A woman who resided in the same Munich apartment block as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the 1920s and 30s, has revealed what it was like to live there, the Daily Star reports.
According to the newspaper, one of the events recalled by Alice Frank Stock – who fled from Germany together with her parents just days before the beginning of World War II – might be related to the demise of Geli Raubal, Hitler's niece who was rumoured to be romantically involved with him. It's thought she committed suicide in his apartment in 1931.
"We heard many [rumours], from the cook and others. We saw a coffin being carried out of the entrance. I think a niece of Hitler's was living there and then she died," Stock said. "There was speculation of how and when she died. I think there was truth in it that the coffin was carried out and in it was a woman. But there was no confirmation ever, and you couldn't talk openly."
She also mentioned that she never spoke to Hitler, though she did see him on several occasions.
"Once I went to the opera, I got tickets through the school. It was in the royal box, I was very pleased. I got there in the evening and there were SS men saying: 'You can't come in here – go two boxes further down'. As the curtain went up I looked at the royal box and there was Hitler sitting there," she remembered. "I saw him once or twice coming home too. His car would draw up. Two SS men would jump out stand either side and he would rush up to the house – terrified obviously of someone who would try and kill him."
On a lighter note, Stock, who recently turned 102 and who resides in a care home in Bristol in the UK, said that she has "had a good life" and advises others to do "lots of walking and hiking, along with the occasional glass of red wine."