September 18, 1931
Politics, Germany: Angela Maria "Geli" Raubal, Adolf Hitler's half-niece, commits suicide on 18 September 1931 by shooting herself in Hitler's apartment in Munich. Hitler was not present at the time. Witnesses reported that they had been arguing before Hitler left, with Hitler saying emphatically "No" to whatever Geli wanted. The case is quickly hushed up, but Hitler continues referring to it throughout the rest of his life. In the immediate aftermath, he is devastated and borderline suicidal.
The extent of their relationship is unknown, but many believe that Hitler and Geli had been dating for several years. Hitler had painted nude watercolors of Geli. They certainly went on hikes in the mountains, sea cruises, and attended the opera and so forth like normal boyfriends and girlfriends. She lived in rooms that Hitler personally rented in Munich.
Geli was the second child and eldest daughter of Leo Raubal Sr. and Hitler's half-sister, Angela Raubal, so she was his half-niece. Geli helped Hitler by presiding over party gatherings and helping to make him seem "cool" to the others. Baldur von Schirach, for instance, noted in his autobiography that, in Geli's presence, Hitler never launched into his endless monologues, did not begin vicious recriminations against anyone who had irked him recently, and basically remained the outwardly charming fellow familiar to the German public.
There is some evidence that Geli had fallen in love with Emil Maurice, Hitler's chauffeur, shortly before her suicide. Maurice was fired from being Hitler's driver as a result of the affair but remained in the party. Despite Maurice having Jewish ancestry, Hitler even approved his entry into the SS, where he remained throughout the war. Whether the Maurice affair had any influence on Geli committing suicide is unknowable. Hitler never held the affair against Maurice, but the affair and its outcome haunted him for the rest of his life. Hitler allowed Angela, Geli's mother, to run his mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden, the Berghof until they had a falling out (perhaps over Eva Braun) in 1939.
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| Josef Goebbels, Geli Raubal, and Adolf Hitler. |
Pre-War
8-9 November 1923: Beer Hall PutschDecember 20, 1924: Hitler Leaves Prison
September 18, 1931: Geli Raubal Commits Suicide
November 8, 1932: Roosevelt is Elected
30 January 1933: Hitler Takes Office
February 27, 1933: Reichstag Fire
March 23, 1933: The Enabling Act
June 20, 1934: Hitler Plans the Night of the Long Knives
June 30, 1934: Night of the Long Knives
August 1, 1936: Opening of the Berlin Olympics
September 30, 1938: The Munich Agreement
November 9, 1938: Kristallnacht
August 1, 1939: Flight Tests of B-17 Flying Fortress
August 2, 1939: Einstein and the Atom Bomb
August 7, 1939: Goering Tries to Broker Peace
August 14, 1939: Hitler Decides To Attack Poland
August 15, 1939: U-Boats Put To Sea
August 16, 1939: Incident at Danzig
August 20, 1939: Battle of Khalkhin Gol
August 22, 1939: Hitler Tips His Hand
August 23, 1939: Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
August 25, 1939: Hitler Postpones Invasion of Poland
August 27, 1939: First Jet Flight
August 31, 1939: The Gleiwitz Operation
2019
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