# Did Hitler ever meet any U. S. troops in person? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408 "2015-11-12T21:06:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/21 "2015-11-13T19:11:28Z")
The tax accountant where I used to work also mentioned the time he met Hitler. (He also had the story about capturing an entire American air crew with his shovel… 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/22 "2015-11-14T17:03:21Z")
Sounds legit! ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/23 "2015-11-15T03:43:26Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Not knowing that, but unable to assault it, surely? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/24 "2015-11-15T04:31:42Z")
It was before Hitler took power, but in 1922, he was interviewed by Truman Smith, who was the assistant military attache assigned to the embassy in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/25 "2015-11-15T19:17:43Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > This was mentioned in a very recent Episode of QI, as Fry mentioned it, there are some doubts about it, but that was claimed by a soldier that fought alongside Hitler. > > And from the same QI episode (Military Matters): > > **Jimmy Carr :** “Here is a good point about Hitler: He is judged very harshly by history. But, he did kill Hitler!!” > > 🙂 I’m the last person in the world that wants to argue with Stephen Fry, but Hitler’s toothbrush style mustache was popular at one time. Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy wore one. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/26 "2015-11-15T19:26:09Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I’m the last person in the world that wants to argue with Stephen Fry, but Hitler’s toothbrush style mustache was popular at one time. Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy wore one. That is OK, that is why I mentioned that there are doubts about what that soldier said and Fry did mention it in the show, he also did mention one alternative tale that had the sister in law of Hitler, Birdget Hitler \*, telling him to use that stile of mustache sometime after the war. - Really, that was her name, it also surprised the other QI panelists. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/27 "2015-11-15T19:59:45Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > he also did mention one alternative tale that had the sister in law of Hitler, Birdget Hitler \*, telling him to use that stile of mustache sometime after the war. Though Mrs. Hitler’s claims regarding her brother-in-law are all pretty suspect. She also said in a book that Adolf lived with her family in Liverpool is 1912-13 to dodge the draft, but there is absolutely no evidence for this and it’s widely regarded as an attempt on her part to nab some fame. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/28 "2015-11-15T20:10:17Z")
> [@Marine\_One](#): > > I meant as dictator in World War 2. The US was not a combatant during all of WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/29 "2015-11-15T20:12:43Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > The tax accountant where I used to work also mentioned the time he met Hitler. > > (He also had the story about capturing an entire American air crew with his shovel… 🙂 ) > [@Philster](#): > > Sounds legit! My great aunt, a Jew and survivor, met Hitler repeatedly when she was a child, and later, as a teenager, as a waitress in The Four Seasons, the Munich restaurant to see and be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/30 "2015-11-15T22:47:31Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > My great aunt, a Jew and survivor, met Hitler repeatedly when she was a child, and later, as a teenager, as a waitress in The Four Seasons, the Munich restaurant to see and be seen. Was Hitler a good tipper? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/31 "2015-11-16T00:16:56Z")
🙂 You know, it’s funny I never asked her. She died a few years ago, so it’s too late. What a great question! ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/32 "2015-11-16T07:13:34Z")
While I can’t find any solid source for this, I have often read and heard that when Clark Gable was a USAAF pilot, Hitler had a standing order that if Gable was ever captured, he was to be unharmed and a guest of Hitler - as Hitler was a fan of Gable. I am not sure if any other allied airmen had that order (Jimmy Stewart?) - of if Hitler ever met a “celebrity POW.” ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/33 "2015-11-16T08:10:27Z")
> [@syncrolecyne](#): > > …Clark Gable was a USAAF pilot… Nope. He was an air gunner/observer. Aircrew, not pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Pismonque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/46a35a/32.png) [@Pismonque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pismonque)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/34 "2015-11-17T08:31:55Z")
I remember seeing on film once where Hitler signed an autograph for an American archaeology professor. Of course, a professor is not a U.S. troop, but hey… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/35 "2015-12-10T14:16:07Z")
> [@syncrolecyne](#): > > While I can’t find any solid source for this, I have often read and heard that when Clark Gable was a USAAF pilot, Hitler had a standing order that if Gable was ever captured, he was to be unharmed and a guest of Hitler - as Hitler was a fan of Gable. > > I am not sure if any other allied airmen had that order (Jimmy Stewart?) - of if Hitler ever met a “celebrity POW.” At the time of the Hitler Diaries hoax in the early Eighties, _The New Yorker_ had a cartoon showing a bunch of tweedy academics sitting in a conference room, all with books in their laps. One is reading aloud: “Dear Diary: When I have conquered America I must meet the actress Betty Grable. What a tomato!” ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/36 "2015-12-10T18:13:18Z")
> [@Pismonque](#): > > I remember seeing on film once where Hitler signed an autograph for an American archaeology professor. Of course, a professor is not a U.S. troop, but hey… Might that be Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones…? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/37 "2015-12-10T19:22:18Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > the sister in law of Hitler, Birdget Hitler \*, telling him to use that stile of mustache sometime after the war. > > - Really, that was her name, it also surprised the other QI panelists. The name **Birdget** Hitler would be surprising… ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/38 "2015-12-10T19:31:11Z")
“Meetings” with the interesting gentleman concerned, by future enemies of his: a late uncle of mine was an engineering apprentice in the UK in the mid-1930s; he was seconded for a spell, to an undertaking in Germany associated with his company. He attended during that time, an engineering exhibition of some sort, at which Hitler dropped in. My uncle subsequently wrote home: “I saw Hitler at the exhibition, but I don’t think he saw me”. (In World War II, said uncle wasn’t in the armed forces: he was found more useful staying home and designing aeroplane engines.) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/39 "2015-12-10T19:49:23Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Sounds legit! He was a college student in Berlin in the 1930’s. They used to go to the opera (oh, those college students and their wild ways!) They could get rush seats for cheap just before the show started, and often they were good VIP seats. In this case, they had the VIP box seats, and then Hitler showed up a few minutes before curtain time and they were booted out. Hitler stopped them on the way out and apologized for the inconvenience (something he did not do for Poland or Belgium). The group had a nice short chat with him and his entourage before they were escorted out. So there you have it, Hitler was a very thoughtful, kind and polite man… so I am told. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408/40 "2015-12-10T19:53:31Z")
Quite often, prominent people are much nicer “in their private and personal capacity”, than “in their public and official capacity”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-hitler-ever-meet-any-u-s-troops-in-person/737408.md?page=3)