Geli Raubal
Encyclopedia
Angelika Maria "Geli" Raubal (4 June 1908 – 18 September 1931) was Adolf Hitler
's half niece. Born in Linz
, Austria-Hungary
, she was the second child and eldest daughter of Leo Raubal Sr. and Hitler's half-sister, Angela Raubal
. She was rumoured to be Adolf Hitler's lover.
Hermann Göring
would later tell attorneys at the Nuremberg trials
that Raubal's death had devastated Hitler to such an extent that it changed his views and relationships with all other people.
, and a sister, Elfriede. Her father died at the age of 31, when Geli was two. She and Elfriede accompanied their mother when she became Hitler's housekeeper; Raubal was 17 at the time and would spend the next six years in close contact with her half-uncle.
After World War I
, her first cousin, William Patrick Hitler
, described his impression of Geli when he met her in Obersalzberg
:
As he rose to power as leader of the Nazi Party
, Hitler kept a tight rein over Geli, who lived at either his Munich
apartment or his Berghof villa near Berchtesgaden
, where her mother served as housekeeper, after 1929. He did not allow her to associate with friends freely and attempted to have himself or someone he trusted near her at all times, accompanying her on window shopping excursions, to the movies, and to the opera. Some claim that Hitler kept her locked in during the day when he could not take her with him. Despite Hitler's efforts to control her, Geli did not seem to return his feelings and became linked to Emil Maurice
, a founding member of the SS and Hitler's chauffeur. Hitler dismissed him as a result but later rehired and promoted him. Maurice later claimed that he "...loved her, but it was a strange affection that did not dare show itself." If any hard feelings arose on Hitler's part, they did not last, and he and Maurice were later reconciled, after the latter was dispatched during the Night of the Long Knives
to kill Father Bernhand Stempfle, a man who knew too much about Hitler's relationship with Geli Raubal. During the last two days of Hitler's life, according to reports, he displayed two photographs on his dresser: one of his mother and one of Maurice.
Before Geli Raubal's death, Hitler was also seeing other women, including 19-year-old Eva Braun
, whom he had known for two years, and Erna Hanfstaengl
. However, many historians believe Hitler was deeply in love with Raubal, and that after she died he changed for the worse. Even his close associates were puzzled by his relationship with Raubal and did not know its exact nature.
During the two years she lived in Hitler's flat, Raubal entered medical school, dropped out and then took up singing lessons, which she also abandoned. She was religious and attended Mass
regularly. Most contemporary accounts by those who knew her are favorable, with the exception of that of propagandist
Ernst Hanfstaengl
(Erna's younger brother), who called her an "empty-headed little slut, with the coarse sort of bloom of a servant girl with no brains or character. She was perfectly content to preen herself in her fine clothes, and certainly never gave any impression of reciprocating Hitler's twisted tenderness."
On the morning of 19 September 1931, members of Hitler's staff found Geli Raubal dead from a gunshot wound to the lung in her room in Hitler's Munich
apartment. She was 23. The official cause of death was listed as suicide
. The finding of suicide was based on the fact that her door had been locked from the inside. No autopsy
was conducted, although a doctor estimated that her death had occurred the previous day, September 18. The gun that killed her was a Walther.
It was rumoured that Hitler had shot her (or had ordered her to be shot) for infidelity
or other reasons. As these rumours circulated, Hitler himself released a statement to the Münchener Post:
By all accounts, they had argued intensely in the days leading to her death. Her brother Leo said that she had been happy at Berchtesgaden in the days preceding the beginning of her visit to Munich, on September 17. She left an unfinished note behind, addressed to a friend in Vienna: "When I come to Vienna — hopefully very soon — we'll drive to Semmering
, an...".
Murray Davis reported that Gregor Strasser
had a brief affair with Geli Raubal, allowing him to find out from her details of Hitler's sexual habits and alleged impotence. If true, it provides another motive to believe her death was a murder as such allegations would have been a threat to both Hitler and the Party.
