Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Austria, a small town
across the Inn River from Germany. Soon after Hitler's birth, his father, Alois
Hitler, moved the family to Linz, Austria. Hitler attended school in Linz and
at first was a good student, but in high school he was a very poor student.
Hitler's academic abilities angered his father because his father hoped that
Hitler would study to become a government worker as he had been. Hitler,
however, wanted to become an artist.
In 1907, Hitler went to Vienna Austria. in an attempt to fulfill his dream
of becoming an artist. This attempt ended when he failed the entrance exam to
the Academy of Fine Arts. When Hitler's mother died in 1907, he decided to
remain in Vienna. He took the entrance exam a year later and failed again. He
did not have steady work in Vienna, but, instead, took a variety of odd jobs.
He lived in cheap rooming houses or slept on park benches and he often had to
get meals from charity kitchens. During his time in Vienna Hitler learned to
hate non-Germans.
Hitler was a German-speaking Austrian and considered himself
German. He ridiculed the Austrian government for recognizing eight languages as
official and believed that no government could last if it treated ethnic groups
equally.
In 1913, Hitler went to Munich, Germany and when World War I began in
1914, he volunteered for service in the German army. Hitler was twice decorated
for bravery, but only rose to the rank of corporal. When World War I ended.
Hitler was in a hospital recovering from temporary blindness possibly caused by
a poison gas attack. The Versailles Treaty that ended the war stripped Germany
of much of its territory, forced the country to disarm, and ordered Germany to
pay huge reparations. When the army returned to Germany. The country was in
despair. The country was bankrupt and millions of people were unemployed.
In 1920, Hitler joined the National Socialist German Workers Party known
as the Nazis. The Nazis called for all Germans, even those in other countries, to
unite into one nation; they called for a strong central government; and they
called for the cancellation of the Versailles Treaty. Hitler became leader of
the Nazi party and built up membership quickly, mostly because of his powerful
speaking ability. Hitler organized an army for the Nazi party called the Storm
Troopers ("Brown Shirts") who were called upon to fight groups
seeking to disband the Nazi rallies.
On November 9, 1923, Hitler led more than 2,000 Storm Troopers on a march
to seize the Bavarian government. The attempt failed and Hitler was arrested
and sentenced to prison for five years for treason. While in prison, Hitler
wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In this book. he stated his beliefs and plans
for Germany's future. Hitler only served nine months in prison and when he was
released, he began to rebuild the party again. He set up a private battle-ready
elite guard known as the "Schutzstaffel" (SS). By 1929, the Nazis had
become an important minor political party.
In 1930, a worldwide depression hit Germany, yet Germany also had the debt
of paying for the damage it had caused in World War I. Hitler protested against
paying the debt and said that the Jews and Communists were the cause for
Germany's defeat in World War I. He promised to rid Germany of Jews and
Communists and to reunite the German speaking part of Europe.
In July, 1932, the Nazis received about 40% of the vote and became the
strongest party in Germany. On January 30,1933, President Paul von Hindenburg
appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany. Once in this position, Hitler moved
quickly toward attaining a dictatorship. When von Hindenburg died in 1934,
Hitler already had control of Germany and he gave himself the title
"Fuehrer" (leader).
Under Hitler's government, called the Third Reich, there was no place for
freedom. The government controlled every part of one's life. Hitler used
extensive propaganda to brainwash the nation into believing his theory about
creating the perfect Aryan or nordic race. Therefore, it was Hitler's plan to rid
the nation and eventually the world of Jews, Gypsies, Negroes, handicapped, and
mentally ill persons. This plan was called the "Final Solution."
World War II began in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland to begin his
unification of all German-speaking peoples. By this time extermination camps
were being established throughout Germany, Poland, and Russia. Before Hitler was stopped in 1945 by the Allied countries, he had caused the extermination over 12 million people. Hitler committed suicide in his bunker on April 30, 1945 and seven days later, Germany surrendered.
