Hitler’s niece Geli Raubal accompanied her mother Angela, Hitler’s half-sister, when she became Hitler’s housekeeper in his new home on the Obersalzburg in March of 1927. Geli spent the next four and a half years in very close contact with her half-uncle. She later moved into Hitler’s Munich apartment in October 1929 when she enrolled in college nearby. As Hitler’s power grew over the course of the following year, he became very domineering and possessive of Raubal. When he had discovered she was having a relationship with his chauffeur, Emil Maurice, he forced an end to the affair and dismissed Maurice from his service. Her social outlets became more controlled and limited once she moved to Munich, and she soon dropped out of school and gave up on having a singing career.

By early 1931 he did not allow his niece to freely associate with her friends anymore, and he always had himself or someone he trusted near her at all times, accompanying her on all shopping trips, to the movies, and to the opera. Raubal was in effect a prisoner, so she began forming a plan to escape to Vienna to resume her singing lessons. Hitler and Geli violently argued on the evening of 18 September 1931 when he refused to allow her to go. The very next morning Raubal was found dead from a gunshot wound to the chest; she had shot herself in Hitler’s apartment with his Walther pistol. Hitler slid into a deep depression, and later declared that Raubal was the only woman he had ever loved. 

I must add that this has been a very challenging yet most rewarding album to assemble, as sorting through these photographs offers a very intimate and unique glimpse into Adolf Hitler’s private life, especially in the early days of his political aspirations. Many people may never even think about the topic of Hitler’s family life, but as it’s Christmas time I thought it would be an appropriate theme to explore. Like with many families, the relationship dynamics were often complicated. It is easy to see in these brief glimpses forever frozen in time that at times Hitler was deeply engaging with his loved ones, while at other times he seems quite awkward, uneasy and withdrawn. It’s amazing and even startling to find so many of these ordinary captured moments so relatable: picnics, birthday parties, getting a new car, or just hanging around the house – this album should prove to be extremely enjoyable and enlightening to explore even more about the eternal enigma that is Adolf Hitler.

Hitler loved to be seen with his beautiful niece, and she had become his constant companion at party meetings, restaurants and theaters. Her uncle showered her with affection and gifts, and Hitler once told Hoffman, ‘I love Geli and could marry her.’ Their relationship grew very tumultuous and toxic though due to Hitler’s domineering personality and possessive jealously. His suffocating control swiftly lead her into complete despair, and seeing no way to ever pursue her own dreams, Geli resorted to suicide. Hoffmann later stated that Raubal’s death “was when the seeds of inhumanity began to grow inside Hitler”.

Hitler would always keep a bust or portrait of Raubal in his homes and offices. He had ordered sculptor Ferdinand Liebermann to complete two busts, one for each of his bedrooms. A portrait of Geli was also made by Adolf Ziegler for the Chancellory. Her bedrooms in Munich and at the Berghof were both kept exactly as she had left them, whereupon Hitler would be the only person allowed to enter twice a year, on her birthday and at Christmas.

Hitler had taken at least two trips to Berlin with Geli in 1928. One of the most important days of his early political career was his first speech to be delivered at the world renowned Sports Palace. On the 14th of November 1928 Hitler boarded an overnight train in Munich and headed for Berlin with Rudolf Hess, Max Amman and Geli. The next day he attended an opera performance with Geli in Berlin before enjoying dinner at the opulent Weinhaus Rheingold. The following day, on the 16th, Hitler delivered his very first performance in the Sports Palace in front of 17,000 listeners. Geli stayed overnight in the Hotel Sanssouci before returning back to Munich with Hitler.

15. November 1928 – Joseph Goebbels’ Diary

“The boss is here. As energetic as ever. With his beautiful niece, whom one could almost fall in love with. With Hess, his wife, Geli, and Amann with him at the Rheingold. We laughed a lot. And tomorrow is my big day. God grant that everything goes well. We are ready.”

After living for a year and a half up on the Obersalzburg, Geli moved into an apartment with Hitler in Munich in October of 1929. Shortly after these photos below were taken, the housing office in Munich approved Hugo Bruckmann’s reservation for Hitler for a nine-room apartment on the second floor of the house on Prinzregentenplatz 16. The signing of the lease for the apartment took place on 10 September 1929. That exact same day, Joseph Goebbels had received a forged telegram during a speech he was giving in Wroclaw, saying that Hitler had died in a fatal car accident. Hitler’s response to Goebbels once he discovered the rumor was false was to never fear, “I will not die too early and not too late”.

The following collection of photographs are mostly grouped and labeled based on my own conjecture as to the dates and the places where they were taken. As these were all private family photos and not created for public consumption, many of these were never categorized or labeled by Hoffmann. The dates and places are only my best educated guesses, based on the season, landscape, buildings and also by matching clothing and hairstyles. This was very challenging, and most likely has many inaccuracies, but the effort still manages to capture and create a picture of what Hitler’s private life was like with his family between the years 1927-1931.

Road Trip Picnic Time 🍽️

This group of photos may have been taken on the journey to Bad Elster for the Führertagung der NSDAP in June 1930. This could also be the annual journey to Bayreuth for the Wagner Festival held in late July. Hitler often stopped for picnics in route to summer Party events and the Bayreuth Festival in these early years of his career, when he could actually still enjoy some privacy. The restaurant location that appears to be on this exact same day is a complete mystery.

