Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler: The Man Behind the Myth

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party in 1933. He became dictator of Nazi Germany until his suicide in 1945, marked by the start of World War II and the Holocaust. Born in Austria-Hungary, he joined the German Army during WWI, later joining the Nazi Party and attempting a coup in 1923. Hitler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting pan-Germanism, antisemitism, and anti-communism.

But who was this man behind the myth? Born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, as the fourth of six children, Hitler’s early life is shrouded in mystery. His father, Alois Hitler, was born to an unknown Jewish woman named Maria Schicklgruber. Alois was raised by his uncle Johann Nepomuk Hiedler and later adopted the surname ‘Hitler,’ which is believed to be derived from the German word for a hut.

Early Life and Influences

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, as the fourth of six children. He acquired a distinct dialect while living in Passau, Germany, and had frequent conflicts with his father over discipline and obedience. The family moved to Hafeld, where Alois’s farming efforts failed, and they later settled in Lambach. The eight-year-old Adolf Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church choir, considered becoming a priest. The family returned to Leonding in 1898. Hitler’s brother Edmund died of measles in 1900, affecting his behavior and school performance. Alois, his father, sent him to the Realschule in Linz, where he rebelled.

After Alois’ death in 1903, Hitler’s performance improved at the Realschule in Steyr. In 1907, Hitler moved to Vienna to study fine art, but was rejected twice. His mother died of breast cancer in December 1907. He lived a bohemian life, working as a casual labourer and selling watercolours. In Vienna, he developed an interest in architecture and music, attended Wagner’s Lohengrin performances.

Political Rise and Ideology

Hitler was exposed to racist rhetoric in Vienna, influenced by Karl Lueger and Georg Ritter von Schönerer. He read local newspapers that promoted prejudice and developed anti-Semitic sentiments. His friend August Kubizek claimed Hitler was a ‘confirmed anti-Semite’ before he left Linz. Hitler’s claim of becoming an anti-Semite in Vienna is described as ‘problematical’ by historian Brigitte Hamann. While Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf that he first became an anti-Semite there, others disagree and point to his dealings with Jews while living in Vienna.

Hitler received the final part of his father’s estate in 1913 and moved to Munich, where he claimed not to have wanted to serve the Habsburg Empire due to racial concerns. However, when World War I broke out, Hitler voluntarily enlisted in the Bavarian Army. During his service, Hitler was decorated for bravery, received the Iron Cross, and pursued his artwork. He was wounded twice during the war, once by a shell explosion and again after a mustard gas attack.

After Germany’s defeat, Hitler became increasingly anti-Semitic, believing that Jews had ‘stabbed in the back’ the German army. The Treaty of Versailles imposed significant penalties on Germany, including territorial losses, demilitarization, and heavy reparations. This humiliation fueled anti-Semitic sentiment among Germans, who blamed Jews for the country’s economic woes.

Political Leadership and Rise to Power

The Treaty of Versailles imposed significant penalties on Germany, including territorial losses, demilitarization, and heavy reparations. This humiliation fueled anti-Semitic sentiment among Germans, who blamed Jews for the country’s economic woes. Hitler’s anti-Semitic views were shaped by his wartime experiences and his perception that Germany had been unfairly humiliated by the treaty.

After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich and joined the German Workers’ Party (DAP), where he was appointed intelligence agent and began to influence other soldiers and infiltrate the party. He met Dietrich Eckart, one of the party’s founders, who became his mentor. In 1919, Hitler wrote a letter arguing that the aim of the government should be the removal of Jews altogether. The DAP changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and Hitler designed the party’s banner with a swastika in a white circle on a red background.

In March 1920, Hitler was discharged from the Army and began working full-time for the party. He soon gained notoriety for his rowdy polemic speeches against the Treaty of Versailles and rival politicians. In June 1921, a mutiny broke out within the Nazi Party, but Hitler rejoined after negotiating with the leadership.

Dictatorship and World War II

Hitler continued to face opposition within the party and printed pamphlets defending himself against traitor charges. He spoke to large audiences, using populist themes and scapegoats to blame economic hardships on Jews and other groups. At a special party congress in July 1921, he was granted absolute power as party chairman, succeeding Anton Drexler by a vote of 533 to 1. Hitler used personal magnetism and crowd psychology to his advantage in public speaking. He hypnotized large audiences with his rhetoric and gained followers, including Rudolf Hess, Hermann Göring, and Ernst Röhm.

Early Nazis were influenced by the Aufbau Vereinigung’s conspiracy theories about Jewish finance and Bolshevism. The Nazi Party’s 25-point programme was a mix of ultranationalism, anti-Semitism, and some socialist ideas. Hitler enlisted Erich Ludendorff for the failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. He staged a coup in Bavaria but failed to gain support from Kahr, Seisser, and Lossow. After the failure, Hitler fled to Landsberg Prison, where he received friendly treatment and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court on December 20, 1924, Hitler was released from jail after serving just over one year. At Landsberg Prison, he dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf, an autobiography and exposition of his ideology that promoted a racist agenda. The book sold 228,000 copies between 1925 and 1932, and one million copies in 1933, Hitler’s first year in office.

