Not many people would associate Adolf Hitler, the world’s most well known and possibly brutal of all dictators, with Ireland, a country known for its neutrality even during world war times. While Hitler himself does have some bloodline Irish heritage, there is the story of Hitlers half-brother, Alois, and his opportunist son, William Patrick (Paddy) Hitler.
Hitlers Brother in Ireland
Alois Hitler worked as a waiter at the Shelbourne Hotel in 1909. When in Ireland he met a 17 year old Dublin girl by the name of Bridget Dowling at the Dublin Horse Show, an annual event that remains as popular to this day. Romance blossomed between the pair, despite Bridget’s family objection. Their non-acceptance of Alois as a partner for Bridget was further enhanced after discovering that Alois was not in fact a wealthy hotelier that he had portrayed.
The Hitlers move from Ireland
Alois and Bridget eloped to London in 1910, where they married, before then moving to Liverpool. The following year, their son Paddy Hitler was born. Soon after, Adolf Hitler himself visited his step brother and Bridget in England, using their family home as a safe space to avoid Austrian authorities, who were trying to pursue him for evading his military duties, something which was considered a crime back then.
After a year or so in Liverpool without consistent work and little English, Adolf ended up overstaying his welcome in his half brother’s home. Alois ended up paying for and escorting Adolf on a one way flight to Germany in 1913. While it was the end of Adolf’s time in Liverpool, it wasn’t the last time he would be in touch with Paddy Hitler, his nephew whom he had lived with during his time in England.
Paddy Hitler in Germany
Paddy Hitler visited Germany in 1930, to visit his father who had since, like Adolf, returned to Germany. It was at this time that he was re-introduced to his ‘Uncle Adolf,’ who was by that point on his rise to power. He exploited his uncle Adolf’s power, securing a good job in a bank, all through Adolf’s influence as the Chancellor of Germany at this time. Adolf was said not to be particularly fond of Paddy, referring to him as his “loathsome nephew”, but that didn’t stop Paddy taking advantage of his now famous uncle by attending dinner parties and using his status to demand more senior roles.
Paddy Hitler leaves Germany
By 1939, before World War 2 broke out, Paddy Hitler returned to England, fearing his uncle was setting a trap for him in Germany after insisting he become a German citizen. The Hitler name may have opened doors for William Patrick Hitler in Berlin, but at the onset of the war it had become highly unpopular in England. He and his mother Bridget, fearful over their connection with Adolf, emigrated to the U.S. where they settled on Long Island. While in the US Paddy capitalized on his colorful background, giving lectures across America about his famous dictator uncle.
After the war, Paddy and Bridget decided to disappear from public view completely. They assumed new identities as the Stuart-Houston family and lived on Long Island. Patrick married a German woman named Phyllis, with whom he had four sons.
Bridget died in 1969 at the age of 78, and is buried in a small Catholic graveyard in Coram, New York. Paddy was buried beside her after dying suddenly in 1987. Their graves bear no indication or clues to their true background, including their Irish roots.
Hitlers last known relatives
Both Paddy and Bridget had managed to keep their true identity a secret until shortly before Paddy’s death. Paddy’s children, the last known surviving relatives of Adolf Hitler, are said to decline interviews about their notorious grand-uncle. They have stated that Adolf himself did visit Ireland during the period when was living with his brother in Liverpool.
