Forbidden History - Hitler’s Niece - Suicide or Murder?

Episode Date: October 12, 2022

It’s the morning of September 18th, 1931, and through the walls of their apartment in Munich, Germany, a man and woman can be heard arguing. The man is Adolf Hitler, who would go on to lead as German Chancellor and be one of the world’s most infamous dictators who committed heinous crimes against humanity. The woman, his 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubal.    Within hours of the argument, Geli was dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. The gun was Hitler’s.   The official verdict ruled her death a suicide, but with rumours of an inappropriate relationship with her uncle did Geli Raubal kill herself or was it a Nazi murder cover-up?  In this episode we look at Geli Raubal’s life and death under closer examination, to see how conclusions drawn in the case are now being questioned as to their accuracy. Does the evidence suggest she was involved in a violent altercation before her fatal shooting? Is the angle of the gunshot wound unusual for a suicide attempt? Do multiple witness statements contradict Hitler’s testimony?   These events and the secrecy surrounding the investigation have caused many to question the official verdict with suggestions of incest, murder, and a cover up within the Nazi Party just before they seized power. So, what is the truth? Was this suicide or murder? And how did this case affect the Nazi Party’s rise to power?    Cast List:   Gerhard Fuermetz   A German historian and researcher from Augsburg University.   Dr Linda Papadopoulos  The Reader in Psychology at London Metropolitan University, with a 17-year career working as a research scientist and practicing psychologist.  Nigel Jones  A historian, journalist and former deputy editor of History Today magazine and former reviews editor of BBC History Magazine.   Roger Moorhouse  A historian and author of many books on the Second World War, including ‘Killing Hitler’. He is a specialist in modern German history with particular focus on Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This program is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It contains mature adult themes. Listener discretion is advised. It's the morning of September 18, 1931. And through the walls of their apartment in Munich, Germany, a man and a woman can be heard arguing. The man is Adolf Hitler, who would go on to lead as German Chancellor and be one of the world's most infamous dictators

who committed heinous crimes against humanity. And the woman? His 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubel. Within hours of the argument, Geli was dead. From a gunshot wound to the chest, the gun was Hitler's. The official verdict ruled her death as suicide,

but with rumors of an inappropriate relationship with her uncle, did Gellie Raubel kill herself? Or was it a Nazi murder cover-up? Rumors in Germany, which are suggesting that there's some sort of unnatural, in a nefarious side to this relationship, that it was incestuous. She was his pet, his plaything. That's not what one would expect to see in a normal uncle-niece relationship. There were some speculation that it could have been a homicide, and the name of Hitler was in the discussion.

You're listening to Forbidden History, the podcast series that explores the past, darkest corners, sheds light on the lives of some intriguing individuals, and uncovers the truth buried deep in history's most controversial legacies. I'm Janine Haroni, and this is Hitler's niece, suicide or murder. In this series, we'll delve deep into the history archives and unearth familiar stories to reveal new perspectives. From the hidden secrets of the Murder Bureau, to whether the death of the Queen's Prince George was tragedy or treason.

But first, in this episode, we examine the events that led to the death of Geli Raubel, Hitler's niece, who was found dead in his Munich apartment, aged just 23, from what was officially declared a suicide. These events and the secrecy surrounding the investigation have caused many to question the official verdict, with suggestions of incest, murder, and a crime, murder and a cover-up within the Nazi party just before they seized power. What happened to those closest to Hitler and the investigation?

And did the death of Geli Raubel significantly contribute to Hitler's rise in power, which led to the dawn of one of the darkest periods in human history? Let's find out. 1925 was a formative year for Adolf Hitler. After his release from the Landsberg Prison for his part in the Beer Hall Putsch, He announced the re-establishment of the Nazi Party and proclaimed himself its leader. That same year, he formed the SS,

released his book Mind Kampf, and bought an apartment near the Nazi Party headquarters in Munich. The place where later, Geli lived with her uncle, and then, so the history books tell us, took her own life. Growing up, Hitler's family unit consisted mainly of his mother, Clara, and his father, Alois, who died when Hitler was a boy,

but not before cruelly and habitually beating and abusing his son. So how did Geli Raubel come to live with her Uncle Adolf in 1925? Nigel Jones is an author and former deputy editor of History Today magazine. Geli Raubel was the daughter of his half-sister, Angelaan, and Hitler had next to no contact with this family, until in the mid-1920s, he asked Angler to come and be his housekeeper when he bought his first ever property,

