# Hitler Urban Legend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2001, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578 "2001-09-09T23:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lance\_the\_Advancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Lance\_the\_Advancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_the_Advancer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/1 "2001-09-09T23:45:38Z")
Was Hitler’s mother talked out of an abortion? I’ve heard this many times and it sounds like an urban legend. ---
**Author:** ![xanakis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7bcc69/32.png) [@xanakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanakis)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/2 "2001-09-10T00:13:22Z")
Actually, I heard that Hitler’s mother lost her first six or seven children at birth and the next (and only) child to come out alive survived and grew up to be Adolf. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/3 "2001-09-10T00:38:34Z")
My Mum told me that an elderly Jewish man convinced Mrs. Hitler that having the child would be the right thing to do… ---
**Author:** ![RAWisSYDNEY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@RAWisSYDNEY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RAWisSYDNEY)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/4 "2001-09-10T06:08:12Z")
i am almost positive he had an older sibling. I read it somewhere i think, that they used to play ‘cowboys and indians’ in the front yard, maybe it was a neighbour. ---
**Author:** ![Tedster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@Tedster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tedster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/5 "2001-09-10T07:29:13Z")
Isn’t it the point of the UL that abortion is a good thing in some cases, sparing us the chance of despotic and tyrannical dictators? It fails on logical grounds. Oh Well. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/6 "2001-09-10T07:52:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RAWisSYDNEY \* > \*\*i am almost positive he had an older sibling. > > I read it somewhere i think, that they used to play ‘cowboys and indians’ in the front yard, maybe it was a neighbour. \*\* Er, wouldn’t “cowboys and indians” be an odd game for German children to have played back then? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/7 "2001-09-10T08:23:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by galt \* > Er, wouldn’t “cowboys and indians” be an odd game for German children to have played back then? German, yes. Austrian, perhaps no. 😃 > [@](#): > > i am almost positive he had an older sibling. Yes, he had a half-brother, Alois, who lived in Liverpool with his Irish wife Bridget. ---
**Author:** ![puk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@puk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puk)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/8 "2001-09-10T09:38:02Z")
What, they didn’t have Cowboys and Indians in the 1900’s? ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/9 "2001-09-10T11:43:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Er, wouldn’t “cowboys and indians” be an odd game for German children to have played back then? [Absolutely not](http://www.cowboysindians.com/articles/archives/0999/karl_may.html). ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/10 "2001-09-10T14:11:21Z")
Paul Harvey once did a story about two women who were considering abortion. Their histories were outlined, and then it was revealed at the end that the women described were the mothers of Hitler and Leonardo daVinci. Harvey, although guilty of passing on plenty of ULs, presented the situation as hypothetical and did not state their either women actually _did_ consider abortion. But I wouldn’t be surprised if many listeners took it as fact anyway. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/11 "2001-09-10T15:16:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by galt \* > > Er, wouldn’t “cowboys and indians” be an odd game for German children to have played back then? > > German, yes. Austrian, perhaps no. 😃 > > > [@](#): > > > > i am almost positive he had an older sibling. > > Yes, he had a half-brother, Alois, who lived in Liverpool with his Irish wife Bridget. \*\* He also had a half-sister, Angela, and a full sister, Paula. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/12 "2001-09-10T15:19:54Z")
slight hijack but it’s Hitler and UL related. That photo that cirulated about 10 years ago that was supposedly Hitler after he died… what was ever proven with that? Was it a body double or faked photo? ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/13 "2001-09-10T20:21:37Z")
Re: Photo. It might be the one of the guy who looked kind of like a gaunt Hitler that the Russians found dead in a water tank or something. They thought it was da man for a while, but then decided it was just a close resemblance. Re: The siblings, whatever happened to them? Did they have to take a lot of grief on account of their brother’s deeds? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/14 "2001-09-10T23:38:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JCHeckler \* > \*\*Re: Photo. It might be the one of the guy who looked kind of like a gaunt Hitler that the Russians found dead in a water tank or something. They thought it was da man for a while, but then decided it was just a close resemblance. > > Re: The siblings, whatever happened to them? Did they have to take a lot of grief on account of their brother’s deeds? \*\* Alios died, & his son & wife visited Berlin several times before the war. Hitler refered to them as “My odious Irish relatives.” The boy moved to the United States, & during the war, served in the United States Navy. He was given an honorable discharge in 1945. He changed his name, married, settled in New York city, & had one son. He named said child–“Adolph”. The family has since dropped out of sight, probably of their own free will. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/15 "2001-09-10T23:51:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Re: The siblings, whatever happened to them? Paula was the mother of Gelli Raubl(sp?), with whom ‘uncle Dolf’ had a 3-year incestuous affair, apparently with Paula’s knowledge and approval (or extreme denial). Gelli eventually committed suicide, succeeding where Eva Braun later failed. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/16 "2001-09-11T00:02:54Z")
After posting I re-checked my info. [http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/success.htm](http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/success.htm) \*_Geli Raubal_ Was the daughter of Hitler’s half-sister, so their relationship was ‘acceptable’ by German standards of the time (It seems creepy to me too). ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/17 "2001-09-11T00:08:29Z")
Here’s the link to the [snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/glurge/twoquest.htm) page on the glurge about the mothers of the famous (including Hitler) considering abortion. The story cited in the OP is probably just another twist to the story. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2001, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitler-urban-legend/80578/18 "2001-09-11T00:18:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jack@ss \* > \*\* > Paula was the mother of Gelli Raubl(sp?), with whom ‘uncle Dolf’ had a 3-year incestuous affair, apparently with Paula’s knowledge and approval (or extreme denial). Gelli eventually committed suicide, succeeding where Eva Braun later failed. \*\* That was Angela(half sister). Paula(full sister) never married or had kids.