Klara Hitler

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Klara Hitler, born Klara Pölzl (August 12, 1860 - December 21, 1907), was the mother of Adolf Hitler with her husband Alois Hitler.

She was the daughter of Johann Pölzl and Johanna Hiedler, and was born in the village of Spital. Klara's grandfather, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, was her future husband's step-uncle: Either Johann or his brother were likely Alois' biological father.

She never got out of the habit of thinking of Alois as her uncle, even though they were now officially second cousins, and even after they were married she still called him "Uncle". Author Bradley F. Smith describes Klara as "a fairly large girl, almost as tall as her husband, with dark brown hair and even features."<ref>Smith, Bradley F. Adolf Hitler: His Family, Childhood and Youth Hoover Institute, 1967, p. 41</ref>

Her adult life was devoted to keeping house and raising children (for which Alois had limited interest, according to Smith).<ref>"[He] had a limited understanding of children and a minimum interest in their development" Smith, p.54</ref> She had six children, only two of whom, Adolf and Paula, survived childhood.

She was a devout<ref>"[She] was completely devoted to the faith and teachings of Catholicism…" Smith, p.42</ref> Roman Catholic and went to church regularly. When her husband died in 1903, he left her a government pension and property and she was adequately provided for financially, as were her children, but four years after the death of her husband, Klara died from breast cancer at the age of 47 in Linz, Austria, with her teenaged children, Adolf and Paula, at her side.

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[edit] References

Bullock, Alan Hitler: A Study in Tyranny 1953 ISBN 0-06-092020-3
Fest, Joachim C. Hitler Verlag Ullstein, 1973 ISBN 0-15-141650-8
Kershaw, Ian Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris W W Norton, 1999 ISBN 0-393-04671-0
Maser, Werner Hitler: Legend, Myth and Reality Penguin Books Ltd 1973 ISBN 0-06-012831-3
Smith, Bradley F. Adolf Hitler: His Family, Childhood and Youth Hoover Institute, 1967