which was the house Wachenfeld, which later became the Beercoph, his mountain retreat in the Barbarian Alps. She came there with her two daughters, Geli and Elfrida, and he was delighted with Geli. He found her refreshing, cheerful. With her, he could sort of forget

the care of. of a professional politician and rabble rouser and just enjoy her company. That was how it sort of innocently all began. Born in 1908, Geli lost her father when she was just two years old. In 1925, age 17, she found herself living at the Bergov with her mother and sister. Attractive, charming and vivacious, Geli was a welcome distraction from the tense political world in which she resided. Despite being 19 years younger than her uncle,

she was often seen on his arm at public events. One of Hitler's confidants is photographer Heinrich Hoffman, said that Geli could light up a room. So she was certainly someone who was very lively individual and was very popular. Roger Morehouse is a historian and author of many books on the Second World War, including killing Hitler. We asked him for his take on the relationship.

So there was a close relationship. The precise nature of that relationship is still very much unclear. There were all sorts of lurid rumours, both at the time and after Gile's death, as to precisely what had been going on between them. Prior to Gellie, Hitler's only other significant female relationship was with his mother, Clara. Hitler's mother had doted on him as a boy. But after being diagnosed with cancer when he was just a teenager, Hitler took up caring for her, completely devoted to her until the end.

It was said that he never recovered from the loss of his mother. Hitler's attitude to women was weird. He certainly had an over-closed relationship with his own mother, which veered between him dominating her and then being sentimentally attached to her. In fact, the doctor who treated Hitler's mother in her last illness said he had never seen a closer attachment in all his years of practice as that between Hitler and his mother Clara. But despite the intense care and affection he had shown his mother in those early years, Hitler still believed that women had limited value outside of the traditional family home,

Roger Morehouse again. Hitler was an old-fashioned, rather bourgeois individual in his behavior generally, but specifically towards women. And he didn't think that women had much to contribute beyond looking pretty and producing children. But Gellie, who was now blossoming into a charismatic, outspoken, and aspirational young lady, was a far cry from Hitler's ideals of what a woman should be.

And in 1929, cracks began to appear in their relationship. At this time, she was studying at Munich University and had moved into his apartment. Like any 21-year-old, Geli was eager to embrace young adulthood in a city. However, this attitude was not to be tolerated by her uncle. She was his pet, his plaything, if you like, even if no playing took place,

and he resented deeply her desire for independence. Hitler had also been appointed Gellie's legal guardian, a role he took very seriously. Some say to the point of an obsession, controlling every aspect of her life, which prevented her from having any other relationships. Nevertheless, Gellie began secretly dating Hitler's chauffeur, Emil Maurice. She was said to have fallen deeply in love with him. Emil Maurice was a member of Hitler's close inner circle. He was part of his personal protection detail.

According to Maurice, he and Gellie had planned to marry. But when Hitler found out, he demanded they put an end to their relationship. He actually found them together in a compromising situation and had a riding whip in his hand, which he habitually carried at that time, and threatened to horsewhip, literally, Morris, and Morris had to jump out of the window to escape. And in fact, from that time on, he lost his position at Hitler's side and lost his leading position in Hitler's circle.

This particular moment in Geli's story is significant for many who have taken an interest in this case. Psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos examines Hitler's reaction. There was something quite pathological with how obsessed he was with everything that she did. You know, absolutely showing interest

in caring is one thing. But being competitive with potential suitors, that's not what one would expect to see in a normal uncle-niece relationship. Following Hitler's discovery of Emil and Geli's affair, his grip of control became even tighter. It was said that she was no longer allowed to mingle freely, and that Gellie had to be accompanied by a trusted aide or by Hitler himself. She had become trapped in a gilded cage. Desperate to live life on her own terms, she started to push back, which often resulted in explosive arguments. Their relationship had become so unstated.

that it wasn't just Hitler who was displaying domineering behavior. Strangely, Gellie had started to show signs of jealousy when she learned of Ava Braun, the woman he would later marry. Dr. Linda Papadopoulos again. This is supposed to be a platonic relationship, but this seemed to border on almost a pseudo-sexual relationship, or at least something that implied something more intimate. That's why when you read this case, it's very unsettling.

