Middle career

In 1876, three years after Alois married his first wife, he hired Klara Pölzl as a household servant. She was the sixteen-year-old granddaughter of Alois' step-uncle (or father) Nepomuk. With Alois' name change Klara was officially his second cousin: If Nepomuk was Alois' father, then Klara was Alois' half-niece. Not long after, he had an affair with nineteen year old Franziska "Franni" Matzelberger, one of the young female servants employed at the Braunau inn (the Pommer Inn, house #219) where he was renting the top floor as a lodging.

Smith states that Alois had numerous affairs in the 1870s, resulting in his sick wife Anna initiating legal action to seek a separation and on 7 November 1880 Alois and Anna legally separated by mutual agreement. Franziska became 43 year old Alois' girlfriend but the two could not marry since under Roman Catholic canon law, divorce was not permitted. Franziska meanwhile demanded that the "servant girl" Klara find another job and Alois sent his cousin Klara away.

Franziska succeeded in gaining at least the status of a wife. She needed it, because in January 1882 she gave birth to Alois' illegitimate son, also named Alois, but since they were not married the child's last name was Franziska's, making him "Alois Matzelberger." Franziska was luckier (or perhaps prettier) than Alois' previous lover who had gotten pregnant, or maybe that baby had been a girl. For whatever reason Alois kept Franziska as his wife while his lawful wife grew sicker and, more than a year after the birth of Franziska's child, passed away. The next month, at a ceremony in Braunau with fellow custom officials as witnesses, Alois Hitler, 45, married Franziska Matzelberger, 21 and bulging with a second child due soon. He then legitimized his son as Alois Hitler, Jr.

Late career

Her death did not appear to affect Alois at all. He replaced her with Klara who was already pregnant at the time (or about to be). Smith writes that if Alois had been free to do as he wished, he would have married Klara immediately but because of the affidavit concerning his paternity, Alois was now legally Klara's second cousin, too close to marry. He submitted an appeal to the church for a humanitarian waiver, not mentioning that Klara was already pregnant.

Alois was immune to what the local people thought of him since his salary came from the finance ministry and was probably ready to keep Klara as his "housekeeper" if permission was refused. It came and on 7 January 1885 a wedding was held early in the morning at Alois' rented rooms on the top floor of the Pommer Inn. A meal was served for the few guests and witnessess and then with his customary insensitivity and lack of romantic feeling he went to work as if it was any other day. Klara was hurt, later telling someone in exaggeration the whole thing was done in under an hour.

On 17 May 1885, five months after the wedding, Klara gave birth to her first child, Gustav. A year later, on 25 September 1886 she gave birth to a daughter, Ida. A son Otto followed Ida in 1887, but he died shortly after birth. Later that year diphtheria tragically struck the Hitler household, resulting in the deaths of both Gustav and Ida. Klara had been Alois' wife for three years and all her children were dead but Alois still had the children from his relationship with Franziska, Alois Jr and Angela.

On April 20, 1889 she gave birth to another son, Adolf. He was a sickly child and Klara fretted over him. Alois had little interest in child rearing and left it all to Klara. When not at work he was either in a tavern or busy with his hobby, keeping bees. It has been said he behaved like a self-important tyrant at home. If he was in a bad mood he picked on the older children or Klara herself, abusing her in front of them. Mostly he used his voice to lash out and hurt or humiliate, but he was apparently not above using physical blows and spankings.

In 1892 Alois was transferred from Braunau to Passau. He was 55, Klara 32, Alois Jr. 10, Angela 9 and little Adolf was 3 years old. In 1894 Alois was re-assigned to Linz. Klara had just given birth to Edmund so it was decided she and the children would stay in Passau for the time being.

Retirement

In February 1895 Alois purchased a house on a nine acre (36,000 m²) plot in Hafeld near Lambach approximately thirty miles southwest of Linz. The farm was called the Rauscher Gut. Alois fantasized he would spend his retirement as a "gentleman farmer," indulging in beekeeping and living an easy rural life. He moved his family to the farm and retired on 25 June 1895 at the age of 58 after forty years in the customs service.

A lifetime as a civil servant had made Alois forget what farm life was like. Alois found taking care of nine acres (36,000 m²) to be more work than he had thought it would be and he didn't want it. The land went uncultivated and the value of the property declined. Far from being his dream retirement home the Rauscher Gut was a money-losing nightmare.

Meanwhile his family was still growing. On 21 January 1896 Paula Hitler was born (she was Klara and Alois' last child). With no workplace to escape to Alois was often home with his family. He had five children ranging in age from infancy to 14 and being involved with their daily life annoyed him. Smith suggests he yelled at the children almost continually and made long visits to the local tavern where he began to drink more than he used to.

Alois and his oldest son Alois Jr had a climactic and violent argument. Alois Jr. left home for good and the elder Alois swore he would never give the boy a penny of inheritance beyond what the law required.

Edmund, the youngest of the boys, had died of measles on 2 February 1900. If there was to be a family legacy, Adolf would have to carry it. Alois wanted the boy to follow in his footsteps and seek a career in the civil service. Adolf was so alienated from his father that he was repulsed by whatever Alois wanted. His father glorified the role of the civil servant while Adolf sneered at the thought of a lifetime spent enforcing petty rules. Alois tried to browbeat his son into obedience while Adolf did his best to be the opposite of whatever his father valued. Alois wanted him to be a practical, non-religious, non-political, sensible, realistic, stable and industrious civil servant. Adolf became lazy, romantic, idealistic and fantasy-oriented while dreaming first of being a priest, then an artist.

Death

On the morning of 3 January 1903 Alois went to the Gasthaus Stiefler as usual to drink his morning glass of wine. He had just been offered the newspaper when he collapsed. He was taken to an adjoining room and a doctor was summoned but Alois Hitler died at the inn, probably from a pleural hemorrhage, aged 65.