"Kamerad" implies close male companionship, perhaps the military or a fraternity. "P.a" could then be an abbreviation for the name of the military unit or fraternity. Fraternities in German-speaking countries frequently have Latin names ending in "-a". A quick Google search shows there is a fraternity called Pannonia in Vienna.
Edit: Pannonia was founded in 1932.
The last name could be Hietter or Hietler. The latter seems to me more likely. Everything up to the last name is written in the old German type of handwriting called "Gothic" cursive, nowadays called "Kurrent". The last name is written instead in "Latin" cursive. He didn't trouble to avoid crossing the 'l'. In the old German handwriting, it was a frequent practice to switch to Latin for writing surnames.
Web search turns up this man: [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hietler-2](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hietler-2), Johannes "Hans" Hietler, who would have turned 28 in the year of this inscription. *The similarity of names and the fact he is mentioned as a relative of Adolf Hitler are not strong evidence of the inscriber's identity*. Just a lead to be investigated.
It has been pointed out before that Hitler's ancestors, or at least some of them, spelled the name with long 'ie': Hiedler, Hietler.
Wow, this is incredible! Thank you so, so much for going the extra mile here — I’ve been trying to find “Hietters” that might be this person, to no avail. Hietler seems like a good alternative… although it honestly didn’t occur to me to make the jump and assume there was a family relationship. As I mentioned above, I’m really just interested in figuring out how this book came to be in our small school’s library, and this seems like it could be a promising lead!
Now that I’m looking, this [Hans Hietler](https://sidbrint.ub.edu/es/content/hietler-hans) (who died in Spain as a Republican volunteer) might also be a candidate… At the very least, I’ve certainly got some great avenues to investigate!
Whoa — no wonder I couldn’t figure it out! What an annoying way to sign your name.
As for the dedication itself, I thought it might be “Zur Erinnerung an Deinen österreichischen [Something] Kameraden”… am I close?
>“Zur Erinnerung an Deinen österreichischen [Something] Kameraden”… am I close?
Absolutely correct. Can't figure out right away what "p.a." could mean here. Lots of options are available.
Interesting, I’ll have to do some digging. (This was the dedication in a book about Hitler’s inner circle that popped up in a college library in the States, so we’re a bit anxious to figure out what this could be about.)
"Kamerad" implies close male companionship, perhaps the military or a fraternity. "P.a" could then be an abbreviation for the name of the military unit or fraternity. Fraternities in German-speaking countries frequently have Latin names ending in "-a". A quick Google search shows there is a fraternity called Pannonia in Vienna. Edit: Pannonia was founded in 1932.
The last name could be Hietter or Hietler. The latter seems to me more likely. Everything up to the last name is written in the old German type of handwriting called "Gothic" cursive, nowadays called "Kurrent". The last name is written instead in "Latin" cursive. He didn't trouble to avoid crossing the 'l'. In the old German handwriting, it was a frequent practice to switch to Latin for writing surnames. Web search turns up this man: [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hietler-2](https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hietler-2), Johannes "Hans" Hietler, who would have turned 28 in the year of this inscription. *The similarity of names and the fact he is mentioned as a relative of Adolf Hitler are not strong evidence of the inscriber's identity*. Just a lead to be investigated. It has been pointed out before that Hitler's ancestors, or at least some of them, spelled the name with long 'ie': Hiedler, Hietler.
Wow, this is incredible! Thank you so, so much for going the extra mile here — I’ve been trying to find “Hietters” that might be this person, to no avail. Hietler seems like a good alternative… although it honestly didn’t occur to me to make the jump and assume there was a family relationship. As I mentioned above, I’m really just interested in figuring out how this book came to be in our small school’s library, and this seems like it could be a promising lead!
Now that I’m looking, this [Hans Hietler](https://sidbrint.ub.edu/es/content/hietler-hans) (who died in Spain as a Republican volunteer) might also be a candidate… At the very least, I’ve certainly got some great avenues to investigate!
Probably: Hans Hietter
Oh wow, really? I would never have known that the first and last name started with the same letter; they look so different! Thanks!
'Hans' is written in the [Kurrentschrift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurrent), the surname in the Latin cursive.
Whoa — no wonder I couldn’t figure it out! What an annoying way to sign your name. As for the dedication itself, I thought it might be “Zur Erinnerung an Deinen österreichischen [Something] Kameraden”… am I close?
Not close. You're absolutely right.
>“Zur Erinnerung an Deinen österreichischen [Something] Kameraden”… am I close? Absolutely correct. Can't figure out right away what "p.a." could mean here. Lots of options are available.
Interesting, I’ll have to do some digging. (This was the dedication in a book about Hitler’s inner circle that popped up in a college library in the States, so we’re a bit anxious to figure out what this could be about.)
Re: p.a., my best guess here: Professor-Assistent.
Oh, that would make a ton of sense — thank you!!!
You're welcome!
Isn't it rather a capital 'S'?