The peculiar nature of their relationship garnered attention from within the Nazi party and, in particular, Hitler's political enemies. By now, rumors had begun to circulate that Hitler's relationship with Geli was far darker than had previously been thought. There were rumors that Geli had told friends, people she met, that Hitler had gone far beyond the bounds of uncley affection, that he had made pornographic drawings of her in the nude, that he'd made her squat over him and pee on him,

that he'd actually gone right into the boundaries of outright sexual abuse of the woman. One of the people who reported that Geli had confided in them was Otto Straser. Strasser was a member of the Nazi party and a political rival of Adolf Hitler. He maintained that Geli told him that Hitler demanded things of her that were, in her words, simply disgusting, adding that she'd never dreamed that such things could happen. But was there any truth to Strasser's claims? Or was this an attempt from the opposition to undermine and discredit Hitler's leadership? With the Nazi party on the verge of seizing power, they could ill afford any public scandals. Especially, one which suggested a perverse relationship

between the furor and his niece. To the party, image was everything, and any slip-up now could destroy their grip on the nation. Something had to be done to limit the damage. There is some suggestion that the Nazis themselves deliberately destroyed what evidence there was. For example, it said that pornographic drawings made by Hitler were around and were hawked around

for people wanted to sell them or blackmail him, and that these were found and destroyed by the Nazis. Catholic priest, Father Bernhard Stemfel, was both a friend and advisor to Adolf Hitler. It was alleged that Stemphel was involved in the retrieval of a letter said to be written by Hitler to Geli, the contents of which would have caused major embarrassment if it had been leaked.

Hitler and his relationship had become a real cause of concern for the senior Nazi party officials. but their worries would be short-lived. September 18th, 1931. Their relationship came to a head. Reports suggest an argument took place, one that is attributed to her alleged suicide. She was, by that time, rather bored of her studies,

and wanted to go and become a singer. So she was having singing lessons and wanted to go off and live in Vienna, for example, and sort of have a change of her life. And this was something that Hitler was adamantly opposed to. The next day, members of the House staff made a tragic discovery. Geli Rabel was found dead on the floor of her room, with a bullet in her chest.

From the evidence and statements gathered by the police, it was surmised that when Hitler had left the apartment after the argument, Geli had become increasingly distraught. Knowing where her uncle kept his gun, she went to his cabinet and retrieved the Walthor 6.35 caliber pistol from his drawer. She then made her way to the bedroom, locking the door behind her to avoid any interruptions. The police believe that Geli then loaded the gun before turning it on herself. The investigation declared that Geli Rabel took her own life.

If we take the evidence, excluding the claims of incest, but the psychological and emotional abuse, we can begin to paint a picture of Gellie's situation. A young woman in 1930s, Munich. with hopes dashed, spirits crushed, and no escape from the control of Germany's most powerful man, her uncle Adolf. Could these be the reasons that led Geli to make the tragic decision of taking her own life? Or is there more to this case than the official verdict would have us believe? The first curious aspect that people noted was the unusual way in which Geli was supposed to have shot herself. The bullet had entered her chest on a downward trajectory,

lodging just above her hip, meaning that this was anything but a quick and painless death. She apparently missed her heart with the shot, and she punctured her in lung. But given that nobody heard the shot and nobody came to help, she died effectively drowning in her own blood. So she would have died later that same day. By now, whispers of the fear's relationship with his niece,

began to grow among the public. Straight away, there are rumours in Germany which are suggesting that there's some sort of unnatural, in a nefarious side to this relationship, that it was incestuous, that the two were having an affair, that even that Geli might have been pregnant with Hitler's child. One newspaper article went further,

suggesting that Geli was pregnant, not with Hitler's child, but with an unnamed Jewish man. Supposedly, she had, wanted to go to Vienna to be with him, and Hitler was furious when he found out. This theory was supported by an unfinished letter found in Geli's room. The police report states she had stopped writing mid-sentence on the word and. But who was this letter intended for?

Could it have been to an alleged forbidden love? In it, Gellie allegedly wrote, When I come to Vienna, I hope very soon, we'll drive together to Semmering and At the time, summering was a popular Austrian holiday destination. But who was she intending to travel there with? Could it have been with her forbidden love? Some historians have suggested that it's unlikely someone would start a letter arranging a future trip before they planned to take their own life.

