Family of Adolf Hitler
The ancestors and relatives of Adolf Hitler have long been of interest to historians and genealogists because of the biological uncertainty of Hitler's paternal grandfather, as well as the family's inter-relationships and their psychological effect on Hitler during his childhood and later life. Alois Schicklgruber (Adolf's father) changed his surname on 7 January 1877 to Hitler (derived from that of his deceased stepfather, Johann Georg Hiedler), which was the only form of the last name that his son Adolf used.