Adolf Hitler’s relationship with certain women in his life and how they affected him personally and politically. Likewise, the effect his relationships had on each of them?

-By G. A. Odell (Summer 2004)

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Adolf Hitler was the author of Mein Kampf, the dictator of Germany, conqueror of much of Europe, responsible for starting the Second World War, and the murder of countless lives including 6 million Jews from 1939 to 1945. He was one of the worst terrors the world has ever known. Why then, did so many people worship a man who was so evil? Furthermore, how could so many women actually love him? It is true; some people hold a lot of charisma and seem to possess a certain glamour about them that would sway just about anyone. Likewise, there are also plenty of women who are drawn to men with power – and Hitler was no exception.

Hitler was certainly a far cry from the average, decent, compassionate human being, and the sinister mindset expressed in his public life (such as invasion of Poland and persecution of the Jews) also spilled over into his personal life, as well. His most perverse relationship has to have been with his niece, Geli Raubal, but this side of him also manifested itself, though to a lesser degree, in his relationship with the actress, Renate Müller. His relationship with Eva Braun, however, was a bit different. Instead of obsessively controlling her (like he did his niece), or groveling at her feet (like he did with Renate Müller), he simply neglected her and took her for granted – causing her great depression as a result.

What was it that drew these women to Hitler, or him to them? Not all of them sought a relationship with the Fuehrer (and some even tried to escape), while others craved it a great deal and would give anything to be with him. But why would he inevitably go for them? Based on a comparison of all three women, it would seem that one thing they had in common was the fact that they were all at least 15 years younger than he. Two out of the three were also blond and thus represented the Aryan ideal. Another more disturbing thing all three women had in common was the fact that they all committed suicide, though each for different reasons.

The women were not the only ones affected by the relationships; Adolf Hitler himself was affected by each relationship, as well – the most important one being with Geli Raubal. Certain important traits in his personality were expressed in these relationships that seem to bridge the gap between his childhood and his role as dictator.

Hitler’s Family:

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria on April 20, 1889 to Alois and Klara Hitler (1). His father, Alois, was a senior customs official, and his mother, Klara, was his third wife and 23 years his junior (11). The couple had a total of 6 children, but all died in early childhood except for Adolf and his younger sister, Paula. Alois also had two children by his second wife: a son, Alois Jr. and a daughter, Angela (1). It is also important to note that, according to the Hitler family tree, Alois and Klara were second cousins (1), and thus had to receive special permission from the Vatican in order to marry without it being considered an incestuous union (11).

According to an official psychological analysis and an investigative report done by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) conducted in the 1930’s and 1940’s, there is substantial reason to believe that Adolf Hitler came from an abusive household. Alois Sr., being the head of the family, would often return home drunk and proceed to beat his wife and children. As a result, the young Adolf was unable to find a positive male role model in this father and often looked at him with contempt. His mother, on the other hand, has been described as loving and nurturing towards her children, and would often spoil her them. Adolf loved his mother very much, but was also resentful of her submission to his father, which could sometimes compromise his respect for her. Hitler’s was 13 when his father died in 1903, but the greatest tragedy was the death of his mother five years later (11).

While growing up, Hitler tended to think of his home country of Austria as too old in its ways and decaying from within, while Germany was a newer, younger nation with much more promise and possibilities. In a way, one can draw the distinct comparison of how he regarded each nation with how he regarded each parent – his father representing Austria and his mother representing Germany. He also saw Austria as an oppressive entity threatening to smother Germany’s progress and freedom (11).

Geli Raubal:

Angela “Geli” Raubal, born on June 4, 1908 in Linz, was the daughter of Leo and Angela Raubal –  Adolf Hitler’s half sister. After the death of Leo, Hitler offered his widowed sister the opportunity to be his housekeeper at his home in Obersalzberg. She accepted and arrived with Geli in August 1928 (7).

Geli Raubal was 20 years old when she arrived with her mother at Obersalzberg, and Hitler took an instant liking to her and was often seen in her company. A few months later, he took Geli with him to Munich where he arranged for her to have a room in his flat. It was intended for her to attend medical school, but this was probably just a pretense to keep her with him (10).