At Geli's Catholic burial, the Priest was Father Johann Pant. Pant later wrote (in 1939) to a French newspaper, "From the fact I gave her a Catholic burial you can draw your own conclusions."
Hanfstaengl maintained that Raubal killed herself following a "flaming row" with Hitler, who had discovered that she was pregnant by a Jewish art teacher in Linz. Other reports claim that Raubal had requested permission to continue her voice studies in Vienna and that Hitler had refused to allow her to go, causing their fight of September 18.
on hearing the news of Raubal's death. After Raubal's death, Hitler went into a profound depression
that lasted for months. Hitler would later threaten to commit suicide while in seclusion at Tegern Lake. He had made similar threats during past moments of personal crisis or defeat, most notably after the failed Beer Hall Putsch
. Hitler would keep a bust or portrait of Raubal in each of his bedrooms, and his entourage was instructed not to say her name. Official Nazi photographer Heinrich Hoffmann
said of Raubal's death, "That was when the seeds of inhumanity began to grow inside Hitler." On 30 April 1945, facing imminent defeat at the close of World War II in Europe, Hitler committed suicide using the same Walther pistol involved in Raubal's death.
d by Hitler (there is no evidence that this really happened). The 1962 movie Hitler
had Raubal portrayed by Cordula Trantow
where her death was dramatized as a murder by Emil Maurice
(Albert Szabo) with Heinrich Himmler
(Richard Traeger), staged to appear as a suicide, on orders from Hitler (Richard Basehart
). The 2003 TV miniseries
Hitler: The Rise of Evil
portrays the relationship between Hitler and Raubal, albeit briefly. In the series, Raubal is portrayed by Jena Malone
. In the 2005 TV film Uncle Adolf, she is played by Elaine Cassidy
.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's half niece. Born in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, she was the second child and eldest daughter of Leo Raubal Sr. and Hitler's half-sister, Angela Raubal
Angela Hitler
Angela Franziska Johanna Hammitzsch , first married to Leo Raubal, Sr., was the elder half-sister of Adolf Hitler.-Life:...
. She was rumoured to be Adolf Hitler's lover.
Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
would later tell attorneys at the Nuremberg trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
that Raubal's death had devastated Hitler to such an extent that it changed his views and relationships with all other people.
Life
Raubal was born in Linz where she grew up with her brother, LeoLeo Rudolf Raubal Jr
Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr. was a teacher, soldier and manager. He was a son of Leo Raubal and his wife Angela ....
, and a sister, Elfriede. Her father died at the age of 31, when Geli was two. She and Elfriede accompanied their mother when she became Hitler's housekeeper; Raubal was 17 at the time and would spend the next six years in close contact with her half-uncle.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, her first cousin, William Patrick Hitler
William Patrick Hitler
William Patrick "Willy" Stuart-Houston was the nephew of Adolf Hitler. Born to Adolf's half-brother Alois Hitler, Jr., and his first wife Bridget Dowling, William later moved to Germany and subsequently escaped, eventually going to the United States where he enlisted to fight in World War...
, described his impression of Geli when he met her in Obersalzberg
Obersalzberg
Obersalzberg is a mountainside retreat situated above the market town of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, Germany, located about southeast of Munich, close to the border with Austria...
:
As he rose to power as leader of the Nazi Party
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, Hitler kept a tight rein over Geli, who lived at either his Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
apartment or his Berghof villa near Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
, where her mother served as housekeeper, after 1929. He did not allow her to associate with friends freely and attempted to have himself or someone he trusted near her at all times, accompanying her on window shopping excursions, to the movies, and to the opera. Some claim that Hitler kept her locked in during the day when he could not take her with him. Despite Hitler's efforts to control her, Geli did not seem to return his feelings and became linked to Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice was an early member of the Nazi Party and is regarded by historians as the founder of the SS. A watchmaker by trade, Maurice was a close associate of Adolf Hitler with a personal friendship dating back to at least 1919...
