Johann Nepomuk Hiedler

Who was Johann Nepomuk Hiedler?

Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, also known as Johann Nepomuk Hüttler, was a maternal great-grandfather and possibly also the paternal grandfather of Adolf Hitler.

Johann Nepomuk was named after a Bohemian Saint Johann von Nepomuk. Some view this name as evidence that Johann Nepomuk and subsequently his great-grandson Adolf Hitler had some Czech blood. However, Johann von Pomuk/Johann Nepomuk, was an important saint for Bohemians of both German and Czech ethnicity. Using Nepomuk just indicates ties to Bohemia, without indication of ethnicity.

Johann Nepomuk became a relatively prosperous farmer and was married to Eva Maria Decker who was fifteen years his senior. On 19 January 1830, Hiedler gave birth to Johanna. Legally, he was the step-uncle of Alois Schicklgruber, the stepson of his brother Johann Georg Hiedler, a wandering miller.

For reasons unknown, Johann Nepomuk took in Alois when he was a boy and raised him. It is possible that he was, in fact, Alois' natural father but could not acknowledge this publicly due to his marriage. Another, and perhaps simpler, explanation for this kindness is that Johann Nepomuk took pity on the ten year old Alois and took him in.