Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr. (2 October 1906 – 18 August 1977) was an Austrian nephew of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
who served in the German
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Life
Leo Raubal Jr. was the son of Leo Raubal Sr. and his wife
Angela, Adolf's half-sister.
Raubal Jr. worked in
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
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. 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", according to historian
Werner Maser Werner Maser (12 July 1922 – 5 April 2007) was a German historian, journalist and professor at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. Maser was the first historian to claim that the Hitler Diaries were forgeries.[Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...]
and was a lieutenant in the engineering corps. He looked similar to Adolf Hitler and sometimes served as Hitler's double during the war.
He was injured in January 1943 during the
Battle of Stalingrad, and
Friedrich Paulus
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ende ...
asked Hitler for a plane to evacuate Raubal to Germany. 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. Stalin
refused to exchange him either for Raubal or for Friedrich Paulus, and said "war is war." Raubal was detained in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
's jails and was released by the Soviets on 28 September 1955, and returned to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
.
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.
[Joachimsthaler...] 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
*
Hitler family
The Hitler family comprises the relatives and ancestors of Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945), an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the Nazi Party. He was the dictator of Germany, holding the title Chancellor of ...
References
Sources
* Werner Maser: ''Adolf Hitler. Mythos, Legende, Wirklichkeit'', Bechtle, Munich 2001
18;
* Werner Maser: ''Fälschung, Dichtung und Wahrheit über Hitler und Stalin'', Olzog, 2004, , page 272
*
* 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,
* Oliver Halmburger, Thomas Staehler: ''Familie Hitler. Im Schatten des Diktators'', Oliver Halmburger Loopfilm GmbH, Munich, and ZDF-History, Mainz 2005 (film), DVD,
ASIN
Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She ...
B000U6SOKW
*
* Personal information from prof. Dr. Werner Maser (via German Wikipedia)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raubal, Leo Rudolf Jr.
Hitler family
1906 births
1977 deaths
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union
Military personnel from Linz
Austrian schoolteachers