The press were instrumental to public awareness of the story. One journalist in particular, Fritz Gerlich, was a Munich-based newspaper editor who wouldn't let the case go, making his opinion very clear that Geli had not pulled the trigger. There were some speculations at that time already, that it has not been a suicide, but could also have been a homicide, and the name of Hitler was in the discussion already.

Gerhard Fermat, a German historian and researcher from Augsburg University, has gone to the Bavarian State Archives in Munich to examine Geli Raubel's official police file. It describes that the police found Geli lying on the floor. It also says there were five people in the flat, but only four were asked about what they had actually seen. The fifth person, Franz Schwartz, was not asked about his observations.

Fran Schwartz was one of Hitler's closest aides and the party's treasurer. Speculations surrounding his presence has intrigued many, because for reasons unknown, he had been summoned to the death scene on the morning of the 19th of September before the police arrived. But why was Swartz called?

And more importantly, why wasn't he questioned? Further inconsistencies are found in the accounts given by the house staff. There were different versions, according to who found her body and who entered the room first. But they all agreed on one specific thing, Hitler was nowhere near the apartment when it happened. The theory that Hitler murdered Geli is disproved by him not being in Munich, having already left for a meeting in Nuremberg later that day, an alibi which is substantiated by witnesses. But can we be certain that Hitler was in Nuremberg

at the time of Gellie's death? Astonishingly, no official autopsy was conducted. Instead, the body was examined by Dr. of the Munich Police Department. According to Dr. Mueller, Gellie had been dead somewhere between 17 and 24 hours before her body was discovered. But without an autopsy, how accurate is Mueller's observation

and how precise is the known whereabouts of Adolf Hitler at the time? Then there's the alleged argument earlier that day. During his official police interview, Hitler denied having constant disagreements with his niece. Adding that on the day in question, no argument had broken out between the two at any time. But witnesses reveal a different story. People in the house who heard it, people who were waiting to escort Hitler on the speaking tour, later testified that they had a blazing route as Hitler was leaving, shouting at each other.

Gossip surrounding this argument took a more disturbing turn. When stories surfaced in the newspapers, that Gellie was found with a broken nose and bruises on her face. suggesting that perhaps a physical argument had taken place before the fatal shooting, which fueled speculation of a cover-up. But to extinguish these allegations, Dr. Mueller reassessed Gellie's body again, and issued a press release backing up Hitler's claim that no violent quarrel with Geli had taken place. From the Bavarian State Archives in Munich,

Gerhard Firmitz reads Mueller's findings from the official case file. file. He stated that the nose was broken because Ms. Raubal fell down on her face and then she was lying in this position for about 17, 18 hours and that explained why her face was filled with dark spots, but this had not been the result of hitting in the face, for instance, but of her falling down and lying there. So this second examination by Dr. Mueller stated again that it must have been suicide. At least he did not find any hint on a shooting by a third person. Shortly after the release of the police statement, Franz Gertner, the Bavarian Justice Minister, agreed for Gellie's body to be released and sent for burial in Vienna, Austria, outside of German jurisdiction. It was

It's noted, however, that Geli's death seemed to have a profound effect on Adolf Hitler. When the body was discovered, Hitler was informed and was horrified. Supposedly he went white and was speechless for some time afterwards. So it's clear that Hitler was very closely, personally affected. Hitler was, by all accounts, absolutely grief-stricken in the aftermath, genuinely grief-stricken. He contemplated suicide. But was his behaviour a result of grief or guilt? I don't think there's any way to kind of discriminate between the two.

I think clearly he was in a lot of pain. Now what caused that pain, I think is anyone's guess. It's interesting that he had a bust made of Geerley and it was made in bronze and it was put up in her bedroom in the flat in Munich. as did a room in the Beerkhoff had effectively a shrine to Geli Raubel. The impact of Geli's death on Hitler didn't last long. Within two weeks, he was touring the country, giving speeches and gaining followers. Hitler was a supreme egotist, so it wouldn't really have stopped him doing what he considered his chosen path to political power.

But it's certainly more than any other event, I think, in his... emotional life hit him hard. It was seen as a weakness of his and that if he didn't recover himself pretty smartly, that it would be a threat. The events of 1931, which potentially could have derailed the whole Nazi rise to power, did force the Nazis into the process of cleaning up their act, being much more conscious of public image, particularly of Hitler. To that extent, I think The Gellier-Rabal case almost accidentally does cause that process of cleaning up Hitler's public image, which in its way helped his rise to power. National Socialist German Workers' Party has captured one-third of the national vote in the general elections

and will become the largest group in the New Reichstag. In 1933, the Nazi Party were voted into power, and Adolf Hitler became Germany's new chancellor. But Hitler still had opposition from within the country. The decision was made so that the sort of potential embarrassment he'd experienced in 1931 over the suicide of Gellie could never happen again. In 1934, to cement his hold on the nation, Hitler decided to purge the country of what he considered to be enemies of the state. The night of the Long Knives, or Operation Hummingberg, as it's also responsible, referred to, was Hitler's attempt to rid the country of individuals who were considered a danger to the Nazi regime.

Between the 30th of June and the 2nd of July, 1934, an estimated 85 people were executed. But it didn't go on notice that among those killed or forced to flee were people directly connected to the Geli-Rabble case. Bernhard Stemphel, the one-time close friend of Hitler, who had supposedly had supposedly helped to retrieve letters written to Geli was found dead in a remote forest in Munich. While Fritz Gerlich, the journalist who'd been investigating her death, was executed at the Dachau concentration camp. An Otto Strasser, who had claimed that Geli had divulged details to him about her relationship with Hitler, had to flee into exile to escape the same fate. However, there

were some people associated with the Geli Rabble case who fared much better. Franz Gertner, who'd resided over the case as Bavarian Justice Minister, was promoted by Hitler to Justice Minister of the whole Reich. French Schwartz, the Nazi party member who failed to be interviewed by police at the scene of Gellie's death, went on to be given the position of SS Oberst Gruppenfigerer, and remained a close member of Hitler's inner circle. So, was this a flagrant attempt at a cover-up? There were enough enemies of Hitler that had it been murder, would have made that stick.

And although it was obviously the subject of lots of scandal and gossip, I think if there had been hard evidence that Geli had been murdered, his enemies would have trumpeted it from the rooftops instead of just whispered it. Geli Raabal's death is investigated as thoroughly as any other death would have been. And there was no suggestion from that investigation. that it was anything other than a suicide. But after Hitler took his own life, and Germany was defeated in World War II,

investigations into crimes that took place under Nazi rule were re-examined by Germany's new police force. In 1949, the Munich police tried to reconstruct the killing of Dr. Fritz Gerlich, a well-known journalist, who was confronting the Nazis in the 1920s and 30s with his newspaper. The police tried to reconstruct who actually had ordered to kill him and who executed him.

In the final report of this examination, there is the speculation that Dr. Gerlich had collected material on the alleged suicide of Hitler's niece Angela Raubal. The police officer in 1949 suggests that Dr. Gerlich might have known more about Raubal. more about Raubal case and that one of the reasons why he was executed in 1934 was to keep him quiet. While the argument between those who believe she was murdered and those who believe she took her own life continues,

both sides seem to agree on one thing that regardless of how Gelly died, one person alone is ultimately responsible for her death. His relationship with Yelli was unhealthy, shall we say, even if we don't believe the most lurid tales about it, it was at the very least possessive, cruel, exploitative, manipulative. It would have sort of been a perfect storm if you wanted to set up a situation where someone became sort of desperate and despondent. That combination produced a very toxic atmosphere and that ultimate produces her suicide, that results in her suicide. So he bears a degree of responsibility for her death. The true nature of Hitler's relationship with Geli will probably never be known.

And the circumstances surrounding her death will continue to divide opinion for generations to come. But was it suicide or murder? In either case, one thing is clear. The potential damage which Geli Ravel posed to the Nazi party, needed to be neutralized. But to what lengths were they willing to go? Next time on Forbidden History, we examine the life and death of Prince George Duke of Kent.

Prince George, along with several other men, died in horrific circumstances. And at some point during this flight, at 650 feet, he crashes into an outcrop called Eagle Rock, and the plane splits in half, and bodies are thrown out of the plane everywhere. Prince George is probably killed straight away. That's the only mercy we can draw.

Killed in a plane crash while serving his country in 1942. There are many who believe his mission was sabotaged. But was Prince George's death, a tragedy, or treason? Probidden History was a Like a Shot Entertainment production, produced by Kara O'Brien. Executive producers, Henry Scott, Steve Gillum, and Danny O'Brien. Edit and sound design by James McGee for Arafon.