There has been strong reason to believe that Hitler was in love with his niece (who was at least 20 years his junior) and probably even had an incestuous relationship with her (8). Geli was known for her sweet, lively, and humorous disposition, with a down to earth personality that could put anyone, especially her uncle, at ease (7). It was noted by many who knew them that his demeanor would change a great deal when in her company (10).

Baldur von Schirach is quoted as saying in his autobiography (7):

“We liked her. When she was there. Hitler almost never started on the dreadful and often really painful scenes with endless monologues and uninhibited recriminations he bestowed not only on political enemies but also on friends and fellow-fighters. Geli's presence relaxed and released him. In front of favored guests he let her perform her specialty act with the mountain jackdaw - when she called, the bird flew in through the open window - and he enjoyed seeing her romp about with his Alsatians Blondi and Muck. Geli was allowed to laugh at her Uncle Alf and adjust his tie when it had slipped. She was never put under pressure to be especially clever or especially witty. She could be simply what she was - lively and uncomplicated.”

Heinrich Hoffman later wrote in his book, “Hitler Was My Friend” (1955), how Geli seemed to view her relationship with her uncle (7):

“Certainly, it flattered her (Geli Raubal) that her serious and unapproachable uncle, who was so good at hiding his feelings from everybody else, was fond of her. She wouldn't have been a woman if she hadn't been flattered by Hitler's gallantry and generosity. But it seemed simply intolerable to this child of nature that he should want to mother her every step and that she shouldn't be allowed to speak to anyone without his knowledge.”

While Geli seemed to relish the attention her doting uncle lavished on her, she was also very frustrated with the way he insisted on controlling her life. He was intent on monitoring her relationships with friends and restricting her contact with other men. However, despite his attempts to keep a tight rein on her, she was still able to maintain her free-spirited personality and go wherever (and with whomever) she chose during his absences. She even went so far as to have a romantic relationship with Hitler’s chauffer, whose employment was later terminated by Hitler (8).

As a result of his jealous possessiveness, Geli soon came to find the relationship very suffocating. She was also soon to find his darker, sexual side very disturbing, as well. In addition to his controlling nature, Hitler also had a sado-masochistic aspect, and would often force his unwilling niece into roles where either one could be the victim (10).

Sadism and masochism are types of paraphilia that fall under the category of sexual disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The definition for “sadist” is basically someone who gets great sexual excitement over inflicting physical pain, mental pain, or humiliation on an unwilling victim. A masochist, on the other hand, finds sexual gratification in receiving pain or being humiliated by another partner. It is important to note that simulation (or role playing) do not apply to the definition of a sadist (6).

Hitler fit the category of a sado-masochist (one who switches between both roles) by inflicting pain or humiliation on Geli, or having her do the opposite with him. However, unlike her uncle, Geli was not aroused in any way by her uncle’s “play,” and was even reported as being sickened by it. In Putzi Hanfstaengl’s account of an evening spent with Hitler and Geli, he recalls: "Hitler emphasized some threat against his opponents by cracking the heavy dog whip he still affected. If I happened to catch a glimpse of Geli’s face as he did it, there was on it such a look of fear and contempt that I almost caught my breath. Whips as well I thought, and really felt sorry for the girl (10)."

Further testimony from one of Geli’s friends, Otto Strasser, says:

"She really loved Hitler, but she couldn’t bear it any longer. His jealousy wasn’t the worst thing. He demanded things from her that were simply disgusting. She had never dreamed that such things could happen. When I asked her to tell me, she described things that I had previously encountered in my reading of Krafft–Ebing’s "Psychopathia Sexualis" when I was a student."

There are also accounts of the masochistic Hitler deriving great pleasure in having his niece squat over him, naked, so he could see and examine her more closely.  Then would instruct her to urinate on his face (10 & 11). Such pleasure on Hitler’s part could probably be traced to his witnessing his mother’s willingness to submit to his father during his childhood (10).

Eventually, it reached a point where she could not longer withstand the lack of freedom or her uncle’s perverse sexual practices. On September 19, 1931, at the age of 23, Geli Raubal’s body was found on the floor of her apartment with a gunshot wound to the chest. The nature of her death remains a mystery. Some believe she committed suicide, while others believe she was murdered by Hitler or one of his associates. Her best friend, Henny Hoffmann, believes it suicide in an attempt to hurt her uncle: "He fenced her life so tightly, confined her in such a narrow space that she saw no other way out. Finally she hated her uncle; she really wanted to kill him. She couldn’t do that. So she killed herself, to hurt him deeply enough, to disturb him. She knew nothing else would wound him so badly. And because he knew, too, he was so desperate; he had to blame himself (10)."

