Hitler did all he could to keep his colourful family background a secret. The public was not to know about his ancestry or his immediate family. And there was much to hide: mental illness, bigamy, dissent, his niece's suicide … any of this information would have tarnished the immaculate public image that had been created by elaborate propaganda. Now, personal records by relatives and the extensive written memoirs of his half-brother Alois' second wife allow new, surprising and shocking insights into Hitler's family background.