Maria Reiter

Early life

Reiter was the daughter of an official of the Social Democratic Party in Berchtesgaden.

Hitler

Hitler met Reiter when she was working in a shop in Obersalzberg, one of Hitler's favourite retreats. According to Reiter's own account, the 37-year-old Hitler became friendly with the 16-year-old girl, and asked her out. At the end of the evening he made a "coarse" sexual advance towards her which she rejected, but they finally kissed. They had a number of other dates during which Hitler became increasingly passionate towards her. According to the Stern article, Hitler "told her that he wanted her to be his wife, to found a family with her, to have blonde children, but at the moment he had not the time to think of such things. Repeatedly Hitler spoke of his duty, his mission." He told her to wait for him and that they would live together. After this declaration, Hitler ignored her and broke things off. This plunged her into depression. In 1928 while in despair, she attempted to hang herself, but her brother-in-law found her and cut her down before she died.

After this episode, Reiter gave up on Hitler and married a local hotelkeeper. The marriage was not a success and in 1931 Reiter left her husband. After a visit from Rudolf Hess convinced her of Hitler's continuing interest in her, she travelled to Munich to see Hitler once more. Reiter stated that she spent the night with Hitler and that "I let everything happen. I had never been so happy as I was that night". Hitler suggested that she remain in Munich as his lover, but Reiter wanted marriage. Hitler was concerned that a relationship with a woman who had left her husband would be politically damaging to him, so the couple parted. Nevertheless, Hitler delegated his personal lawyer Hans Frank to handle her divorce.

In 1934, after Hitler's rise to power, Reiter met him once more and he again asked her to become his lover. Again she refused. This led to an argument in which Hitler reiterated that he could not marry or have children because he had a "big mission" to fulfill. Eventually, she married SS-Hauptsturmführer Georg Kubisch in 1936. Hitler congratulated Kubisch on his marriage at an assembly of the SS in Munich. Their last meeting was in 1938, when, according to Reiter, Hitler expressed dissatisfaction with his relationship with Eva Braun. Kubisch was killed in 1940 during the Battle of Dunkirk, after which Hitler sent Reiter 100 red roses.

The details of Reiter's story about their physical relationship cannot be confirmed, though the fact that Hitler was in love with her was asserted by his sister Paula, who stated that she was the only woman who might have curbed his destructive impulses. Further, two letters dating from April 1945 by Reiter to Hitler were found after the war. They were "written in affectionate terms" and suggest intimacy by the words used.