EVA BRAUN
Name: Eva Anna Paula Braun
Born: 6 February 1912 Munich, Germany
Died: 30 April 1945 Berlin, Germany
Cause of death Suicide
Other names Eva Hitler
Spouse Adolf Hitler
Eva Anna Paula Braun, died Eva Anna Paula Hitler (February 6, 1912 – April 30,
1945) was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and briefly his wife.
Born in Munich, Germany, Eva Braun was the second daughter of school teacher
Friedrich "Fritz" Braun and Franziska Kronberger, who both came from respectable
Bavarian families. Her elder sister Ilse was born in 1909 and her younger sister
Margarete (called "Gretl") was born in 1915. Braun was educated at a lyceum,
then for one year at a business school in a convent where she had average grades
and a talent for athletics. She worked for several months as a receptionist at a
medical office, then at age 17 took a job as an office and lab assistant and
photographer's model for Heinrich Hoffmann, the official photographer for the
Nazi Party. She met Adolf Hitler, 23 years her senior, at Hoffmann's studio
in 1929. He had been introduced to her as "Herr Wolff" (a childhood nickname
he used during the 1920s for security purposes). She described him to friends as
a "gentleman of a certain age with a funny moustache, a light-coloured English
overcoat, and carrying a big felt hat." He appreciated her eye color which was
said to be close to his mother's. Both of their families were strongly
against the relationship and little is known about its first two years.
Hitler saw more of Braun after the alleged 1931 suicide of his half sister
Angela's daughter Geli Raubal, who may have been his mistress. Some historians
suggest Raubal killed herself because she was distraught over Hitler's
relationship with Braun, while others speculate Hitler killed her or had her
murdered. Braun was unaware that Raubal was a rival for Hitler's affections
until after Raubal committed suicide. Braun was seen by some as a replacement
for Raubal.
Meanwhile, Hitler was seeing other women, such as actress Renate Müller, whose
early death was also termed a suicide. Braun first attempted suicide in 1932, at
the age of 20, by shooting herself in the neck and attempted suicide a second
time in 1935 by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. After Braun's recovery
Hitler became more committed to her and arranged for the substantial royalties
from widely published and popular photographs of him taken by Hoffmann's photo
studio to pay for a villa in Wasserburgerstrasse, a Munich suburb. This income
also provided her with a Mercedes, a chauffeur and a maid. Braun's sister Gretl
moved in with her. Hoffmann asserted that Braun became a fixture in Hitler's
life by first attempting to commit suicide less than a year after Geli Raubal's
own suicide (and accompanying rumors of murder). Hitler wished to avoid any
further scandal.
When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Braun sat on the stage in the area
reserved for VIPs as a secretary, to which Hitler's sister Angela strongly
objected, along with the wives of other ministers. Angela, a housekeeper for
Hitler, was banned from living anywhere near Braun as a result. By 1936,
Braun was at Hitler's household at the Berghof near Berchtesgaden whenever he
was in residence there and her parents were also invited for dinner several
times. Braun's political influence on Hitler was apparently minimal. She was
never allowed to stay in the room when business or political conversations took
place. However, some historians have inferred she was aware of at least some
sordid details concerning the Third Reich's inner workings. By all accounts she
led a sheltered and privileged existence and seemed uninterested in politics.
Hitler and Eva never appeared as a couple in public and there is some indication
that this, along with their not having married early in their relationship, was
due to Hitler's fear that he would lose popularity among female supporters.
The German people were entirely unaware of Eva Braun and her relationship with
Hitler until after the war. According to the memoirs of Albert Speer, Braun
never slept in the same room as Hitler and had her own bedrooms at the Berghof,
in Hitler's Berlin residence and in the Berlin bunker. Speer wrote:
Eva Braun was allowed to be present during visits from old party associates. She
was banished as soon as other dignitaries of the Reich, such as cabinet
ministers, appeared at the table ... Hitler obviously regarded her as socially
acceptable only within strict limits. Sometimes I kept her company in her exile,
a room next to Hitler's bedroom. She was so intimidated that she did not dare
leave the house for a walk. Out of sympathy for her predicament I soon began to
feel a liking for this unhappy woman, who was so deeply attached to Hitler.
Speer later said, "Eva Braun will prove a great disappointment to historians."
