The Only Jewish Family That Adolf Hitler Protected from the Holocaust
By: Jhemmylrut Teng
Tags: History, World War II, Culture, World, Racism

The Only Jewish Family That Adolf Hitler Protected from the Holocaust

Jewish physician, Dr. Eduard Bloch | Image credit: Hilters Edeljude

Whenever we hear the name Adolf Hitler, the first thing that comes to mind is his anti-Semitic views that led to the genocide of millions of Jewish people in Europe. He was a dictator, a madman, and a mass murderer. When the Nazis started occupying other nations in Europe and persecuting the Jews, one Jewish physician, together with his family, was spared from the horrors of the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler was their protector.

From the book, Hitlers Edeljude by Brigitte Hamann, this is the story of Dr. Eduard Bloch.

The Jewish doctor from Austria

Bloch was born in the Czech Republic and studied medicine in Prague. He became a medical officer in the Austrian army, and from 1899 to 1901, he was station in Linz, Austria. Eventually, he settled there, raised his family, and became the go-to physician of the community.

Dr. Bloch was as having a noble nature, as he always extended his services to the lower and indigent social classes. He usually visited them to check on their condition, for free. It was no surprise that the Jewish doctor was held in high regard in Linz.

He was known as the “doctor of the poor.”

The Hitlers’ family doctor

Near Linz lived a humble family — the Hitlers.

In 1904, Bloch had his first encounter with the Hitlers when he had to cure a fifteen-year-old fatherless boy with a cold and tonsillitis. The boy recovered, his name was Adolf Hitler. The Hitlers continued to come to Bloch for their health predicaments.

The Hitlers trusted the Jewish doctor, and in March 1907, he had to take care of Adolf’s mother, Klara.

Adolf Hitler’s mother, Klara Hitler | Image credit: Wikipedia

Klara was diagnosed with breast cancer and died on December 21, 1907, after intense suffering which involved daily doses of iodoform, a painful corrosive treatment typically used at that time to treat cancer. Dr. Bloch administered the entire treatment.

Adolf was only eighteen-years-old then, and his family was part of the impoverished class. Consequently, they could not afford expensive medical treatments for his mother.

Despite that, Dr. Bloch was very understanding. He usually charged less, sometimes even not charging his usual fee. And because of this, Adolf swore his “everlasting gratitude” to the Jewish doctor who helped them in their difficult times.

Even after the two had parted ways after Klara’s death, Adolf continued to keep in touch with Bloch by sending him postcards. Some of those were even personally hand-painted by Adolf himself.

“During this period he took time out to send me a penny postcard. On the back was a message: “From Vienna I send you my greetings. Yours, always faithfully, Adolf Hitler.” It was a small thing, yet I appreciated it. I had spent a great deal of time treating the Hitler family and it was nice to know that this effort on my part had not been forgotten.” — Dr. Eduard Bloch

Bloch, likewise, also had a particular fondness for the Hitler family. Little did he know that his good deed would soon save his life and that of his entire family.

Dr. Bloch in his office in Linz, ca. 1938 | Image credit: Bundesarchiv

Nazi-occupied Austria

The First World War was already over. Yet, the growing reputation of the Nazis and their anti-Semitic views were deliberately spreading in Europe, especially in Austria. When the Nazis’ failed coup d’ état occurred on November 8, 1923, in Munich, Bloch couldn’t believe the news that his former patient was the Nazi leader.

“Was it possible, I asked myself, that the man behind these things was the quiet boy I had known — the son of the gentle Klara Hitler?” — Dr. Eduard Bloch

In 1937, Hitler invited some Austrians (Nazis’ supporters) to his home in Berchtesgaden. He asked them how the Austrian people perceived him, thus, if the Nazis had a massive following in the country, particularly, in Linz. Eventually, he asked them about Dr. Bloch.

“He [Adolf Hitler] asked for news of me. Was I still alive, still practicing? Then he made a statement irritating to the local Nazis. “Dr. Bloch,” said Hitler, “is an Edeljude — a noble Jew. If all Jews were like him, there would be no Jewish question.” It was strange, and in a way flattering, that Adolf Hitler could see good in at least one member of my race.” — Dr. Eduard Bloch

For a while, Bloch thought what was happening in Germany had no direct effect on Austria. However, after a year, in 1938, Austria became a Nazi territory. Like the Jewish community in Germany, the Austrian Jews began to suffer legal and physical persecution.

The untouchable Blochs

Adolf’s postcards and gifts became a source of protection for the Bloch family when the Gestapo (Nazi secret police) paid a surprise visit to their home.



Although the police confiscated the postcards and other gifts from Hitler for safekeeping still, in Linz, the Blochs were untouched. Additionally, their assets were not seized, which was an odd treatment for a Jewish family.

It only further shows that the Gestapo was mandated not to harm the Blochs.

“If my relations with the Gestapo were not precisely cordial, I at least didn’t suffer at their hands as did so many others. I was told on good authority, and I can well believe it, that the bureau in Linz had received special instructions from the chancellery in Berlin that I was to be accorded any reasonable favor.” — Dr. Eduard Bloch

They were also spared from wearing the “Yellow Star” badge. Jews throughout Nazi-occupied Europe were forced to wear a badge in the form of a Yellow Star as a means of identification.