“Secrets of the Fuhrer’s Family: What Hitler’s Relatives Were Really Doing During WWII”
In 1931 William visited Germany again, on the occasion of his cousin Geli Raubal’s alleged suicide using Adolf Hitler’s gun and in his home, which we’ll get to shortly. After that visit, William sought to capitalise on his family name, releasing a series of articles in England covering Hitler, the Nazis and Germany in an unflattering light. This enraged uncle Adolf, who summoned William back to Berlin and gave him a piece of his mind, demanding for the articles to be retracted.
William could not catch a break: he was persona non grata with his powerful uncle, sure, but soon found himself also blacklisted back in England, in March of 1932 losing his job due to his relation to his uncle.
Strapped for cash, William appealed to his dad to try to sweet talk uncle Adolf into securing him a job in Germany. Towards this end, he travelled once more to Berlin, hoping to reconcile with Hitler. However, all he got from the dear uncle was a letter disavowing any familial connection and refusing any future monetary assistance. Alois Jr doubled down, making it clear that his loyalties were with his half-brother, rather than his son.
Thus William made his way back to London for a time before making another trip to Berlin in October of 1933. By then, uncle Adolf had become the Chancellor and undisputed Fuehrer of the III German Reich. William first approached Ernst Rohm, leader of the brown-shirted SA, who then interceded with Hitler himself.
Surprisingly, the dictator had a change of heart. He gifted his half-nephew with 500 Reichsmarks and even asked his Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess to help William find employment!