Others think it was Hitler who murdered his niece, or at least ordered her death. If this is the case, then she would have been the first person he ever killed. Also, Father Pant, a catholic priest who performed the last rites, was quoted as saying, "It was I who buried Angela Raubal, the little Geli of whom Otto Strasser wrote. They pretended that she committed suicide; I should never have allowed a suicide to be buried in consecrated ground. From the fact that I gave her a Christian burial you can draw conclusions which I cannot communicate to you."

Whether Geli’s death was the result of suicide or murder is unknown, but what is known is that the death of his niece caused Hitler profound grief.  He even tried to go so far as to take his own life, but was prevented by his fellow nazis (7). He was later known to describe his years with Geli as the happiest time in his life, and could not bring her name up in conversation without getting emotional (10).

The death of his niece changed Hitler a great deal, for the worst (8). To start, he became a vegetarian and there are a number of theories as to why this came to be:

1. Eating meat reminded him of eating her corpse (7).
2. Reaction formation – atonement for the guilt over his niece’s death (10)
3. Meat is symbolic of feces, and beer is symbolic of urine, thus this could be a direct link to one of the sexual practices they engaged in (as stated earlier) (10).

There is also a reason to believe that Hitler’s vegetarianism was simply his inability to digest meat effectively and had nothing to do with Geli’s death (10).

Another, more notable, change in Hitler was the fact that his agenda took on a more sinister nature, ultimately making him into the evil man we all know of from history. It was not until after the death of his niece that Hitler became an evil fascist dictator engaged in mass murder and the death of millions, even going onto torture and the brutal humiliation of women at the Berghof, in an attempt to find out how “pure” their blood was. From that point onward, his personality took a more sinister side, both personally and politically. He would start what we now know as the Second Word War and the Holocaust (10).

Renate Müller:

Renate Müller was a popular German film actress in the 1930’s who starred in such films as “Love in the Ring,” “Darling of the Gods,” “Flute Concert of Sans-Souci,” “The Office Girl,” “The Little Escapade,” and the “Flower Woman of Lindenau.” Born in Munich, Germany on April 26, 1906, she met Adolf Hitler while making a film and they proceeded to spend a great deal of time together (13).

While Hitler’s relationship with his niece took on both sadistic and masochistic proportions, his relationship with Renate Müller only seemed to only bring out his masochistic side (10). Renate later recalled to her director, Zeissler, a disturbing evening with Hitler which left her feeling very uncomfortable (11):

"…the evening before she had been with Hitler and that she had been sure that he was going to have intercourse with her; that they had both undressed and were apparently getting ready for bed when Hitler fell on the floor and begged her to kick him. She demurred but he pleaded with her and condemned himself as unworthy, heaped all kinds of accusations on his own head and just groveled around in an agonizing manner. The scene became intolerable to her and she finally acceded to his wishes and kicked him. This excited him greatly and he begged for more and more, always saying that it was even better than he deserved and that he was not worthy to be in the same room with her. As she continued to kick him he became more and more excited.... (11)"

Hitler had a tendency to divide women into two categories: those who were highly respectable, with wealth, social status, or artistic fame, and the second being those women who were considered socially beneath him. Eva Braun would eventually fit into the latter category, but Renate was considered a woman of esteem, which would tend to bring out his more masochistic side (10). According to some who knew him well, Hitler would often grovel at the feet of women of such high status, claiming that he was unworthy to kiss their hand or sit beside them (11).

It is important to note, however, that Hitler was generally not known to have many relationships with women, and often took a rather misogynistic view of them. He regarded the opposite sex as inferiors who lacked the capability to have an equal relationship with men. In fact, he would often quote Nietzsche by saying, "You are going to see a woman? Do not forget your whip." This particular view would manifest itself a great deal later on in his relationship with Eva Braun (10).

Due to Hitler’s strange behavior, the relationship with Renate eventually became strained to the point where she left him. Shortly after this, she was trailed by the Gestapo, who knew she had damaging personal information on their Fuehrer. Eventually, Renate would become addicted to morphine, ultimately ending up in a sanatorium in Berlin. One day, on October 1, 1937, while looking out her hospital window, she saw a car pull up and four SS men get out. Afraid they were after her, she panicked and jumped out the window…to her death (13).


