Living with a nazi name

[bigmacglenn]

I also recall that one of Fieldmarshall Paulus' sons committed suicide long after the war...and Gretl Braun/Fegelein's daughter, Eva Barbara Fegelein also committed suicide in 1971...Katrin Himmler (Photo below), Heinrich's great-niece has faced the issue by becoming active in Holocaust Studies/Education and can be seen on several documentaries. Her husband is Jewish, btw...
..By the way, the Mengele Family runs a long-established business still today, with the name prominently displayed on the building...
cheers,
Glenn

[Wagriff]

True that, Glenn. The Mengele family made a fortune producing farm equipment and one can still see Mengele farm wagons and tractors in the fields and such all across Germany as well as other parts of Europe. They don't Seem to have been imported into the Us just yet, but it wouldn't be a shock if they were.

[Frundsberg]

I personally do not find it is something to be ashamed of. Many teenagers do not want to know anything about their parents, war criminals or not:-). I belive the most important thing is who this person is. Himmler's granddaughter has nothing to do with SS and dr. Mengeles relatives are not quility about what he did.

[Wagriff]

Exactly! It's not just War Criminals families who go through this, but rather Any infamous name. After an initial general surprise, most people are just fine with the person.

[bigmacglenn]

I agree with you...Dahmer would be a good example of an infamous last name...
cheers, Glenn

[slados28]

..By the way, the Mengele Family runs a long-established business still today, with the name prominently displayed on the building...No shame apparent there...
cheers,
Glenn

"JERRY: How about a Napoleon?

ELAINE: Napoleon? Who's he to have a cake? He was a ruthless war monger. Might as well get a Mengele."

A little scene from a Seinfeld episode I've always found to be quite funny, sorry about the slight OT post but that reference just popped right into my head when you spoke of Mengele and the family business.

That said... I 100% agree with Frundsberg's last post --- the children are of course never at fault for what their parents or even relatives may have done in the past. Anyone who thinks this way needs to get themselves a thorough check-up, imo.

[bigmacglenn]

In the postwar era, I remember that both Himmler and Goering's wives were practically hounded by a hostile press as they tried to live with some degree of anonymity...And they refused to give interviews as a result...
cheers, Glenn

[Woolgar]

Found this on the net. I dont know how truthful it is....

Paula Hitler, the last living member of Adolf Hitler's immediate family, died in 1960.

The most prominent and longest-living direct descendants of Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was Adolf's nephew William Patrick Hitler. With his wife Phyllis, he eventually moved to Long Island, New York, and had four sons. None of William Hitler's children have yet had any children of their own.

Over the years various investigative reporters have attempted to track down other distant relatives of the Führer; many are now alleged to be living inconspicuous lives and have long since changed their last name." wikipedia

=======

Paula (Adolph's sister) had no children and died in 1960.

Alois Jr. (Adolph's half-brother) had children with wife Bridget. Son Heinrich (Adolph's nephew) "Heinz" (b. 1920) died in 1942 in a Soviet prison. He had been a Nazi NCO on the Eastern Front. There's no indication that Heinz married or had children.

Alois' son William (Adolph's nephew) fought against his uncle in WWII for the US Navy. He had four sons Alexander (b. 1949), William Howard (d. 1989), Louis, and Brian with wife Phyllis. William Sr. died in '87 in NY. Phyllis died in 2004. There is question whether any of these men had children - general consensus is that they did not.

Angela (Adolph's half-sister) married Leo Raubal and they had Leo, Angela, and Elfried. Young Angela committed suicide in 1931. Elfried married a Mr. Hochegger. Leo Jr. died in 1979, I don't know whether he or Eflreide had children.

Gustav, Otto, Ida, and Edmund (Adolph's siblings) died as children. They have no descendants.

Descendants of Adolph's father could be from the families of Alois Jr. or from Angela. I don't know who their grandchildren/great grandchildren are. That they had children (Adolph's nieces and nephews) is well documented. I suspect that any related grandchildren have sought to remain anonymous.

[BOB COLEMAN]

As time passes and the newer generations are not taught history, the stigma of a Nazi family name will likely disappear. Only the family name of Hitler will likely stand out. Dutch Van Kirk, navigator on the Enola Gay, mentioned that he was invited to a school to talk about his war time experiences. He was introduced as being a veteran of World War Eleven! Even the teachers can not get it right anymore.

[DrPMC]

Found this on the net. I dont know how truthful it is....

[...]

Alois' son William (Adolph's nephew) fought against his uncle in WWII for the US Navy. He had four sons Alexander (b. 1949), William Howard (d. 1989), Louis, and Brian with wife Phyllis. William Sr. died in '87 in NY. Phyllis died in 2004. There is question whether any of these men had children - general consensus is that they did not.

There is a book about Hitler's descendants (David Gardener, The Last of the Hitlers: The Story of Adolf Hitler's British Nephew and the Amazing Pact to Make Sure His Genes Die Out 2001). Its neither great not awful, and is heavily padded out with the 'hunt' to trace the surviving relatives. William 'Paddy' Hitler comes out as a somewhat dubious figure who spent a lot of time trying to make money out of his family connection. From Britain - where he was born - he travelled to Germany in the mid 1930s and tried to get a good job over there. Not long before the war he came back to England - I can't recall the exact circumstances, but I don't think he'd made any friends over in Germany. He eventually made it over to America where he initially gave sensational talks about uncle Adolf. One fact that wasn't in the book was that he was an early member of the British Union of Fascists - I once found a advertising placard for a talk he gave on Northampton's Market Square in 1933. I've attached a photo of him too.