Eduard Bloch was an Austrian physician practicing in Linz, who, for many years until 1907, was the family doctor of Adolf Hitler and his family. When Hitler's mother, Klara, was dying of breast cancer, Bloch billed the family at a reduced cost and sometimes refused to bill them outright. An Austrian Jew, Bloch was awarded special protection by Hitler who personally intervened to ensure his safety following the German annexation of Austria in 1938. Following Kristallnacht and the escalation of anti-Jewish sentiment in Germany, Hitler allowed Bloch to emigrate to the United States, where he lived until his death in 1945, succumbing to stomach cancer.
Bloch in 1926
Bloch in his clinic in Linz, c. 1938
The Hitler family comprises the relatives and ancestors of Adolf Hitler, an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the Nazi Party, who was the dictator of Germany, holding the title Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler from 1934 to 1945. Adolf Hitler had a central role in the rise of Nazism in Germany, provoking the start of World War II, and holding ultimate responsibility for the deaths of many millions of people during the Holocaust.
Alois Hitler, Adolf's father
Klara Pölzl Hitler, third wife of Alois and mother of Adolf
Infant Adolf, son of Alois and Klara
Hitler (sitting far right) with his army comrades of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (c. 1914–1918)