Hitler’s Niece: A Novel

By Ron HansenFOUR out of FIVE Stars

Adolf Hitler.

The name alone is abhorrent – and, he's not alone. Let’s add Rudolf Hess, Herman Goring, Ernst Hanfstaengl, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels to the list. We could go on and on, but that’s not necessary, as some of those abhorrent names don’t populate the pages of Ron Hansen’s excellent, fact-based-fictional tale of Adolf Hitler and his obsession with his niece, Geli Raubal, born to his half-sister. On September 18, 1931, Hitler and his niece argued, and that night she was reputed to have committed suicide, using Hitler’s gun.

At the time of her death, Hitler had yet to solidify his power in Germany, although he was well on his way. As such, rumors spread that Hitler had in fact murdered his niece, a young woman of 23 with whom he had developed an unhealthy obsession. The mystery of Geli’s untimely death is just one brutal, bloody chapter in Hitler’s life, of which there would be many – exceeding horrors any man or group of men should have been able to commit.

In Hitler’s Niece, Ron Hansen explores this relationship, giving voice to Hitler’s niece, a woman who is generally forgotten to the ages. He also gives voice to all of the men mentioned above and a few more, exploring the insanity that was Adolf Hitler. Through Geli’s eyes, we see the power the man gained for himself, and how it shaped a man who, under other circumstances, might have been seen as being social awkward and strange. Hanson takes us on a journey from Geli’s birth, to her death, and posits her views on her controlling Uncle, whom she longed to escape from, and who was her downfall.

Despite carrying on with Eva Braun and marrying her in the end, Hitler always acknowledged that Geli Raubal was the only woman he ever loved, and while it hasn’t been conclusively proven that he murdered her, one imagines Hanson’s presentation of what happened, is probably closer to the truth than he imagined.

Hitler’s Niece: A Novel is an excellent, compelling, shocking and disturbing read. Any time I read a book on Hitler and his inner circle, I can’t help marvelling at how disturbing each of these individuals were, and wondering how a confluence of events in history could have brought them all together and awarded enough influence and power that their actions will forever remain a blot and blight on the history of humankind.

If for nothing else, read Hitler’s Niece, as whether it’s accurate in the heart and spirit of the events or not, it gives a young woman a voice and reminds us that at one time, she lived, laughed and loved in her own way, despite the insanity that eventually surrounded her.