Adolf Hitler

Early life

Childhood

Adolf Hitler was born close to sunset on April 20 1889, at Braunau am Inn, Austria, a small town 90 km (55 miles) west of Linz in the province of Upper Austria, not far from the German border in what was then Austria-Hungary. He was the fourth of six children of Alois Hitler (1837–1903), a customs official, and Klara Pölzl, Alois' niece and third wife. Of these six children, only Adolf and his younger sister Paula reached adulthood. Alois Hitler also had a son (Alois Junior) and a daughter (Angela) by his second wife. In Mein Kampf, his autobiography and exposition of his political ideology, Hitler describes his father as an "irascible tyrant"; however, there is little indication that Alois Hitler treated his son more strictly than was usual for that time and place.

Related Topics:
Sunset - April 20 - 1889 - Braunau am Inn - Austria - Linz - Upper Austria - German - Austria-Hungary - Alois Hitler - 1837 - 1903 - Klara Pölzl - Paula - Alois Junior - Angela - Mein Kampf - Autobiography

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Alois Hitler was born out of wedlock, and, until he was 40, used his mother's surname, Schicklgruber. In 1876, he began using the name of his stepfather, Johann Georg Hiedler, after visiting a priest responsible for birth registries and declaring that Georg was his father (Alois gave the impression that Georg was still alive, but he was long dead). The spelling was probably changed by a clerk. Later, Adolf was accused by his political enemies of not rightfully being a Hitler, but a Schicklgruber. This was also exploited in Allied propaganda during the Second World War when pamphlets bearing the phrase "Heil Schicklgruber" were airdropped over German cities. He was legally born a Hitler, however, and was closely related to Hiedler through his mother's family.

Related Topics:
1876 - Johann Georg Hiedler - Airdrop

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Hitler did not know for sure who his paternal grandfather was, but it was probably either Johann Georg Hiedler or his brother Johann von Nepomuk Hiedler. There have been rumours that Hitler was one-quarter Jewish and that his paternal grandmother Maria Schicklgruber had become pregnant after working as a servant in a Jewish household in Graz. During the 1920s, the implications of this along with his known family history were politically explosive, especially for the proponent of a racist ideology. Opponents tried to prove that Hitler, the leader of the anti-Semitic and jingoistic Nazi Party, had Jewish or Czech ancestors. Although these rumours were never confirmed, for Hitler they were reason enough to conceal his origins. Soviet propaganda insisted he was a Jew, though more modern research tends to diminish the probability Hitler had Jewish or Czech ancestors. Historians such as Werner Maser and Ian Kershaw argue this was impossible since the Jews had been expelled from Graz in the 15th century and were not allowed to return until well after Maria Schicklgruber's alleged employment.{{ref|about}}

Related Topics:
Johann von Nepomuk Hiedler - Jew - Maria Schicklgruber - Graz - 1920s - Racist - Anti-Semitic - Jingoistic - Werner Maser - Ian Kershaw - 15th century

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Because of Alois Hitler's profession his family moved frequently, from Braunau to Passau, Lambach, Leonding and next to Linz. As a young child, Hitler was reportedly a good student at the various elementary schools he attended; however, in sixth grade (1900–1901), his first year of high school (Realschule) in Linz, he failed completely and had to repeat the grade. His teachers reported that he had "no desire to work."

Related Topics:
Braunau - Passau - Lambach - Leonding - Linz

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Hitler later explained this as a kind of rebellion against his father Alois, who wanted the boy to follow him in a career as a customs official, although Adolf wanted to become a painter. This is further supported by Hitler's later description of himself as a misunderstood artist. After Hitler's father died on January 3, 1903, aged 65, Hitler's schoolwork did not improve. At the age of 16, Hitler left school with no qualifications.

Related Topics:
January 3 - 1903

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Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich

From 1905 onward, Hitler was able to live the life of a Bohemian on a fatherless child's pension and support from his mother. After he was rejected twice by the Academy of Arts in Vienna (1907–1908) for "lack of talent" – which he resented deeply – he did not try to find a different job or learn a profession. He was told he should become an architect, since he had some flair for making architectural sketches and drawings. On December 21, 1907, his mother Klara died a painful death from breast cancer. He gave his share of the orphans' benefits to his younger sister Paula, but soon after inherited some money from an aunt. He worked as a struggling painter in Vienna, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to merchants and tourists (there is evidence he produced over 2000 paintings and drawings before World War I).

Related Topics:
1905 - Bohemian - 1907 - 1908 - December 21 - Breast cancer - World War I

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After the second refusal from the Academy of Arts, Hitler gradually ran out of money. By 1909, he sought refuge in a homeless shelter, and by the beginning of 1910 had settled permanently into a house for poor working men. He made spending money by painting tourist postcards of Vienna scenery. His anti-Semitism during this period was likely non-existent, since a Jewish resident of the house named Hanisch was helping him sell his postcards.

