The French film/play "Le prénom"[0] explores the idea of a contemporary father who wishes to call his soon to be born son Adolphe. Very interesting if you get the chance.
Mostly they changed their names, but there were never very many Hitlers to begin with. That’s part of why those who had the name faced such a stigma. If his last name were Müller, there wouldn’t be a stigma for having the same last name.
I had a friend whose family changed their last name from Hitler. Very few people knew their secret after the first generation with the new name.
Also, Hitlers name wasn't really Hitler, just like Stalins name wasn't Stalin. It was Schicklgruber and Iosseb Bessarionis dse Dschughaschwili. So .. if you want to become a dictator, better use a catchy name the masses can chant.
That's incorrect. It was Hitler's father who changed his name, years before Adolf was born.
Some people at the time tried to insult Adolf Hitler as a Schicklgruber, not because he changed his name, but because his father was born in an extramarital affair.