The following restaurant photographs appears to also possibly be the vicinity of the town of Oberstdorf, possibly at the Besler Cafe coffee shop in Langenwang just north of Oberstdorf, like the ones in the next grouping taken on a road trip in Hitler’s Tourenwagen.

Hitler’s New Car

On the afternoon of 13 March 1930, Hitler had just concluded an inspection of the Luitpoldhain which he planned to turn into a rally ground for the party, when a Magirus truck collided with his car. “The truck’s frame and springs must have taken hold of our Mercedes and shoved it diagonally across the open triangle, a distance of about twenty meters, as far as the street corner, only to come to a stop at last at the instant when our left wheels were already touching the curb,” recalled Otto Wagener, who was in the backseat. Had the truck not exhausted its momentum, it would surely have eviscerated the future chancellor of Germany. For his life Hitler thanked not luck, but Mercedes-Benz.

I had placed the following photographs possibly at Murnau am Staffelsee when Hitler stayed at the Schloss Seeleiten on his way to the Passion Play on 21 July 1930. But I have discovered that Hitler appears to not have purchased his Mercedes-Benz 770K “Grosser Mercedes” Tourenwagen (W07) until shortly after the Deutscher Tag der NSDAP held in Weimar on 12 April 1931. So these are actually taken sometime in the late Spring of 1931. I can’t place the location but it appears to include a visit to a farm and/or restaurant in Bavaria. Perhaps it’s his very first trip in his new Mercedes Tourenwagen! Above is Hitler’s car parked in front of the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant ready to take delivery.

Mystery solved!! This appears to be the town of Oberstdorf, with a view of the Hoffnung, Mädelegabel and Hammerspitze mountains of the Allgau Alps (Allgäuer Alpen) located just to the south of the famous Nebelhorn mountain. I also have a photo from this exact same day of Hitler taken on the terrace of the Besler coffee shop in Langenwang near Oberstdorf.

Postcards showing this exact mountain range of the Allgäuer Alpen as seen from the Kaffee und Pension Besler:

Nuremberg Trip and Picnic

These photos are possibly documentation of Hitler’s trip from the 24-25th July 1930 to Nuremberg. From Munich, Hitler took a car trip to Nuremberg to give a speech in the Colosseum in front of 2000 listeners, and stayed overnight with his entourage in the Hotel Deutscher Hof. The next day was the car ride back to Munich, where he would often stop to enjoy a picnic lunch. This could also be his annual journey to the Bayreuth Festival, which also always occurred in late July each summer. Either way these were typical scenes from Hitler’s road trips. What is special here are the ones showing Geli out shopping and enjoying her very own day out with friends in the center of Nuremberg.

Heinrich Junior’s Confirmation

On the morning of Sunday, 29 March 1931, Adolf Hitler departed Munich for the Lambacher Hof at the Chiemsee for the celebration of the confirmation of Heinrich Hoffmann Junior. One of Hitler’s favorite inns was the Lambacher Hof, located on the north shore of Chiemsee lake between Gollenshausen and Seebruck. Before the Munich-Salzburg Autobahn was completed, Hitler often traveled on the old road past Chiemsee during his trips between Munich and the Obersalzberg. In fact immediately after the celebration luncheon he headed on to the Obersalzberg.

Also in attendance were Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Esser, and Franz Xaver Schwarz. The Lambacher Hof kept a special dining area for Hitler and his entourage, the “Hitler Stübchen.”This inn is where Eva Braun’s parents first met Hitler in 1933. She arranged for their meeting by getting Hitler’s entourage to stop at the Lambacher Hof-where her family often stopped when they went for drives in the country. Fritz and Fanny Braun were just about to leave when several official cars pulled up (they had been told the Fuehrer would be passing through). Fritz Braun almost had a fit when he saw Eva step out of one of the cars. He walked right up to Hitler and said “I am Eva’s father.” Hitler was very polite and asked to meet Frau Braun. They all sat down to tea and had very pleasant conversation, but Hitler never once mentioned his relationship with Eva, who was sitting to his left while her mother sat to his right. He then bade the Brauns farewell and he and his entourage (Eva included) got back in to their cars and drove back toward Munich. 

Summer on the Obersalzburg

Many weekends were spent up on the Obersalzburg and it’s vicinity, these are some random shots that were mostly likely taken at Haus Wachenfeld, or the Pension Moritz or Hochlenzer restaurant, both of which were in walking distance of Hitler’s holiday home.

The Beginning of the End

These are the last known photographs of Geli Raubal taken in August of 1931, just one month before her death. One source says that these were taken in Heiligendamm, and another on the North Sea, and yet another in Kolberg in Ostprussia on the Baltic Sea. Hoffmann’s son Heinrich Junior is also along on this trip, and can be seen taking many photographs. He is also seen running with a very happy and lively Geli on the beach. Geli would have been very excited at this time, believing she would be leaving in just a few short weeks time for Vienna, in order to begin pursuing her singing career.

Angela Hitler (1883–1949) was the elder half-sister of Adolf Hitler. By her first husband, Leo Raubal, Sr., she was the mother of Hitler’s alleged lover, Geli Raubal. On Jan. 20, 1936 she married architect Prof. Martin Hammitzsch who later became the Director of the State School of Building Construction in Dresden and committed suicide at war’s end.