- Hitler's nephew fought in the US Navy in WWII but needed the president's and FBI's permission.
- In a letter to FDR, William Hitler asked for the chance to fight "against tyranny and oppression."
Eighty years ago, Adolf Hitler's half nephew enlisted in the US Navy with the intention of combating the Nazi regime. But it took a few attempts, which included a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, for William Patrick Hitler to get special permission to join the fight.
William joined the Navy in March 1944 and served as a pharmacist's mate. According to the Lyon Air Museum, he spent the last year of World War II close to the fighting, patching up wounded troops before taking shrapnel to his leg. He is said to have received a Purple Heart for his injuries.
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His intentions for joining the war against his uncle were quite clear. Born in the UK, William had a volatile relationship with Hitler in his early life. The two met several times, but William wrote a variety of articles criticizing Hitler and the Nazi Party in the late 1920s and early '30s that sparked tension. Hitler's attitude toward William shifted over the years, especially when William moved to Germany briefly, but he still referred to him as "my loathsome nephew," The New York Times reported.
There was little love lost from William. When he fled back to the UK, he wrote an article for Look magazine titled "Why I Hate My Uncle," which received widespread attention and increased curiosity over what William would do next.
The next few years are a blur. William attempted to join the UK armed forces but was rejected because of his familial ties. A similar result came when he tried in the US years later. He briefly joined the Canadian air force, but by 1944, he was interested in the US Navy.
William's passion to fight against his uncle's regime led him to write a letter directly to Roosevelt.
In the letter, William identified himself as "the nephew and only descendant of the ill-faced Chancellor and Leader of Germany," according to Warfare History Network. He praised the US and Allied force's "masterful leadership" involving men from all backgrounds "waging desperate war."
With all his reasons for fighting against his uncle, William made a plea: "Mr. President, I am respectfully submitting this petition to you to enquire as to whether I may be allowed to join them in their struggle against tyranny and oppression."
Roosevelt passed the letter onto FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who, as Lyon Air Museum says, finally allowed William to join the US Navy.
After the war, William remained in the service until 1947. In his later years, he changed his last name to Stuart-Houston, married, and ran a blood-analysis lab in New York until his death in 1987.
Warfare History Network reported that with the war behind him, William achieved the anonymity he had wanted, while leaving behind a legacy of heroism.