Upon release, Hitler renounced his Austrian citizenship and attempted to rebuild the Nazi Party, which had been banned in Bavaria. He promised to seek political power through democratic means but was barred from public speaking by the Bavarian authorities until 1927. The Great Depression provided an opportunity for Hitler to gain support for his party, promising to repudiate the Versailles Treaty and provide jobs.

The elections of September 1930 resulted in a minority cabinet, and Hitler’s ideology gained momentum as Germans became increasingly ambivalent about the parliamentary republic. Governance by decree became the norm after the 1930 election, where the Nazi Party won 18.3% of the vote and 107 parliamentary seats.

Dictatorship and World War II

Hitler faced issues with his citizenship, but was appointed as administrator for the state delegation in Berlin on 25 February 1932, making him a citizen of Brunswick. He ran against Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential elections, using aircraft travel to gain support from industrialists.

The absence of an effective government led to Hitler’s appointment as chancellor by Hindenburg in January 1933, with Hugenberg’s party joining the coalition. The Nazi Party gained control over the police through ministerial positions. In March 1933, early elections were scheduled after the Reichstag building was set on fire, which Göring blamed on a communist plot.

Hitler oversaw one of the largest infrastructure improvement campaigns in German history, leading to the construction of dams, autobahns, railroads, and other civil works. Wages were slightly lower in the mid to late 1930s compared with wages during the Weimar Republic, while the cost of living increased by 25 per cent.

The average work week increased during the shift to a war economy; by 1939, the average German was working between 47 and 50 hours a week. Hitler’s government sponsored architecture on an immense scale. Albert Speer was placed in charge of the proposed architectural renovations of Berlin.

World War II and Final Days

Holocaust was based on Hitler’s view that Jews were enemies of the German people. Generalplan Ost called for deporting Eastern Europe and Soviet populations to be killed or used as slave labour. The genocide was organized by Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich. Records from the Wannsee Conference show systematic planning.

Hitler approved the Einsatzgruppen and was informed about their activities. Auschwitz concentration camp was expanded, and scores of other camps were set up throughout Europe. The Schutzstaffel was responsible for the deaths of at least 11 million non-combatants, including 6 million Jews, and 200,000-1.5 million Romani people.

Hitler ruled the Nazi Party autocratically, using the leader principle to assert absolute obedience from his subordinates. He fostered distrust and competition among his minions, placing them in overlapping positions to consolidate his power.

Hitler dominated Germany’s war effort during World War II, making major decisions on military strategy and appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in 1941. His leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, but he refused to consider peace negotiations.

Hitler had a private life marked by relationships with women, including his lover Eva Braun and his half-niece Geli Raubal. He was born to a practicing Catholic mother and an anti-clerical father, and never again attended Mass or received the sacraments after leaving home. Hitler felt that organized religion would turn people to mysticism, which he considered regressive. He was opposed to Christianity, holding Christian ethics in contempt and believing in a ‘survival of the fittest’ view. Hitler favored aspects of Protestantism but adopted elements of Catholicism for his own views. He publicly praised Christian heritage but privately described it as ‘absurdity.’ Hitler planned to destroy the influence of Christian churches within the Reich, with the ultimate goal of eliminating Christianity.

Hitler suffered from chronic stomach problems, ruptured eardrums, and had 200 wood splinters removed from his legs due to an assassination attempt in 1944. Newsreel footage shows tremors and a shuffling walk.

The End of the Dictator

Historians describe Hitler as the embodiment of modern political evil, responsible for world war, devastation, human suffering, and genocide. His legacy is marked by the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany, the rise of the Cold War, and the survival of Israel without the displacement of Jews.

Hitler ruled the Nazi Party autocratically, using the leader principle to assert absolute obedience from his subordinates. He fostered distrust and competition among his minions, placing them in overlapping positions to consolidate his power.

Hitler dominated Germany’s war effort during World War II, making major decisions on military strategy and appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in 1941. His leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, but he refused to consider peace negotiations.

The Holocaust was based on Hitler’s view that Jews were enemies of the German people. Generalplan Ost called for deporting Eastern Europe and Soviet populations to be killed or used as slave labour. The genocide was organized by Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich. Records from the Wannsee Conference show systematic planning.

Hitler approved the Einsatzgruppen and was informed about their activities. Auschwitz concentration camp was expanded, and scores of other camps were set up throughout Europe. The Schutzstaffel was responsible for the deaths of at least 11 million non-combatants, including 6 million Jews, and 200,000-1.5 million Romani people.

Hitler’s policies led to the deaths of nearly two million non-Jewish Polish civilians and over three million Soviet prisoners of war. The Nazis implemented racial hygiene laws that banned marriages between Aryans and Jews, stripped non-Aryans of citizenship, and targeted people with disabilities for euthanasia programs.

Hitler ruled the Nazi Party autocratically, using the leader principle to assert absolute obedience from his subordinates. He fostered distrust and competition among his minions, placing them in overlapping positions to consolidate his power.

Hitler dominated Germany’s war effort during World War II, making major decisions on military strategy and appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in 1941. His leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, but he refused to consider peace negotiations.

Adolf Hitler’s legacy is a complex and controversial one, marked by the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. His rise to power and dictatorial rule reshaped Germany and Europe in ways that continue to influence history today. The lessons from his reign serve as stark reminders about the dangers of unchecked authoritarianism and the importance of democracy and human rights.