Live Science Plus
Proof That Hitler Had An Illegitimate Son?
New evidence has emerged to support the controversial claim that Hitler had a son with a French teenager, the French magazine LePoint reported on Friday.
The man, Jean-Marie Loret, claimed to be the Fuhrer's son in 1981, when he published an autobiography called "Your Father's Name Was Hitler." He died four years later aged 67, not being able to prove his family line.
But Loret's Paris lawyer, François Gibault, told the French magazine that a number of photographs and documents can now support the claim.
He also revealed how Loret got to know about his parentage.
Born in March, 1918, Loret grew up knowing nothing about his father. His mother, Charlotte Lobjoie, had given him away for adoption to a family called Loret.
Then, in the early 1950s, just before her death, Miss Lobjoie told her son that at 16 she had a brief affair with Hitler. He was conceived after a "tipsy" evening in June 1917.
ANALYSIS: Hitler Ate Marmalade at Breakfast
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
She told him that during the First World War, Hitler was a young soldier fighting the French near Seboncourt, in the Picardy region. He made his way to Fournes-in-Weppe, a town west of Lille, for regular leave.
"I was cutting hay with other women, when we saw a German soldier on the other side of the street," Miss Lobjoie told her son.
"He had a sketch pad and seemed to be drawing. All the women found this soldier interesting, and wanted to know what he was drawing. They picked me to try to approach him," she said.
The pair started a brief relationship, and the following year Jean-Marie was born.
"On the rare occasions your father was around, he liked to take me for walks in the countryside. But these walks usually ended badly. Your father, inspired by nature, launched into speeches I did not really understand," Miss Lobjoie said.
She recalled that Loret's father did not speak French "but solely ranted in German, talking to an imaginary audience."
"Even if I spoke German I would not be able to follow him, as the histories of Prussia, Austria and Bavaria where not familiar to me at all," Miss Lobjoie said.
The revelation haunted Loret for the rest of his life. Amazingly, in 1939 he went on to fight the Germans, defending the Maginot Line. Later, during the Nazi occupation, Loret even joined the French Resistance, and was given the codename "Clement".
PHOTOS: Hitler's Wife, Eva Braun, Seen in Rare Photos
He could not possibly believe to be the son of one the most notorious men ever to have lived.
"In order not to get depressed, I worked tirelessly, never taking a vacation. For twenty years I didn't even go to a movie," Loret wrote in his book.
According to Gibault, during the 1970s Loret began seeking evidence of about his father. In 1979 he met the lawyer and introduced himself by saying: "I am the son of Hitler. Tell me what I should do."
"He was a bit lost and did not know whether he wanted to be recognized as the son of Adolf Hitler or to erase all that completely ... I talked with him a lot, playing the role of psychologist rather than lawyer," LePoint quoted Guibalt as saying.
The magazine reported that Loret began investigating his past in full force, employing a team of scientists such as an historian, a geneticist from the University of Heidelberg, and a handwriting analyst.
"All reached the same conclusion. Jean-Marie Loret was probably the son of Adolf Hitler," Le Point wrote.
According to the magazine, Hitler refused to acknowledge his son, but send Miss Lobjoie money.
ANALYSIS: Did the Nazis Have a Space Program?
The new evidence would include official Wehrmacht, or German Army, documents which show that officers brought envelopes of cash to Lobjoie during the German occupation of France.
Moreover, paintings signed "Adolf Hitler" were discovered in Miss Lobjoie's attic. In addition, a picture of a woman painted by Hitler "looked exactly like Loret's mother," wrote Le Point.
In view of the new findings, a revised version of Loret's book will be published, and the new evidence detailed.
According to Gibault, Loret's children could claim royalties from Hitler's Mein Kampf.
This article was provided by Discovery News.