William Patrick Hitler
Encyclopedia
William Patrick "Willy" Stuart-Houston (né
Hitler
) (March 12, 1911 – July 14, 1987) 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 II
.
, the son of Alois Hitler Jr., and his Irish
-born wife Bridget Dowling. They met in Dublin when Alois was living there in 1909; they were married in Marylebone
and moved back north to Liverpool
, where William was born in 1911. William was allegedly recalled by elderly former neighbors, and allegedly known in Liverpool folklore as "Billy" or "Paddy" Hitler.
The family lived in a flat at 102 Upper Stanhope Street, which was destroyed in the last German air raid of the Liverpool Blitz
on January 10, 1942. Dowling wrote a manuscript called My Brother-in-Law Adolf, in which she says Adolf Jacob Hitler moved to Liverpool with her and Alois, remaining from November 1912 to April 1913, in order to dodge conscription
in Austria. Most historians dismiss this story as a fiction invented to make the book more appealing to publishers.
In 1914, Alois left Bridget and their son for a gambling tour of Europe. Alois later returned to Germany. Unable to reconnect due to the outbreak of World War I
, Alois abandoned the family, leaving William to be brought up by his mother. He remarried bigamously, but re-established contact in the mid-1920s when he wrote to Bridget asking her to send William to Weimar Republic
Germany for a visit. She finally agreed in 1929, when William was 18. Alois had since had another son by his German wife, Heinz Hitler
, who, in contrast to William, became a committed Nazi (and was later tortured to death in Soviet captivity).
in an attempt to benefit from his uncle's rise to power. His uncle found him a job in a bank. Later, William worked at an Opel
automobile
factory, and later still as a car salesman. Dissatisfied with these jobs, William persisted in asking his uncle for a better job, writing to him with blackmail
threats that he would sell embarrassing stories about the family to the newspapers. Among these threats was included the exposition of Alois Jr.'s bigamous marriage.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler asked William to relinquish his British citizenship in exchange for a high-ranking job. Expecting a trap, William decided to flee Nazi Germany; he again tried to blackmail his uncle with threats. This time, William threatened to tell the press that Hitler's alleged paternal grandfather was actually a Jewish merchant. Returning to London he wrote an article for Look
magazine titled "Why I Hate my Uncle." However William did return, briefly, to Germany in 1938, possibly as a British agent. William's role in Germany in the late 1930s is unsubstantiated.
William, perhaps thinking his cover was blown, fled Germany in January 1939 with the help of a British agent. Soon after, William and his mother went to the United States on a lecture tour at the invitation of the publisher William Randolph Hearst
. William and his mother were stranded there when World War II
broke out. After making a special request to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
, William was cleared to join the U.S. Navy in 1944, and moved to Sunnyside
, Queens
in New York
.
According to a story circulating after his enlistment, when he went to the draft office and introduced himself, the recruiting officer supposedly replied, "Glad to see you, Hitler. My name's Hess
."
After leaving the Navy, William changed his last name to Stuart-Houston, married, and moved to Patchogue, Long Island
, where he and his wife had four sons. Stuart-Houston built upon his medical training to establish a business that analyzed blood samples for hospitals. His laboratory
, which he called Brookhaven Laboratories, was located in his home, a two-story clapboard house at 71 Silver Street, Patchogue.
Stuart-Houston was married to Phyllis Jean-Jacques, who was born in Germany sometime in the mid-1920s (she died in 2004). After their relationship had begun, William, Phyllis, and Bridget tried for some anonymity in the United States. William and Phyllis married in 1947, and they had their first son, Alexander Adolf, in 1949. They had three more sons: Louis (b. 1951), Howard Ronald (b. 1957, d. 1989), and Brian William (b. 1965).
William died on July 14, 1987 in Patchogue, New York
, and his remains were buried alongside those of his mother, Bridget, at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
in Coram, New York
. Phyllis died on November 2, 2004.
Howard Ronald Stuart-Houston, a Special Agent with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service
, died in an automobile accident on September 14, 1989 having fathered no children. Howard Ronald is buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram, New York
.
Though none of the brothers has children, Alexander, now a social worker, has said that he knows of no sort of pact to intentionally end the Hitler bloodline. This is addressed due to speculation that such an agreement had been made.
, 1973.
Beryl Bainbridge
's 1978 novel Young Adolf
depicts the alleged 1912–13 visit to his Liverpool relatives by a 23-year-old Adolf Hitler. Bainbridge and Phillip Saville also wrote a BBC Play for Today based on her book (and based in part on Unger's work), broadcast in 1979.
Unger also edited Bridget Dowling's memoirs which were first published as The Memoirs of Bridget Hitler in 1979; a completely updated version, titled The Hitlers of Liverpool, was published in 2011.
