Alois Hitler child Paula Hitler
Marriage to Klara Pölzl and family life
Pölzl was soon pregnant by Alois Hitler. Historian Bradley Smith writes that if Hitler had been free to do as he wished, he would have married Pölzl immediately in 1884, but because of the 1877 affidavit concerning his last name and paternity, Hitler was now legally Pölzl's first cousin once removed, too close to marry. He submitted an appeal to the church for a humanitarian waiver.Permission from Rome arrived, and on 7 January 1885 a wedding was held at Hitler's rented rooms on the top floor of the Pommer Inn. A meal was served for the few guests and witnesses. Hitler then went to work for the rest of the day. Even Klara found the wedding to be a short ceremony. During their marriage, and consistent with Alois's father perhaps being the same person as Klara’s maternal grandfather, Alois and Klara continued to address each other as "uncle" and "niece".On 17 May 1885, four months after the wedding, the new Frau Klara Hitler gave birth to her first child, Gustav. In 1886, she gave birth to a daughter, Ida. In 1887 Otto was born, but died days later. During the winter of 1887–1888, diphtheria struck the Hitler household, resulting in the deaths of both Gustav (8 December) and Ida (2 January).
On 20 April 1889, she gave birth to another son, future dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. Adolf was a sickly child, and his mother fretted over him. Alois was 51 when he was born, and had little interest in child-rearing; he left it all to his wife. When not at work he was either in a tavern or busy with his hobby, beekeeping. Alois was transferred from Braunau to Passau. He was 55, Klara 32, Alois Jr. 10, Angela 9, and Adolf was three years old.
Beginning on 1 August 1892, the family lived at Theresienstrasse 23 in Passau. One month after Alois accepted a better paying position in Linz, on 1 April 1893, his wife and the children moved to a second floor room at Kapuzinerstrasse 31 in Passau. Klara had just given birth to Edmund, so it was decided she and the children would stay in Passau for the time being. On 21 January 1896, Paula, Adolf's younger sister, was born. She was the last child of Alois Hitler and Klara Pölzl. Alois was often home with his family. He had five children ranging in age from infancy to 14. Edmund (the youngest of the boys) died of measles on 2 February 1900.
Alois wanted his son Adolf to seek a career in the civil service. However, Adolf had become so alienated from his father that he was repulsed by his wishes. He sneered at the thought of a lifetime spent enforcing petty rules. Alois tried to browbeat his son into obedience, while Adolf did his best to be the opposite of whatever his father wanted.Robert G. L. Waite noted, "Even one of his closest friends admitted that Alois was 'awfully rough' with his wife [Klara] and 'hardly ever spoke a word to her at home'." If Alois was in a bad mood, he picked on the older children or Klara herself, in front of them. Alois's grandson, William Patrick Hitler said that he had heard from his father, Alois Jr., that Alois Hitler Sr. used to beat his children. After Hitler and his eldest son Alois Jr. had a climactic and violent argument, Alois Jr. left home, and the elder Alois swore he would never give the boy a penny of inheritance beyond what the law required. According to reports, Alois Hitler liked to lord it over his neighbors, and even beat his own family’s dog until it would wet the floor.Alois has been described as "an authoritarian, overbearing, domineering husband and a stern, masterful, and often irritable father" and as a "strict, short-tempered patriarch who demanded unquestioning respect and obedience from his children and used the switch whenever his expectations were not met."
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