Elfriede Maria Hochegger was the daughter of Angela Hitler, the elder half-sister of Adolf Hitler. Hitler is a common name to many for his role as the leader of the Nazi Party. As a dictator, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland in 1939.
Angela was close to Hitler since they grew up together under their father and his third wife, Klara Polzl’s care. She is the only one of Hitler’s siblings mentioned in Mein Kampf, his autobiographic manifesto. Please keep reading to learn more about Elfriede and her mother’s connection to Adolf Hitler.
Elfriede Maria Hochegger Bio
Elfriede Maria Hochegger was born on 10 January 1910 to Angela Hitler and her husband, Leo Raubal. Her father was a junior tax inspector who died the same year she was born. Her family moved to Vienna after World War I. While there, Elfriede’s mother became the manager of Mensa Academia Judaica, a boarding house for Jewish students.
Elfriede married a German lawyer named Ernst Hochegger on 27 June 1937 in Dusseldorf. They had a son named Heiner Hochegger, born in January 1945. Elfriede died on 24 September 1993.
Elfriede Maria Hochegger Siblings
Elfriede had two siblings: a sister named Geli Raubal and a brother named Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr. Geli was born on 4 July 1908 and lived in close contact with her uncle Adolf Hitler from 1925 and lived in his apartment. She presumably committed suicide in 1931 after Hitler forbade her from marrying a man from Linz. Hitler later confessed that she was the only woman he had ever loved, and it was even speculated that he killed her with his pistol after he found out she had been expecting his child.
Leo Raubal Jr., born on 2 October 1906, served in the German Luftwaffe during World War II. He had a son named Peter Raubal, born in 1931. Peter is a retired engineer and lives in Linz, Austria. Elfriede’s sons, Heiner and Peter, are among the few closest relatives to Adolf Hitler.
Elfriede Maria Hochegger’s Mother
Angela Hitler was born Angela Franziska Johanna Hammitzsch on 28 July 1883 in Braunau, Austria-Hungary. She was the second child of Alois Hitler Sr. and his second wife, Franziska Matzelsberger, who died the following year after she was born. Her half-brother, Adolf Hitler, was born to her father’s third wife, Klara Polzi, six years after her. Their father died in 1903, and Hitler’s mother in 1907.
Angela married Leo Raubal on 14 September 1903, with whom she had two children, Leo and Elfriede. Raubal died in 1910. She moved to Vienna after World War I and became the manager of Mansa Academia Judaica. She defended those in her care against anti-Semitic riots. She married architect Professor Martin Hammitzsch in February 1936. Hitler disapproved of their marriage, although he re-established contact with Angela during World War II.
Angela served as Hitler’s intermediary to the rest of the family with whom he didn’t want the association. She spoke highly of him, although he had low opinions of her and her sister’s intelligence. Angela died of a stroke in Hanover, Germany, on 30 October 1949.
Wrapping Up
Growing up a member of Hitler’s family might not have been easy, but Elfriede winged it and made a life for herself away from her uncle’s politics and war.