Eva Braun:

Eva Braun was born in Munich, Germany on February 6, 1912. She was the daughter of a Catholic schoolteacher and seemed to have had a normal upbringing for a middle-class German girl at the time. She attended convent school and eventually went to work for Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler’s personal photographer, as an office assistant in 1929. Eventually, she would become Hoffmann’s lab assistant helping him develop photographs. It was during this time, at the age of 17, that she met Adolf Hitler (15).

Eva wrote about her first meeting with Hitler in a letter to her sister, Gretl:

"I had stayed after closing time to straighten up several things and was standing on the ladder putting something away on the top shelf. Then I heard the door open and saw the boss come in with a somewhat older man carrying a felt hat in his hand. I tried to watch them without their noticing ...

When I came down off the ladder the boss introduced us. He said: Mr. Wolff, this is our little Miss Eva. Then Hoffmann sent me out to get some beer and sausages from the corner pub (4)."

It was not long before they started dating and became lovers. Eventually, she moved into his Munich flat and, against the wishes of her parents, became his mistress. There is no doubt that Eva was deeply in love with Hitler, but, in the coming years, the relationship would not prove to be a happy one. Eva suffered a lot from depression and found it very difficult to deal with her lover’s absence, or occasional dalliances with other women. She tried to kill herself in 1932, on the grounds that Hitler was an inattentive lover (15).

The last page in one of her diaries, dated May 28, 1935 seems to indicate a grappling with severe depression and a hopeless devotion to a man who seems to take her for granted (3):

“I have just sent him the crucial letter. Question: will he attach any importance to it? We'll see. If I don't get an answer before this evening, I'll take 25 pills and gently fall asleep into another world. He has so often told me he is madly in love with me, but what does that mean when I haven't had a good word from him in three months? So he has had a head full of politics all this time, but surely it is time he relaxed a little. What happened last year? Didn't Roehm and Italy give him a lot of problems, but in spite of all that he found time for me. Maybe the present situation is incomparably more difficult for him; nevertheless a few kind words conveyed through the Hoffmanns would not have greatly distracted him. I am afraid there is something behind it all. I am not to blame. Absolutely not. Maybe it is another woman, not the Valkyrie -- that would be hard to believe. But there are so many other women. Is there any other explanation? I can't find it. God, I am afraid he won't give me his answer today. If only somebody would help me -- it is all so terribly depressing. Perhaps my letter reached him at an inopportune moment. Perhaps I should not have written. Anyway, the uncertainty is more terrible than a sudden ending of it all. I have made up my mind to take 35 pills this time, and it will be "dead certain." If only he would let someone call (3).

As it turns out, she did try a second suicide attempt, by sleeping pills, in May of 1935, after which Hitler brought her to live with him at the Berghof the following year. It was there that she would spend most of the rest of her life in isolation waiting for him (15).

Eva’s life at Hitler’s mountain retreat did not prove to be that much better. He was still absent for most of the time and would not permit her to be seen by any of his guests, with the exception of his closest friends. They rarely appeared in public together, she had very little friends of her own, and most Germans were not even aware of her existence (15). Albert Speer, who got to know Eva well, recalls one evening when she had been banished to her rooms (9):

"Eva Braun was allowed to be present during visits from old party associates. She was banished as soon as other dignitaries of the Reich, such as cabinet ministers, appeared at the table. Hitler obviously regarded her as socially acceptable only within strict limits. Sometimes I kept her company in her exile, a room next to Hitler's bedroom. She was so intimidated that she did not dare leave the house for a walk. Out of sympathy for her predicament I soon began to feel a liking for this unhappy woman, who was so deeply attached to Hitler (9)."

Eva’s bitterness over her isolation is further emphasized in an old photograph showing Italian officials visiting Hitler on behalf of Mussolini. Eva is also shown in the photograph peeping out from an upstairs window with a caption next to her saying, "Up above is something forbidden to see – me!" (4)

Hitler had made it clear from the beginning that he could not marry Eva Braun (or any woman for that matter) because, in his process to gain power, he would need the female vote in Germany, and getting married could jeopardize it. He also claimed that having a family would interfere with his building the Third Reich (15).

