Heinz Hitler
Hitler in uniform during the war
Birth nameHeinrich Hitler
Nickname(s)Heinz
Born(1920-03-14)14 March 1920
Magdeburg, German Reich
Died21 February 1942(1942-02-21) (aged 21)
Butyrka Prison, Moscow, Soviet Union
AllegianceNazi Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1939–1942
RankUnteroffizier
Battles/wars
AwardsIron Cross 2nd Class
Relations

Heinrich Hitler (14 March 1920 – 21 February 1942) was the son of Alois Hitler Jr. and his second wife Hedwig Heidemann whom he had married bigamously. He was the younger half-brother of William Stuart-Houston. He was also a half-nephew of Adolf Hitler, who reportedly called Heinz his favorite nephew.

Heinz was a strong supporter of the Nazis. He attended an elite boarding school, the National Political Institutes of Education (Napola) at Ballenstedt in Saxony-Anhalt.[1] When World War II began, he joined the Wehrmacht.

Aspiring to be an officer, Heinz became a signals subofficer with the 23rd Potsdamer Artillery Regiment in 1941, and was sent to serve on the Eastern Front, participating in the invasion of the Soviet Union, known as Operation Barbarossa. On 10 January 1942, he was ordered to collect radio equipment from an army post. He was captured by Soviet forces and died at the Butyrka military prison in Moscow in February 1942, at the age of 21. Adolf Hitler approved of an offer to exchange Yakov Dzhugashvili (Stalin's son) through the Swedish Red Cross for Heinz, but Stalin, still enraged that Yakov surrendered, rejected it.[2]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Maser (1971), pp.60, 447
  2. ↑ Chuev, Felix (1993). Resis, Albert (ed.). Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics. Chicago. ISBN 1-56663-715-5. OCLC 28148163.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Bibliography

  • Maser, Werner (1971). Adolf Hitler: Legende, Mythos, Wirklichkeit (in German). München & Esslingen: Welsermühl, Wels. ISBN 9783762804840.
  • Vermeeren, Marc (2007). De jeugd van Adolf Hitler 1889-1985 en zijn familie en voorouders (in Dutch). Soesterberg: Uitgeverij Aspekt. ISBN 978-90-5911-606-1.
  • Oliver Halmburger (director), Thomas Staehler (director), Timothy Ryback (consultant), and Florian Beierl (consultant) (2005). Familie Hitler. Im Schatten des Diktators (documentary film) (in German). München: Loopfilm GmBH and Mainz: ZDF-History.


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