There are good people with that name in the film and not so good people with that name in the film. Did you meet anyone who's really struggled with the name? I can go through a couple of scenarios. I mean, you have a guy like Jean Hitler, an older guy—he's probably 83 now—with four daughters, a wife, and a very nice life.
He'd say he kept it because it was a family name that was around before Adolf Hitler. Why should he have to change it, you know? He said it didn't affect him, but for his four daughters going through school… it's probably going to have had an effect on them. One of his daughters ran for, I think, class president, but got heckled off stage and didn't win. So people were affected in some way or another, some worse than others.
Were there any people who were totally cool with it? Anyone whose peace with it surprised you? You have a girl like Emily Hittler, who—at the time we filmed her—was She lives in a small town outside of St.
Louis, so she's insulated by her friends and family. Though, we don't know what it's going to be like if she goes to college, gets a job, or leaves town. So a year-old today may not have as strong an opinion on Hitler as we did. Maybe if her name was Bin Laden it would be way worse for her. I was going to mention that—whether you came across opinions on the name specifically colored by age or culture? Like how there are clothing stores in India named "Hitler" because the name isn't as big a part of the region's history as in Europe or America.
We explored all of that stuff. We explored stuff like that as a storyline in the film—we even explored other names to include in the storyline—but we didn't go there. But the name has a different effect on different cultures. Like you said, there's the store in India. In fact, most of them are gone now, but a few years ago there were also Hitler-themed restaurants. What are your thoughts on the family featured in the film who named their kid Adolf Hitler?
I'm a documentary filmmaker, so I should be objective. But I'm also a human being. Some people would say it's a First Amendment right—that you can name your kid whatever you want. But, to me, when you're naming a kid something like that, that's going to affect a kid the rest of their life. I don't feel it was down to anything other than the father, Heath Campbell, who's a neo-Nazi.
Those are his beliefs. He's got swastika tattoos. He did it to make a statement. But he said he would try to raise his children differently. That's fine, I don't really care," he said. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Politics Covid U. News World Opinion Business. Share this —. The sign is clear — I'm expected to leave.
I discreetly ask around with the neighbors, without saying anything about the family's history. Nobody knows anything. They sometimes wave at each other; that's all. The woman who lives opposite the family knows more. It can be seen in her facial expression when she hears that I'm from Germany.
She nods silently and smiles a bit. The Hitlers — she uses the new name, of course — are "excellent people," helpful, nice.
Maybe the third, oldest, brother will break the silence. The last head of the family. He lives in the north of the island, 45 minutes from here by car. There are American flags in front of most houses here, too.
It is a small, quiet town with a supermarket and countless vegetable stalls along the main road. Alexander Hitler lives here in a wooden house. The lawn is more overgrown than at his brothers' house. The many pot plants, however, look neat.
Busy Lizzies, sweet Williams, begonias, hostas. The American Hitlers have a green thumb. There is no bell. I knock on the door. Nobody opens. There is also no car in the driveway. I ask the neighbors whether they know where the man next door could be. Oh, it's about the family history, I reply.
A curious coincidence: The neighbor comes from Austria. But she also doesn't know anything. We talk about Germany for a while, and when I go back to the adjacent property, there is suddenly a car in the driveway. Mister Hitler drives a Hyundai. I go to the front door and knock.
I wait for 30 seconds. I try again. And again. Then the door suddenly opens. He is tall, maybe 6 feet, and wears a shirt with turquoise-white checks and beige cargo trousers. Alexander Hitler. The greeting is frosty.
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