propaganda posters!