Paula Hitler

Paula Hitler, also known as Paula Wolff and Paula Hitler-Wolff (21 January 1896 – 1 June 1960), was the younger sister of Adolf Hitler and the last child of Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl.

Early life

Paula Hitler was born in Hafeld, Fischlham, Upper Austria, on 21 January 1896 to Alois Hitler and Klara Hitler (née Pölzl). She was Adolf Hitler's only full-sister and only full-sibling who survived to adulthood. She was six years old when her father, a retired customs official, died, and eleven when her mother died, after which the Austrian government provided a small pension to her and Adolf. The amount was relatively meager and Adolf eventually agreed to sign his share over to her.

Adult life

Paula later moved to Vienna. In the early 1920s, she was hired as a housekeeper at a dormitory for Jewish university students. In 1921, while she worked at the dormitory, she was visited by her brother who she said appeared as if he had "fallen from heaven". For the most part, she had no other contact with her brother during his struggling years as a painter in Vienna and later in Munich, his military service during World War I and his early political activities. She was delighted to meet him again in Vienna during the early 1930s.

Paula used the surname "Hiedler", the original spelling of "Hitler". By her own account, after losing a job with the Austrian State Insurance Company on 2 August 1930 when her employers found out who she was, Paula received financial support of 250 schillings a month from her brother, and lived under the assumed surname of "Wolff" at Adolf Hitler's request. "Wolf" was a childhood nickname of his which he had also used during the 1920s for security purposes.