Another reason why Hitler was unwilling to marry was probably due to his general contempt of women. Albert Speer remembers Hitler saying: "Imagine if on top of everything else I had a woman who interfered with my work! In my leisure time I want to have peace. I could never marry. Think of the problems if I had children! In the end they would try to make my son my successor." He would later say, in Eva’s presence, that a highly intelligent man should always choose a primitive and stupid woman (9).

Eva would spend most of her days indulging her interests, such as exercising, reading, watching films, swimming, smoking, fashion, and photography (9 & 12). Eventually, her cousin, Gertraud Weisker, would join her at the Berghof in the summer of 1944. Gertraud would spend the next six months with her cousin, providing company and trying to serve as a distraction to Eva’s constant obsessions with Hitler and his personal safety (12).

After surviving an assassination attempt on his life in July 1944, Eva wrote him a letter ending with, “From our first meeting I swore to follow you anywhere - even unto death - I live only for your love (9).” Eva Braun would soon join her beloved “Wulf” in Berlin as the Soviet troops were closing in on the city. She vowed to stay with Hitler to the very end, despite his orders to evacuate. Eva refused to leave him, claiming that she was the only one left who was still truly loyal to him (15).

On April 29, 1945, Eva Braun would finally be granted what she had been wishing for her whole adult life – to become Frau Hitler (15). They were married in a civil ceremony by a local magistrate. Their marriage would last only 36 hours (9).

The very next day, April 30, 1945, at around 3:30 PM, Adolf Hitler and his new wife descended into his bunker where they both ended their lives by biting into glass vials of cyanide – but not before Hitler shot himself in the head with a 7.65 mm Walther pistol (9). It is also interesting to note that Hitler had taken a picture of his mother with him down into the bunker on the day of his death (10). Shortly after their deaths, the Hitlers’ bodies were cremated in the Chancellery garden. Twelve years before, Hitler had founded the Third Reich; now it would only survive him by a week (9).

In the end, it is hard to say exactly what drew Eva Braun to a man like Hitler. Perhaps she was genuinely in love with him, or saw something in him that no one else saw. Who can say? What is known, however, is that Hitler had a certain talent for moving people, sometimes to great atrocities. There are people in the world who seem to possess a certain glamour to their personality – a natural charisma that can serve to encourage others to blindly follow them and commit such acts they probably never would normally dream of. Such charisma can be dangerous if used to evil ends.  People such as David Koresh and Osama Bin Laden seem to have possessed those traits in our own lifetime. Like them, Hitler simply knew how to read people, divine what they wanted to hear, and was able to move and exhort them in powerful ways, (11).

The women in his life have all been unique in their own way, each with a different kind of relationship to the Fuehrer of Germany, and each differed in how he regarded them, as well. It is important to note, however, that one thing all these mistresses had in common was the fact that they all succeeded in taking their own lives.  Also, the reasons for their suicides – while each different – still had to do with their relationship to him and how each relationship affected them in turn (11 & 2). It is also important to note that each woman, Geli, Renate, and Eva, were all quite a bit younger then Hitler - by at least 15 years. In fact, Geli and Eva were young enough to be his daughters!

His relationships with these three women were not the only ones he had. It is said that, in general, Hitler seemed to be attracted to beautiful and frivolous women, as opposed to smarter ones, which might be the main reason he chose the company of younger women. He was even quoted as saying on different occasions that "A highly intelligent man should take a primitive and stupid woman." There is one reference to a 16-year-old girl he had been involved with, by the name of Maria Reiter, who tried to kill herself at one point (2).

In the end, I conclude that each woman in his life played some sort of role in defining Adolf Hitler. His greatest influence came from his mother, and her submission to her husband could probably identify the origin of his disrespect towards women in general. His niece was probably the only woman he was ever truly in love with, but she could not return his strange affections and he lost her – which changed him forever. That relationship also offers us a lot of insight into the deranged nature of his psyche. as well. Renate Müller and Eva Braun, on the other hand, only seem to verify certain traits of his personality such as his sado-masochism and misogynistic views of the opposite sex. All in all, given his track record, it would seem like every woman who came to be his mistress or lover was doomed in to some degree by his own psychosis.


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Copyright © G. A. Odell 2006