Leo Raubal Jr.

Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr. (2 October 1906 – 18 August 1977) was an Austrian half-nephew of Adolf Hitler who served in the German Luftwaffe during World War II.

"Leo Raubal" redirects here. For the father, see Angela Hitler § Life.
Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr.
Born(1906-10-02)2 October 1906
Linz, Austria-Hungary
Died18 August 1977(1977-08-18) (aged 70)
Spain
Buried
Linz
Allegiance Germany
Service/branchLuftwaffe
Years of service1939–1943
RankLeutnant
Battles/warsWorld War II
RelationsAngela Hitler (mother)
Adolf Hitler (uncle)

Life

Leo Raubal Jr. was the son of Leo Raubal Sr. and his wife Angela, Adolf's half-sister.

Raubal Jr. worked in Salzburg as a teacher of chemistry. He visited his mother sporadically while she was living in Berchtesgaden.

Like his younger cousin Heinz Hitler but unlike cousin William Patrick Hitler, Leo Raubal was a "favorite nephew of the leader", and Hitler liked to spend his time with him.[1] However, according to William Patrick Hitler, Leo did not like his uncle Adolf and blamed the latter for the death of his sister Geli. This, however, cannot be confirmed, with Leo saying in 1967 that Hitler was "absolutely innocent" of Geli's death, according to historian Werner Maser.[2]

World War II and detention in Moscow

Before the war, he became a manager of the Linz Steelworks. In October 1939, he was drafted into the Luftwaffe and was a lieutenant in the engineering corps. He looked similar to Adolf Hitler and sometimes served as Hitler's double during the war.[3]

He was injured in January 1943 during the Battle of Stalingrad,[4] and Friedrich Paulus asked Hitler for a plane to evacuate Raubal to Germany.[5] Hitler refused and Raubal was captured by the Soviets on 31 January 1943.

Hitler gave orders to examine the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the Soviets for Stalin's son Yakov Dzhugashvili, who had been captured by the Germans on 16 July 1941.[6] Stalin[7] refused to exchange him either for Raubal or for Friedrich Paulus,[8] and said "war is war."[9] Raubal was detained in Moscow's jails and was released by the Soviets on 28 September 1955, and returned to Austria.

Post-detention career

He lived and worked in Linz as a teacher. He died during a vacation in Spain. He was buried on 7 September 1977 in Linz.[10] Leo Raubal Jr. had a son Peter (b. 1931) who along with Elfriede Raubal's son, Heiner Hochegger (b. 1945), and William Patrick Hitler's three surviving sons Alexander Adolf (b. 1949), Louis (b. 1951), and Brian William (b. 1965) are the closest living relatives to Adolf Hitler. Peter Raubal is a retired engineer who lives in Linz, Austria.

See also

References
  1. Mitchell, Otis C. (2008). Hitler's stormtroopers and the attack on the German Republic, 1919-1933. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. pp. 30. ISBN 978-0-7864-3912-6.
  2. Werner Maser, Werner (1972). Adolf Hitler. Bechtle. pp. 23. ISBN 0-252-00897-9.
  3. Langton, James (2000-07-15). "Hitler's lost relatives found on Long Island - 'in terror of identification'". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  4. Deighton, Len (1987). Winter: a novel of a Berlin family. New York: Knopf. p. 464. ISBN 0-394-55177-X.
  5. Hauner, Milan (1983). Hitler: a chronology of his life and time. London: Macmillan. p. 181. ISBN 0-333-30983-9.
  6. Elliott, Mark R. (1982). Pawns of Yalta: Soviet refugees and America's role in their repatriation. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 185. ISBN 0-252-00897-9.
  7. Beevor, Antony (2012). The Second World War. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  8. Bailey, Ronald Albert (1981). Prisoners of war. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books. pp. 123. ISBN 0-8094-3391-5.
  9. Tolstoy, Nikolai (1978). The secret betrayal. New York: Scribner. p. 296. ISBN 0-684-15635-0.
  10. Joachimsthaler...

Sources
  • Werner Maser: Adolf Hitler. Mythos, Legende, Wirklichkeit, Bechtle, Munich 200118; ISBN 3-7628-0521-0
  • Werner Maser: Fälschung, Dichtung und Wahrheit über Hitler und Stalin, Olzog, 2004, ISBN 3-7892-8134-4, page 272
  • Joachimsthaler, Anton (2003). Hitlers Liste: Ein Dokument Personlicher Beziehungen. Herbig. p. 270. ISBN 3-7766-2328-4.
  • Walter Mayr: SERIE - TEIL 10 HITLERS FRÜHE JAHRE - DER FÜHRER, MEIN ONKEL, Der Spiegel Nr. 28/2001 - 9 July 2001, page 142
  • Marc Vermeeren: De jeugd van Adolf Hitler 1889–1907 en zijn familie en voorouders, Uitgeverij Aspekt, Soesterberg 2007, ISBN 90-5911-606-2
  • Oliver Halmburger, Thomas Staehler: Familie Hitler. Im Schatten des Diktators, Oliver Halmburger Loopfilm GmbH, Munich, and ZDF-History, Mainz 2005 (film), DVD, ASIN B000U6SOKW
  • Zdral, Wolfgang (2005). Die Hitlers. Campus Verlag GmbH. p. 237. ISBN 3-593-37457-9.
  • Personal information from prof. Dr. Werner Maser (via German Wikipedia)
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