Editing Ernst Hanfstaengl (section)

==Early life and education==
Hanfstaengl, nicknamed "Putzi",<ref>A nickname (which may have been acquired in youth) meaning "little fellow"; as an adult Hanfstaengl was {{convert|1.93|m|ftin}} tall.
{{Cite book
| author-link = John Toland (author)
| first = John
| isbn = 9780385037242
| last = Toland
| pages = 128
| publication-place=Garden City, New York
| publisher = Doubleday & Company
| title = Adolf Hitler
| url = https://archive.org/details/adolfhitler02tola
| url-access = registration
| year = 1976
}}
(''Toland'')</ref> was born in [[Munich]], [[Bavaria]], [[German Empire|Germany]], the son of a German art publisher, [[Edgar Hanfstaengl]], and an American mother. He spent most of his early years in Germany and later moved to the United States. His mother was Katharine Wilhelmina Heine, daughter of [[Wilhelm Heine]], a cousin of [[American Civil War]] [[Union Army]] general [[John Sedgwick]]. His godfather was [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Duke Ernst II]] of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]. He had an elder sister, [[Erna Hanfstaengl|Erna]],<ref>Some authorities suggest that Hitler was romantically involved with Erna, a tall and stately woman, or had romantic affections for her.
{{Cite book
| author-link = William L. Shirer
| first = William L.
| isbn = 9780671624200
| last = Shirer
| page = 131
| publication-place=New York
| publisher = Simon and Schuster
| title = The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
| url = https://archive.org/details/risefallofthirdr00shir/page/131
| url-access = registration
| year = 1960
}}
("''Shirer''"). ''See also'' Wikipedia article on [[Geli Raubal]]. While some historians have written that Hitler was nursed by Erna (and her mother) at Uffing following the Beer Hall putsch, Toland claims that this is a myth, resulting from the misinterpretation of the American journalists who interviewed the three Hanfstaengl women (the mother, sister and wife of Ernst) immediately after Hitler's arrest by the authorities. ''Toland'', p. 181 (footnote).</ref> two elder brothers Edgar and Egon, and a younger brother Erwine.<ref>''See A Sedgwick Genealogy: Descendants of Deacon Benjamin Sedgwick'' (p. 143) at sedgwick.org ([http://www.sedgwick.org/na/library/books/sed1961/sed1961-143.html Sedgwick Genealogy]). His elder brother Egon served in the German Army in World War I and was killed in 1915; his younger brother Erwine died of [[typhoid]] in the [[American Hospital of Paris|American Hospital]] in Paris in 1914.</ref>

He attended [[Harvard College]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fiendens fiende |url=https://www.axess.se/artiklar/fiendens-fiende/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Axess |language=sv-SE}}</ref> and became acquainted with [[Walter Lippmann]] and [[John Reed (journalist)|John Reed]]. A gifted pianist, he composed several songs for Harvard's football team. He graduated in 1909.

He moved to [[New York City]], where he took over the management of the American branch of his father's business, the Franz Hanfstaengl Fine Arts Publishing House. Many mornings he would practice on the piano at the [[Harvard Club of New York City]], where he became acquainted with both [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin]] and [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. Among his circle of acquaintances were the newspaper baron [[William Randolph Hearst]], author [[Djuna Barnes]], to whom he was engaged, and actor [[Charlie Chaplin]].

At the outbreak of [[World War I]], he asked the German military attaché in New York City, [[Franz von Papen]], to smuggle him back to Germany. Slightly baffled by the proposal, the attaché refused, and Hanfstaengl remained in the U.S. during the war. After 1917, the American branch of the family business was confiscated as enemy property.