What happened to Hitler’s family? I know he had no siblings, but surely there must have been others with the unfortunate surname. Were they persecuted or driven out of Germany/Austria? –Marc Ghafoor, via e-mail
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What this tells you I don’t know, but the rest of the world has shown a lot more interest in Adolf’s relatives than Americans have. Historian Timothy Ryback brought the highbrows up to speed with a 2000 New Yorker article on the Hitler clan, but, U.S. tabloids having neglected the subject, ignorance remains high among the masses, including, if I may say so, you. No Hitler siblings? Nonsense–he had a sister, Paula, a half sister, Angela, and a half brother, Alois. Folks elsewhere are better informed. Over the past three years UK Third Reich buffs have had their choice of a book, a TV special, and various newspaper articles about the Hitler family’s doings. But of course, you say–Europeans have reminders of World War II at every hand, history is more real to them, etc. Well, maybe. The fact remains that for years the descendants of some of Der Fuhrer’s most obnoxious relatives have resided on Long Island, New York.
