Did You Know that Adolf Hitler’s Name Was Hiedler, Not Hitler?

That’s right! There is presently renewed discussion about Adolf Hitler’s ancestry. It’s because Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday that he believed the conspiracy theory that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood.” This Lavrov statement so incensed Israeli officials that, yesterday, they summoned Russia’s ambassador to Israel to explain Lavrov’s remarks.

Now for a little lesson in ancestry. Adolf Hitler’s maternal grandfather was named Alois. Baptismal records show that Alois was born “illegitimate.” There have been many theories about who fathered Alois, and this is where the Jewish theory comes in. But there has never been any solid evidence about it.

Be that as it may, let’s dig into the name Hitler. Alois’s mother married Johann Georg Hiedler when Alois was five years old. Alois’s mother died when Alois was nine years old. Alois was then sent to live with Johann Georg’s younger brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. When Alois was 39 years old, he convinced a parish priest to change the name of Alois’s father on Alois’s baptismal records to Johann Georg Hiedler. This information I’m taking from an article in today’s The Washington Post, and it concludes, “For reasons unknown, the last name was rendered in official records as Hitler.”