William Patrick Hitler was born in Liverpool in 1911, the son of Adolf Hitler’s half-brother Alois Jr. and his Irish wife Bridget Dowling. His father abandoned the family when William was three, and he grew up in England largely without him. In 1933, with his uncle newly installed as Chancellor of Germany, William made a calculated decision to cash in on the family name. He moved to Berlin, where Adolf arranged a job for him at the Reich Credit Bank. It was a minor position. William wanted better. He badgered his uncle relentlessly for a promotion, threatened to sell embarrassing family secrets to the press, and wrote an article for Look magazine titled “Why I Hate My Uncle.” Adolf, who had begun calling him “my loathsome nephew,” eventually offered him a senior role in exchange for renouncing his British citizenship. William recognized the trap immediately and fled back to England in 1938. In January 1939, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst brought William and his mother to America for a lecture tour. When the war began, they were stranded. William tried to enlist in the British forces and was turned away. He then wrote directly to President Franklin Roosevelt, explaining his situation and asking to serve. Roosevelt referred the matter to the FBI, who cleared him. On March 6, 1944, William Patrick Hitler enlisted in the United States Navy. His induction officer asked his name. He replied, “Hitler.” The officer looked up and said, “Glad to see you, Hitler. My name’s Hess.” #ww2 #militaryhistory #interesting