Name: Eva Anna Paula Braun
Born: 6 February 1912 Munich, Germany
Died: 30 April 1945 Berlin, Germany
Cause of death Suicide
Other names Eva Hitler
Spouse Adolf Hitler
Eva Anna Paula Braun, died Eva Anna Paula Hitler (February 6, 1912 – April 30,
1945) was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and briefly his wife.
Born in Munich, Germany, Eva Braun was the second daughter of school teacher
Friedrich "Fritz" Braun and Franziska Kronberger, who both came from respectable
Bavarian families. Her elder sister Ilse was born in 1909 and her younger sister
Margarete (called "Gretl") was born in 1915. Braun was educated at a lyceum,
then for one year at a business school in a convent where she had average grades
and a talent for athletics. She worked for several months as a receptionist at a
medical office, then at age 17 took a job as an office and lab assistant and
photographer's model for Heinrich Hoffmann, the official photographer for the
Nazi Party. She met Adolf Hitler, 23 years her senior, at Hoffmann's studio
in 1929. He had been introduced to her as "Herr Wolff" (a childhood nickname
he used during the 1920s for security purposes). She described him to friends as
a "gentleman of a certain age with a funny moustache, a light-coloured English
overcoat, and carrying a big felt hat." He appreciated her eye color which was
said to be close to his mother's. Both of their families were strongly
against the relationship and little is known about its first two years.
Hitler saw more of Braun after the alleged 1931 suicide of his half sister
Angela's daughter Geli Raubal, who may have been his mistress. Some historians
suggest Raubal killed herself because she was distraught over Hitler's
relationship with Braun, while others speculate Hitler killed her or had her
murdered. Braun was unaware that Raubal was a rival for Hitler's affections
until after Raubal committed suicide. Braun was seen by some as a replacement
for Raubal.
Meanwhile, Hitler was seeing other women, such as actress Renate Müller, whose
early death was also termed a suicide. Braun first attempted suicide in 1932, at
the age of 20, by shooting herself in the neck and attempted suicide a second
time in 1935 by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. After Braun's recovery
Hitler became more committed to her and arranged for the substantial royalties
from widely published and popular photographs of him taken by Hoffmann's photo
studio to pay for a villa in Wasserburgerstrasse, a Munich suburb. This income
also provided her with a Mercedes, a chauffeur and a maid. Braun's sister Gretl
moved in with her. Hoffmann asserted that Braun became a fixture in Hitler's
life by first attempting to commit suicide less than a year after Geli Raubal's
own suicide (and accompanying rumors of murder). Hitler wished to avoid any
further scandal.
When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Braun sat on the stage in the area
reserved for VIPs as a secretary, to which Hitler's sister Angela strongly
objected, along with the wives of other ministers. Angela, a housekeeper for
Hitler, was banned from living anywhere near Braun as a result. By 1936,
Braun was at Hitler's household at the Berghof near Berchtesgaden whenever he
was in residence there and her parents were also invited for dinner several
times. Braun's political influence on Hitler was apparently minimal. She was
never allowed to stay in the room when business or political conversations took
place. However, some historians have inferred she was aware of at least some
sordid details concerning the Third Reich's inner workings. By all accounts she
led a sheltered and privileged existence and seemed uninterested in politics.
Hitler and Eva never appeared as a couple in public and there is some indication
that this, along with their not having married early in their relationship, was
due to Hitler's fear that he would lose popularity among female supporters.
The German people were entirely unaware of Eva Braun and her relationship with
Hitler until after the war. According to the memoirs of Albert Speer, Braun
never slept in the same room as Hitler and had her own bedrooms at the Berghof,
in Hitler's Berlin residence and in the Berlin bunker. Speer wrote:
Eva Braun was allowed to be present during visits from old party associates. She
was banished as soon as other dignitaries of the Reich, such as cabinet
ministers, appeared at the table ... Hitler obviously regarded her as socially
acceptable only within strict limits. Sometimes I kept her company in her exile,
a room next to Hitler's bedroom. She was so intimidated that she did not dare
leave the house for a walk. Out of sympathy for her predicament I soon began to
feel a liking for this unhappy woman, who was so deeply attached to Hitler.
Speer later said, "Eva Braun will prove a great disappointment to historians."