Unsolved ‘suicide’ of Hitler’s half-niece and romantic obsession Geli Raubal found face-down in a pool of blood
Angela ‘Geli’ Raubal was said to be entranced by Hitler's celebrity, while he was besotted with her beauty
SHE was found face-down in a pool of blood, her red-stained nightdress pierced by a single bullet through the heart.
Angela ‘Geli’ Raubal, the pretty half-niece of Adolf Hitler, was discovered by servants at the Nazi leader’s Munich apartment on September 18, 1931. She was just 23.
Her death, by a bullet from the Fuhrer’s own pistol, was recorded as suicide – but there is evidence to suggest that Geli was the first victim of the tyrant who would be responsible for the deaths of more than 50 million people.
Born in Linz, Austria-Hungary, Geli was the second child of Leo Raubal Sr. and Hitler’s half-sister Angela Raubal.
When Angela began working as Hitler’s housekeeper, Geli formed a close bond with the dictator, who was 19 years her senior.
She was said to be entranced by his celebrity, while he was besotted with her beauty. The pair are rumoured to have embarked on a love affair.
As Hitler rose to power as leader, he became domineering and possessive of Geli.
She was forced to travel all over the country with him, was not allowed to see her friends, and guards had to accompany her on shopping trips.
Hitler flew into a rage when he discovered Geli was having a relationship with his chauffeur, Emil Maurice, and immediately fired him.
Geli was in effect a prisoner. She planned to escape to Vienna, but Hitler refused to let her leave.
They had a heated argument and she was later found dead from a gunshot wound in her bedroom.
On her dressing table was a letter to a girlfriend which ended in the middle of the word "und" - German for "and": "When I come to Vienna - hopefully soon - we'll drive together to Semmering an..."
No suicide note was found. There were reportedly injuries found on her body, including a broken nose.
Pro-Nazi police closed the case without an inquest or autopsy, while Geli's body was quickly taken out of the country and buried in Vienna.
Rumours dogged Hitler for years that he had murdered her.
The bullet had entered above the heart and lodged in her lower back at hip level, meaning the gun had to be pointing downwards and the hand holding it higher than her heart.
A journalist who was investigating the circumstances surrounding her suicide was arrested by the Nazis just before he was to publish his findings. He was executed months later at Dachau.
Following her death, Hitler sank into a depression. He declared Geli was the only woman he’d ever loved and kept her bedroom as she had left it.
Previously, we told how the Nazis were so obsessed with the occult that they dedicated an entire SS division to hunting witches.
We also revealed how Hitler had planned to win World War Two by developing terrifying and ambitious "wonder weapons" which could have turned the tide of the conflict.