Related Topics:
1909 - Homeless shelter - 1910

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It was in Vienna that Hitler became an active anti-Semite, a common stance among Austrians at the time. Vienna had a large Jewish community, including many Orthodox Jews from Eastern Europe. He was slowly influenced over time by the writings of the race ideologist and anti-Semite Lanz von Liebenfels and polemics from politicians such as Karl Lueger, the Mayor of Vienna and Georg Ritter von Schönerer, leader of the pan-Germanic Away from Rome! movement. He later wrote that his transition from opposing anti-semitism on religious grounds, to supporting it on racial grounds, came from having seen an orthodox jew:

Related Topics:
Jew - Orthodox Jews - Eastern Europe - Lanz von Liebenfels - Karl Lueger - Mayor of Vienna - Georg Ritter von Schönerer - Orthodox jew

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:Mein Kampf, chapter II:

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:"There were very few Jews in Linz. In the course of centuries the Jews who lived there had become Europeanized in external appearance and were so much like other human beings that I even looked upon them as Germans. The reason why I did not then perceive the absurdity of such an illusion was that the only external mark which I recognized as distinguishing them from us was the practice of their strange religion. As I thought that they were persecuted on account of their Faith my aversion to hearing remarks against them grew almost into a feeling of abhorrence. I did not in the least suspect that there could be such a thing as a systematic anti-Semitism."

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:"Once, when passing through the inner City, I suddenly encountered a phenomenon in a long caftan and wearing black side-locks. My first thought was: Is this a Jew? They certainly did not have this appearance in Linz. I watched the man stealthily and cautiously; but the longer I gazed at the strange countenance and examined it feature by feature, the more the question shaped itself in my brain: Is this a German?"

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Hitler had a firm belief in the inferiority of the Parliamentary system, and especially social democracy, which formed the basis of his political views. He began to claim the Jews were natural enemies of "Aryans" and were responsible for Germany's economic problems. However, according to August Kubizek, his close friend and roommate at the time, he was more interested in the operas of Richard Wagner than in politics.

Related Topics:
Parliamentary system - Social democracy - Richard Wagner

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He was given a small inheritance from his father in May 1913 and moved to Munich. He later wrote in Mein Kampf that he had always longed to live in a German city. In Munich, he became more interested in architecture and the writings of Houston Stewart Chamberlain. Moving to Munich also helped him escape military service in Austria for a time, but the Austrian army later arrested him. After a physical exam (during which his height was measured at 1.73 m, or 5 ft 8 in) and a plea, he was found unfit for service and allowed to return to Munich. However, when Germany entered World War I in August 1914, he immediately enlisted in the Bavarian army.

Related Topics:
1913 - Munich - Houston Stewart Chamberlain - World War I - 1914 - Bavaria

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World War I

Hitler saw active service in France and Belgium as a messenger for the 16th Bavarian reserve infantry regiment, which exposed him to enemy fire. He also drew some cartoons and instructional drawings for the army newspaper. He was twice cited for bravery in action, receiving the Iron Cross, Second Class, in December 1915 and the Iron Cross, First Class in August 1918, an honour rarely given to a lance corporal (he was not a German citizen at the time and so could not be promoted beyond corporal). During October 1916 in northern France Hitler was wounded in the leg, returning to the front in March 1917.

Related Topics:
France - Belgium - Iron Cross - 1915 - 1918 - Lance corporal - 1916 - 1917

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Hitler was considered a "correct" soldier but was reportedly unpopular with his comrades because of an uncritical attitude towards officers. "Respect the superior, don't contradict anybody, obey blindly," he said, describing his attitude while on trial for his Beer Hall Putsch in 1924. One comrade later remarked, "we all grumbled on him and found it intolerable that we had a white raven among us." (Haiden, 1936)

Related Topics:
Beer Hall Putsch - 1924

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On October 15, 1918, shortly before the end of war, Hitler was admitted to a field hospital, temporarily blinded by a poison gas attack. Research by Bernhard Horstmann indicates the blindness may have been the result of a hysterical reaction to Germany's defeat. Hitler later said it was during this experience that he became convinced the purpose of his life was to save Germany. Meanwhile he was treated by a military physician and specialist in psychiatry who reportedly diagnosed the corporal as "incompetent to command people" and "dangerously psychotic." His commander at the time said, "I will never promote this hysteric!" (cited from Haiden, 1937). However, historian Sebastian Haffner, referring to Hitler's experience at the front, suggests he did have at least some understanding of the military.

Related Topics:
October 15 - Psychiatry - Psychotic - Sebastian Haffner

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Hitler had long admired Germany and during the war he had become a passionate German patriot, although he did not become a German citizen until 1932. He was shocked by the capitulation of Germany in November 1918 while the German army remained (in popular German belief) undefeated. Like many other German nationalists, Hitler blamed civilian politicians (the "November criminals") for the surrender. The widespread right-wing, conservative explanation for the capitulation was the Dolchstosslegende ("dagger-stab legend") which purported that behind the backs of the army, liberal politicians had betrayed and "stabbed" Germany's people and its soldiers "in the back." The Treaty of Versailles imposed crippling reparations and other economically damaging sanctions, declaring Germany guilty for the horrors of the Great War. The treaty was perceived by most Germans as a humiliation and was an important factor in both the social and political conditions encountered by Hitler and his National Socialist Party as they sought power.

Related Topics:
Patriot - 1932 - 1918 - November criminals - Dolchstosslegende - Treaty of Versailles

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