, a founding member of the SS and Hitler's chauffeur. Hitler dismissed him as a result but later rehired and promoted him. Maurice later claimed that he "...loved her, but it was a strange affection that did not dare show itself." If any hard feelings arose on Hitler's part, they did not last, and he and Maurice were later reconciled, after the latter was dispatched during the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
to kill Father Bernhand Stempfle, a man who knew too much about Hitler's relationship with Geli Raubal. During the last two days of Hitler's life, according to reports, he displayed two photographs on his dresser: one of his mother and one of Maurice.
Before Geli Raubal's death, Hitler was also seeing other women, including 19-year-old Eva Braun
Eva Braun
Eva Anna Paula Hitler was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and, for less than 40 hours, his wife. Braun met Hitler in Munich, when she was 17 years old, while working as an assistant and model for his personal photographer and began seeing him often about two years later...
, whom he had known for two years, and Erna Hanfstaengl
Erna Hanfstaengl
Erna Hanfstaengl was the elder sister of Ernst Hanfstaengl and was an acquaintance of Adolf Hitler. She also befriended Unity Mitford, who lived with Erna for a period.-Romantic involvement with Hitler:...
. However, many historians believe Hitler was deeply in love with Raubal, and that after she died he changed for the worse. Even his close associates were puzzled by his relationship with Raubal and did not know its exact nature.
During the two years she lived in Hitler's flat, Raubal entered medical school, dropped out and then took up singing lessons, which she also abandoned. She was religious and attended Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
regularly. Most contemporary accounts by those who knew her are favorable, with the exception of that of propagandist
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
Ernst Hanfstaengl
Ernst Hanfstaengl
Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl , was a Harvard-educated German businessman who was an intimate of Adolf Hitler before falling out of favor and defecting. He later worked for Franklin D...
(Erna's younger brother), who called her an "empty-headed little slut, with the coarse sort of bloom of a servant girl with no brains or character. She was perfectly content to preen herself in her fine clothes, and certainly never gave any impression of reciprocating Hitler's twisted tenderness."
Death
Her death occurred on a night when the entire Hitler household staff was off duty except for a deaf worker, Frau Dachs, and it is said that it was a rare occurrence for Hitler to leave behind his gun.On the morning of 19 September 1931, members of Hitler's staff found Geli Raubal dead from a gunshot wound to the lung in her room in Hitler's Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
apartment. She was 23. The official cause of death was listed as suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The finding of suicide was based on the fact that her door had been locked from the inside. No autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was conducted, although a doctor estimated that her death had occurred the previous day, September 18. The gun that killed her was a Walther.
Speculations
Many things were said about Raubal's death.It was rumoured that Hitler had shot her (or had ordered her to be shot) for infidelity
Infidelity
In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
or other reasons. As these rumours circulated, Hitler himself released a statement to the Münchener Post:
By all accounts, they had argued intensely in the days leading to her death. Her brother Leo said that she had been happy at Berchtesgaden in the days preceding the beginning of her visit to Munich, on September 17. She left an unfinished note behind, addressed to a friend in Vienna: "When I come to Vienna — hopefully very soon — we'll drive to Semmering
Semmering
For the town of the same name, see Semmering, Austria.Semmering is a mountain pass in the Eastern Northern Limestone Alps connecting Lower Austria and Styria, between which it forms a natural border.-Location:...
, an...".
Murray Davis reported that Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser was a politician of the National Socialist German Workers Party...
had a brief affair with Geli Raubal, allowing him to find out from her details of Hitler's sexual habits and alleged impotence. If true, it provides another motive to believe her death was a murder as such allegations would have been a threat to both Hitler and the Party.
At Geli's Catholic burial, the Priest was Father Johann Pant. Pant later wrote (in 1939) to a French newspaper, "From the fact I gave her a Catholic burial you can draw your own conclusions."
Hanfstaengl maintained that Raubal killed herself following a "flaming row" with Hitler, who had discovered that she was pregnant by a Jewish art teacher in Linz. Other reports claim that Raubal had requested permission to continue her voice studies in Vienna and that Hitler had refused to allow her to go, causing their fight of September 18.