Grant Morrison
and Steve Yeowell
's 1989 comic book
"The New Adventures of Hitler
" is likewise based on the Liverpool visit. It sparked controversy in the early 1990s and has not been reprinted.
In October 2005, The History Channel
aired a one-hour documentary entitled "Hitler's Family", in which William Patrick Hitler is prominently profiled along with other relatives of Adolf Hitler.
In April 2006, "Little Willy", a play by Mark Kassen
examining the life of William Patrick Hitler, opened at the Ohio Theater in New York before moving on to the West End in London.
Name at birth
The name at birth is the name a child is given by his or her parents, according to a generally universal custom, and legal requirement. What happens subsequently about this name has a substantial cultural component....
Hitler
Hitler family
The Hitler family comprises the relatives of Adolf Hitler an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly known as the Nazi Party. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler...
) (March 12, 1911 – July 14, 1987) was the nephew of Adolf Hitler
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...
. Born to Adolf's half-brother Alois Hitler, Jr.
Alois Hitler, Jr.
Alois Hitler, Jr., born Alois Matzelsberger , was the son of Alois Hitler and Franziska Matzelsberger, and was the half-brother of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
, and his first wife Bridget Dowling
Bridget Dowling
Bridget Elizabeth Hitler, née Dowling was Adolf Hitler's sister-in-law via her marriage to Alois Hitler, Jr. She was the mother of Alois Hitler's son William Patrick Hitler...
, William later moved to Germany and subsequently escaped, eventually going to the United States where he enlisted to fight in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
William Patrick Hitler was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, the son of Alois Hitler Jr., and his Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-born wife Bridget Dowling. They met in Dublin when Alois was living there in 1909; they were married in Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
and moved back north to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, where William was born in 1911. William was allegedly recalled by elderly former neighbors, and allegedly known in Liverpool folklore as "Billy" or "Paddy" Hitler.
The family lived in a flat at 102 Upper Stanhope Street, which was destroyed in the last German air raid of the Liverpool Blitz
Liverpool Blitz
The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the British city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, at the time mostly within the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire but commonly known as Merseyside, during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe.Liverpool, Bootle, and the...
on January 10, 1942. Dowling wrote a manuscript called My Brother-in-Law Adolf, in which she says Adolf Jacob Hitler moved to Liverpool with her and Alois, remaining from November 1912 to April 1913, in order to dodge conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
in Austria. Most historians dismiss this story as a fiction invented to make the book more appealing to publishers.
In 1914, Alois left Bridget and their son for a gambling tour of Europe. Alois later returned to Germany. Unable to reconnect due to the outbreak of 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...
, Alois abandoned the family, leaving William to be brought up by his mother. He remarried bigamously, but re-established contact in the mid-1920s when he wrote to Bridget asking her to send William to Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
Germany for a visit. She finally agreed in 1929, when William was 18. Alois had since had another son by his German wife, Heinz Hitler
Heinz Hitler
Heinrich Hitler was the son of Alois Hitler, Jr. and his second wife Hedwig Heidemann and the nephew of German dictator Adolf Hitler...
, who, in contrast to William, became a committed Nazi (and was later tortured to death in Soviet captivity).
In Nazi Germany
In 1933, William Patrick Hitler returned to Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in an attempt to benefit from his uncle's rise to power. His uncle found him a job in a bank. Later, William worked at an Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
factory, and later still as a car salesman. Dissatisfied with these jobs, William persisted in asking his uncle for a better job, writing to him with blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
threats that he would sell embarrassing stories about the family to the newspapers. Among these threats was included the exposition of Alois Jr.'s bigamous marriage.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler asked William to relinquish his British citizenship in exchange for a high-ranking job. Expecting a trap, William decided to flee Nazi Germany; he again tried to blackmail his uncle with threats. This time, William threatened to tell the press that Hitler's alleged paternal grandfather was actually a Jewish merchant. Returning to London he wrote an article for Look
Look (American magazine)
Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles...
magazine titled "Why I Hate my Uncle." However William did return, briefly, to Germany in 1938, possibly as a British agent. William's role in Germany in the late 1930s is unsubstantiated.
William, perhaps thinking his cover was blown, fled Germany in January 1939 with the help of a British agent. Soon after, William and his mother went to the United States on a lecture tour at the invitation of the publisher William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
. William and his mother were stranded there when World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out. After making a special request to President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, William was cleared to join the U.S. Navy in 1944, and moved to Sunnyside
Sunnyside
- Australia :*Sunnyside , house of Ellen G. White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church- Canada :* Sunnyside, a suburban area of South Surrey, in turn a town centre of Surrey, British Columbia...
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
According to a story circulating after his enlistment, when he went to the draft office and introduced himself, the recruiting officer supposedly replied, "Glad to see you, Hitler. My name's Hess
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
."
