“Secrets of the Fuhrer’s Family: What Hitler’s Relatives Were Really Doing During WWII”
PAULA
Even though Alois was subjected to the denazification process, he escaped the scrutiny of the Allied occupation forces. The same cannot be said for Adolf’s sister Paula, who was interviewed by the US Army Counter Intelligence Corps, CIC, in July 1945.
During her interrogation, Paula recounted how the two were never particularly close during childhood, as she was six years younger than Adolf, stating, ‘He never considered me a playmate.’
After their mother Klara’s death, in 1907, Adolf left home, and Paula knew nothing of his whereabouts and activities until 1921. In that year, Adolf resurfaced in Vienna where Paula was living at the time, and she barely recognised him! The older brother, however, apparently was very charming and affectionate with Paula, and she states, ‘What made the biggest impression on me was the fact he went shopping with me. Every woman loves to shop.’
In the following years, the two had little contact, interacting mainly by correspondence. For example, in one instance Paula would write a letter to Adolf on his birthday, and he would reply with a care package of Spanish ham, flour and sugar. In the late 1920s, Paula found employment in a Viennese insurance company, but her brother’s notoriety attracted the attention of her employers, and in 1930 she was fired. From then on, Paula would receive a monthly allowance of 250 marks from Adolf.
The siblings did meet in person once a year, from 1929 to 1941. On one such occasion, in the summer of 1936, the now Fuehrer instructed Paula to change her surname to ‘Wolff’. As Paula stated to the CIC, this was to ‘maintain the strictest incognito. That was sufficient for me. From then on I kept this name. I added the “Mrs.” as I thought that less conspicuous.’