Effects on Hitler
Hitler had left town the previous afternoon for a speaking tour and returned from NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
on hearing the news of Raubal's death. After Raubal's death, Hitler went into a profound depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
that lasted for months. Hitler would later threaten to commit suicide while in seclusion at Tegern Lake. He had made similar threats during past moments of personal crisis or defeat, most notably after the failed Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
. Hitler would keep a bust or portrait of Raubal in each of his bedrooms, and his entourage was instructed not to say her name. Official Nazi photographer Heinrich Hoffmann
Heinrich Hoffmann
Heinrich Hoffmann was a German photographer best known for his many published photographs of Adolf Hitler.-Early life and career:...
said of Raubal's death, "That was when the seeds of inhumanity began to grow inside Hitler." On 30 April 1945, facing imminent defeat at the close of World War II in Europe, Hitler committed suicide using the same Walther pistol involved in Raubal's death.
Film
In the 1944 US propaganda movie The Hitler Gang, Raubal is portrayed by Poldi Dur. Her suicide is depicted as the consequence of having been rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d by Hitler (there is no evidence that this really happened). The 1962 movie Hitler
Hitler (1962 film)
Hitler is a black and white U.S. made film . The film stars Richard Basehart in the title role of Adolf Hitler. Cordula Trantow stars as Geli Raubal and Maria Emo as Eva Braun. John Banner stars as Gregor Strasser...
had Raubal portrayed by Cordula Trantow
Cordula Trantow
Cordula Trantow is a German actress and director. For her performance as Geli Raubal in the 1962 film, Hitler, she was nominated for a 1962 Golden Globe in the category: Most Promising Newcomer -Female....
where her death was dramatized as a murder by Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice was an early member of the Nazi Party and is regarded by historians as the founder of the SS. A watchmaker by trade, Maurice was a close associate of Adolf Hitler with a personal friendship dating back to at least 1919...
(Albert Szabo) with Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
(Richard Traeger), staged to appear as a suicide, on orders from Hitler (Richard Basehart
Richard Basehart
John Richard Basehart was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.-Career:...
). The 2003 TV miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Hitler: The Rise of Evil
Hitler: The Rise of Evil
Hitler: The Rise of Evil is a Canadian TV miniseries in two parts, directed by Christian Duguay and produced by Alliance Atlantis. It explores Adolf Hitler's rise and his early consolidation of power during the years after World War I and focuses on how the embittered, politically fragmented and...
portrays the relationship between Hitler and Raubal, albeit briefly. In the series, Raubal is portrayed by Jena Malone
Jena Malone
Jena Malone is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina , and has appeared in films including Contact , Stepmom , Donnie Darko , Saved! , Into the Wild , and Sucker Punch .Malone is...
. In the 2005 TV film Uncle Adolf, she is played by Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy is an award-winning Irish actress and is best known for playing the lead character Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper's Island, Felicia in Felicia's Journey opposite Bob Hoskins, Runt in Disco Pigs opposite Cillian Murphy, and Lydia in The Others.-Early life:Elaine...
.
Further reading
- "De jeugd van Adolf Hitler 1889-1907 en zijn familie en voorouders" by Marc Vermeeren. Soesterberg, 2007, 420 blz. Uitgeverij Aspekt, ISBN: 90-5911-606-2
- Hitler & Geli by Ronald HaymanRonald HaymanRonald Hayman is a British critic, dramatist, and writer best known for his biographies.-Early life:Ronald Hayman was born on May 4, 1932 in Bournemouth, England to John and Sadie Hayman. He was educated at St Paul's School in London and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, where he earned a...
- 1997 - In de ban van Hitler: Maria Reiter, Geli Raubal, Unity Mitford, Eva Braun by Alex Alexander - 2005
- Hitler’s Niece by Ron Hansen -- 1999
- Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of his Evil by Ron Rosenbaum -- 1998
External links
- Geli Raubal at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk