The name Hitler evokes many feelings and emotions to this very day: hatred, evil, monster and warmonger to name but a few. But what about patriot? Even more specific, Allied patriot? William Patrick Hitler struck out to forge his own path, to the ire of his controlling uncle, which would eventually lead him to the United States along with his mother, where he would play his part in the fight against ‘Uncle Adolf’ and his Nazi regime.
William’s story truly begins with that of his mother, Bridget Elizabeth Dowling of Dublin. It was here in 1910 during a horse show that Bridget met a young waiter by the name of Alois Hitler. After a four-month courtship, much to the disapproval of Bridget’s father, the couple eloped to London. Their relationship was contentious from the beginning as Alois, the half-brother of Adolf, would separate from Bridget (and vice versa due to allegations of abuse) and get back together with her numerous times. The birth of William on 12 March 1911, in Liverpool,