Later life
William Patrick Hitler served in the U.S. Navy as a Pharmacist's Mate (a designation later changed to Hospital Corpsman) until he was discharged in 1947. He had been wounded in service during the course of World War II.After leaving the Navy, William changed his last name to Stuart-Houston, married, and moved to Patchogue, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he and his wife had four sons. Stuart-Houston built upon his medical training to establish a business that analyzed blood samples for hospitals. His laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
, which he called Brookhaven Laboratories, was located in his home, a two-story clapboard house at 71 Silver Street, Patchogue.
Stuart-Houston was married to Phyllis Jean-Jacques, who was born in Germany sometime in the mid-1920s (she died in 2004). After their relationship had begun, William, Phyllis, and Bridget tried for some anonymity in the United States. William and Phyllis married in 1947, and they had their first son, Alexander Adolf, in 1949. They had three more sons: Louis (b. 1951), Howard Ronald (b. 1957, d. 1989), and Brian William (b. 1965).
William died on July 14, 1987 in Patchogue, New York
Patchogue, New York
-Notable citizens:* Franc D'Ambrosio, Broadway Actor, best known for being the longest running Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. Graduated Pat-Med HS 1981* Michael Fagan, professional bowler...
, and his remains were buried alongside those of his mother, Bridget, at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Coram, New York)
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located on the northwest corner of New York State Route 112 and Granny Road in Coram, New York. The cemetery was founded in 1942, and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre....
in Coram, New York
Coram, New York
As of the 2000 census, 34,923 people, 12,530 households, and 9,121 families resided in the CDP. The population density was 2,532.1 per square mile . There were 12,880 housing units at an average density of 933.9/sq mi...
. Phyllis died on November 2, 2004.
Howard Ronald Stuart-Houston, a Special Agent with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, died in an automobile accident on September 14, 1989 having fathered no children. Howard Ronald is buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram, New York
Coram, New York
As of the 2000 census, 34,923 people, 12,530 households, and 9,121 families resided in the CDP. The population density was 2,532.1 per square mile . There were 12,880 housing units at an average density of 933.9/sq mi...
.
Though none of the brothers has children, Alexander, now a social worker, has said that he knows of no sort of pact to intentionally end the Hitler bloodline. This is addressed due to speculation that such an agreement had been made.
In the media
The family's story and Bridget's memoirs were first published by Michael Unger in the Liverpool Daily PostLiverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
, 1973.
Beryl Bainbridge
Beryl Bainbridge
Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge, DBE was an English author from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her psychological novels, often set amongst the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Awards prize for best novel in 1977 and 1996; she was nominated five times for the Booker...
's 1978 novel Young Adolf
Young Adolf
Young Adolf is a novel written by author Beryl Bainbridge, and first published in 1978 by Duckworth. Presented as biographical fiction, the book's main character is 23-year-old Adolf Hitler. Hitler visits relatives in Liverpool, where he gets into serious trouble with the English.-Further reading:*...
depicts the alleged 1912–13 visit to his Liverpool relatives by a 23-year-old Adolf Hitler. Bainbridge and Phillip Saville also wrote a BBC Play for Today based on her book (and based in part on Unger's work), broadcast in 1979.
Unger also edited Bridget Dowling's memoirs which were first published as The Memoirs of Bridget Hitler in 1979; a completely updated version, titled The Hitlers of Liverpool, was published in 2011.
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell
Steve Yeowell is a British comics artist, well-known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic 2000 AD.-Biography:...
's 1989 comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
"The New Adventures of Hitler
The New Adventures of Hitler
The New Adventures of Hitler was a highly controversial comic series written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Steve Yeowell which first appeared in Cut, a Scottish arts magazine in 1989 before being reprinted in the anthology Crisis in 1990....
" is likewise based on the Liverpool visit. It sparked controversy in the early 1990s and has not been reprinted.
In October 2005, The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
aired a one-hour documentary entitled "Hitler's Family", in which William Patrick Hitler is prominently profiled along with other relatives of Adolf Hitler.
In April 2006, "Little Willy", a play by Mark Kassen
Mark Kassen
Mark Kassen is an American independent film director, actor, writer and producer. He frequently collaborates with his brother Adam Kassen.As an Actor Mark has appeared in numerous televisions shows TV that include NBC’s The Secret and Growing up Brady, CBS’s Cybil, NBC’s Third Watch and the pilot...
examining the life of William Patrick Hitler, opened at the Ohio Theater in New York before moving on to the West End in London.
External links
- Hitler Family Tree
- Getting to know the Hitlers from the Daily Telegraph
- Author talks about 'the Last of the Hitlers' CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
interview. - "The Hitler family tree", (2002) by Hal Bastin, accessed April 15, 2006
- The Diocese of Rockville Centre - Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
- Kilgannon, Corey. "Three Quiet Brothers on Long Island, All of Them Related to Hitler", The New York Times, April 24, 2006
