Who is this boy?

[jayhawk1941]

From John Toland's biography entitled, "Hitler" in ch. 6 at the end of sec. 5 (context: it's discussing the immediate aftermath and chaos of the Beer Hall Putsch)...

Hitler painfully struggled to his feet, cradling his injured arm. He was in agony as he slowly moved away from the battleground, face pale, hair falling over his face. He was accompanied by Dr. Walter Schultze, chief of the Munich SA medical corps, a towering young man. They came upon a small boy lying at the curb, bleeding profusely. Hitler wanted to carry him off but Schultze called to his wife’s cousin (a botany student named Schuster) to take the boy. At Max Joseph Platz they finally reached Hitler’s old gray Selve, which had been loaded with medical supplies. An elderly first aid man named Frankel got in the front seat with the driver while Hitler and the doctor got into the rear seat. Schuster stood on the running board holding the wounded boy. Hitler told the driver to head for the Bürgerbräukeller so he could find out what was going on. But at the Marienplatz they came under heavy machine-gun fire and had to change directions several times. They found the Ludwig bridge blocked and turned back. By this time the boy had regained consciousness and Schuster dismounted so he could take the youngster home. The car continued toward the Sendlingertorplatz. Here they encountered another burst of fire near the old southern cemetery. Since it was impossible to get back to the beer hall, there was nothing to do but keep driving south toward Salzburg.

I have scoured the internet and have been unable to find anything out about this young boy. Here are my questions...

Who is he?
Did he survive?
Did he fight in WWII?
What were his thoughts on that day? On the Nazi Regime? On Hitler?


Thanks in advance for your help and sorry if this is posted in the wrong forum.

[J. Duncan]

I think that section of Toland came from a personal, taped interview he had with Dr. Walther Schultze. Toland's notes are not by number but by quoted paragraph (a little harder to follow). It probably says "interview with Schultze or "Schultze...ibid...ibid". You may not find the answer as it's an aside from Schultze which Toland just repeated.

[Br. James]

Have any of the other biographers of Hitler or of the Putsch recorded this incident with the young boy?

Br. James

[jayhawk1941]

Thank you both for responding!

I (like many of you) have read countless books on the history of Nazi Germany and have not seen a reference to this anywhere else. I'm hoping this person is not lost to history. I'm sure he had an interesting story to tell.

[Gorque]

Hi Jayhawk:

American historian David King in The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of Nazi Germany states at the beginning of chapter 20, Flight,

A story was later circulated for Hitler's lack of valor. He was said to have spotted a young boy bleeding on a street corner and left the scene to save him. In later Nazi accounts, he was even said to have carried the ten-year old away (with his dislocated shoulder!).

[J. Duncan]

Good piece of digging. Boy story was used to counter other accounts of Hitler having "fled the scene" like a coward. The above book is a new one just published.

[Gorque]

Thanks for the nod. I haven't read the book, save for the preview allowed, but it appears very detailed regarding the Putsch event and well-written.