Hitler's Mother

Before he became a fascist dictator, Adolf Hitler had a deep relationship with his mother, Klara Pözl. Even as a Führer, their bond drew attention; a profile compiled by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services showed that Hitler had an oedipal complex (a feeling of desire) for his mother due to his childhood, and even though their true relationship is relatively unknown, she played a huge role in his life may have actually been the fuel for his hate for Jews.

Hitler’s father was born Alois Schicklgruber, and Klara was his second cousin. She was actually young enough to be Alois’ daughter, and initially called Alois “Uncle”. Even after Klara became Alois’ third wife, she had trouble adjusting names, and at times would continue to call him “Uncle”.

Hitler was the fourth child of Klara and Alois, but the first one to survive infancy. He became the center of Klara’s life and would focus all of her attention on him. As Hitler grew older and failed to shine at school, Alois would continuously discipline him for his failures, and some sources say that he was continuously beaten, though that may have been the norm during that time. Regardless, Klara would always do her best to protect Hitler from those beatings and attempted to shield him.

When Hitler’s father died in 1903, Hitler didn’t have much grief for him. From that point on, Hitler’s desire to pursue other careers dominated family life. When Hitler didn’t advance in school, Klara allowed him to drop out in 1905 so he could pursue whatever he wanted. Hitler’s teen years, after he dropped out of school, was filled with him trying to discover his own passion. His mother went as far as to buy him a piano. In 1907, she even gave approval for him to follow his dream of being an artist in Vienna.

While Hitler was in Vienna, Klara was diagnosed with breast cancer, and promptly after Hitler came back to take care of her. When she passed away on December 21, 1907, Hitler was devastated. The doctor that treated her throughout this process was Jewish, which led to speculation that Hitler’s hate for Jews stemmed from hate for the doctor that wasn’t able to save his mother’s life. Later as Führer, Hitler designated Klara’s birthday, August 12, as a holiday for the Germans. In his last days in a German bunker, he kept his mother’s picture in his pocket as he committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

Sources:
https://www.biography.com/news/who-was-hitlers-mother