How Hitler’s relatives stood on opposite sides in World War 2

Apal tells me that Hitler’s cousin was an American and fought against the Nazis in the Second World War, but is he kidding me? – P.

He’s not kidding you, but he is not quite correct.

I think he means Hitler’s nephew, who was indeed an American and fought in the Second World War.

William Stuart-Houston was the son of Hitler’s half-brother, Alois Hitler, Jr. and his Irish wife, Bridget Dowling. He was born in Liverpool in 1911, and the family lived in a flat at 102 Upper Stanhope Street, which was destroyed in the last German air raid of the Liverpool Blitz on January 10, 1942.

By that time, William had emigrated to the States. He joined the US Navy in 1944, and served as a Hospital Corpsman until his honourable discharge in 1947. Only then did he change his name from Hitler to Stewart-Houston.

The Nazi leader had two other nephews, Leo and Heinz.

Heinz was a son of Alois and his second wife, Hedwig. Reportedly Hitler’s “favourite nephew” he was a supporter of the Nazis and fought on the Eastern Front. He was captured by Soviet troops and died in 1942.

The third nephew, Leo, was the son of Angela, Hitler’s half-sister.

He was a lieutenant in the Luftwaffe and was also captured by the Soviets, at the Battle of Stalingrad, in 1943.

Hitler gave orders to examine the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the Soviets for Stalin’s son, Yakov, who had been captured by the Germans in 1941.

Stalin refused, saying: “War is war.”

William Patrick Hitler, nephew of Adolf Hitler, joins the Canadian Airforce

I thought I spotted a news item about an American footballer called “Ha Ha” this week. Surely that can’t be a real name? – S.The Green Bay Packers announced this week that they were trading Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the Washington Redskins.Ha Ha – real name Ha’Sean, was given his nickname by his grandmother.He was a first round draft pick for the Packers and has played 65 games for them as free safety.

Bundles of it were always getting thrown around when I watched Road Runner cartoons as a kid. I know it’s really dangerous, and no laughing matter, but what does TNT stand for? – L.TNT – trinitrotoluene – is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3.It was first prepared in 1863 by German chemist, Julius Wilbrand, and used as a dye. Its explosive properties weren’t discovered until 1891.

There was a story this week about Swiss doctors inventing spinal implants that helped people walk again, including a man called Tobler. So, er, are Toblerones named after a Swiss man called Tobler? – J.The Toblerone was invented by Swiss sweet manufacturer Theodor Tobler in 1906.He developed a unique milk chocolate including nougat, almonds and honey.

Can you tell me which is faster, a Formula 1 car or a NASCAR? – M.FIA, the governing body of motor sport, gives the record for the top speed achieved in a Formula 1 car as 231.5mph (372.6kmh) by Juan Pablo Montoya in a McLaren-Mercedes in practice for the 2005 Italian Grand Prix.The NASCAR record is held by Bill Elliot, who reaced 212.8mph (342.4kmh) at Talladega in 1987.