Adolf Hitler’s Home Town and Family Life
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn near the German border. He grew up in Linz, Austria, in a middle-class family, as his father Alois Hitler, who was a customs official, provided a comfortable life for his family. Adolf had two siblings, a half-brother, Alois Junior, and a half-sister, Angela, both from his father’s previous marriages.
Hitler was born the fourth of six children to a customs official and his third wife Klara Pölzl. Hitler’s father, Alois, had had an illegitimate son, Alois Jr., with his first wife, with whom he stayed in contact after their divorce in 1876. Alois Jr. became a senior official in the Austrian civil service and later lived with the Hitler family in Fischlham and Vienna. Hitler’s mother was a pious Roman Catholic who was both caring and protective of her children.
Adolf attended a monastery school in Germany and eventually entered secondary school in Linz. While his marks were above average in subjects such as German and History, he showed a lack of creativity and he did not excel in any of his other classes. Hitler was an avid admirer of German nationalism and often joined in the usual activities in and around Linz.
Adolf Hitler’s Early Adult Years
Adolf Hitler moved to Vienna at the age of 18 in order to study, but he failed the entrance exam for the Technical University. In Vienna, Hitler worked as a casual labourer. He lived in homeless shelters and sold postcards that he had drawn. He had also taken up several other small, unskilled jobs in Vienna as an artist and decorator.
In his early years in Vienna, Hitler attended weekly lectures at the University of Vienna. In addition, Hitler was a frequent visitor to the Hofburg Theatre. During this period, the future dictator read avidly and was strongly influenced by a variety of authors, including Schopenhauer, Fichte, Shaw and Nietzsche. He also read extensively on German history and was fascinated by the theories of Social Darwinism. It was during this period that Hitler developed his visionary ideas of a unified, racial Germany.
By 1913, due to a lack of money, Hitler was forced to move back to Austria and took refuge at a men’s hostel in Vienna. During this time, Hitler developed his views on propaganda, race and politics which would eventually lead him to pursue a career in politics.
Adolf Hitler’s Interest in Politics
Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party (DAP) in 1919, as he had become increasingly interested in politics during his years in Vienna. In 1920, Hitler had helped the DAP to establish the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and became its leader.
Hitler developed into an effective public speaker, and he began to attract a wide base of followers in the party. He used his public speaking skills and the party’s mass organization to promote the Nazi Party’s message. Hitler formulated his racist views and showed support for the idea of establishing a Greater German Reich.
In 1921, Hitler officially took control of the NSDAP and its growing membership, which had then become the largest political party in Germany. In 1923, Hitler attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic in the Munich Putsch but was unsuccessful. He served nine months in prison after which he wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf. It was in this book where he outlined his plan to dominate Europe and exterminate its Jewish population.
Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power
In the 1930s, Hitler was able to successfully use his propaganda skills to win the support of the German people and rise to power. He adopted a populist approach to attract the support of many different social classes and exploited the grievances of the masses to his advantage.
Adolf Hitler took full political control of Germany in 1934 and was able to implement some of his radical ideas. These included the creation of the Gestapo, the SS, the Nuremberg Laws and the Gleichschaltung. Hitler also used violent purges and mass propaganda to further indoctrinate the German people.
The Führer’s presence and charisma allowed him to secure the support of the German people. During the mid-1930s, the Nazi regime began to openly pursue its anti-Semitic policies. These policies would ultimately lead to the Holocaust during World War II.
Adolf Hitler’s Role in World War II
Adolf Hitler declared war on other countries and soon led Germany into World War II. He ordered the occupation and annexing of several European countries and the extermination of millions of Jews and other minorities. During the war Hitler had several notorious allies and commanders such as Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hermann Goering, Reinhard Heydrich and Heinrich Himmler.
Hitler’s megalomaniacal vision and plan of world domination led him to push Germany and its military forces to their limits. By 1945, the allied forces of the US, UK and USSR had defeated Germany and the Nazi regime, and Hitler committed suicide just days after the fall of Berlin.
Adolf Hitler’s Legacy
Adolf Hitler and his regime have been the subject of numerous films, books and debates. In recent decades, the memory of Hitler’s role in WWII and the Holocaust has been explored in depth by historians, writers and academics.
The legacy of Hitler and his regime has left a long-lasting impact on humanity and its ways of thinking, leading to a better understanding of the roles of racism, propaganda and totalitarianism in society.
For most people, Hitler’s name is synonymous with evil and a reminder of the consequences of unchecked, undemocratic power. The world is still determined to never repeat the genocide that occurred under Hitler’s direction.
Adolf Hitler’s Ideology and Beliefs
Adolf Hitler was a nationalist and a racist. His visions of unifying the German people and developing German greatness contribute to one of the largest contributions to the rise of Nazi Germany and the horror that followed. His anti-Semitism was rooted in the racial theories of Social Darwinism and his strong belief in a hierarchal racial order that privileged Aryan populations.
Hitler believed that the German race had been weakened by immigrants, Jews and other minority groups. He also believed that it was necessary to strengthen Germany’s borders and restore the German Empire. To do this, he proposed a system of eugenics that would stratify society according to race and nationality.
Hitler’s ideologies of a unified Germanic state, racial superiority and physical strength were supported by major Nazi figures and their affiliates. They provided the basis for millions of acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and suppression of civil liberties in the Third Reich.
Adolf Hitler’s Impact on Contemporary Historiography
Adolf Hitler has been a source of curiosity and fascination for academics, researchers, and historians for decades. His role in the Holocaust, along with Nazi Germany’s expansive anti-Semitism, has been studied from a wide range of perspectives.
Much of contemporary historiography on Adolf Hitler revolves around deciphering his motivations for his actions as well as analysing his influence in popular culture, the media and its relationship to the Nazis. Historians have argued for and against Hitler’s responsibility for the war and Holocaust by expanding on the extremity of Nazi atrocities, reviewing his role as Fuhrer, and constructing a portrait of his character in light of his views and ideals on racial purity.
Recent scholarship on Hitler has explored the extent of his devotion to Nazi ideology and the intensifying role of anti-Semitism as a factor of his political agenda. Historians have also debated the complexity of his personality and dissected the notion of an infallible Fuhrer myth.
Adolf Hitler’s Impact on Global Politics
The impact of Adolf Hitler on global politics has been profound and long-lasting. He helped transform Europe into a theatre of destruction, while his Nazi ideology of racial supremacy resulted in the death of millions of innocent people and the destruction of wide swaths of infrastructure and society.
Hitler’s Nazi ideology has had a deep and lasting impact on not only Germanic countries, but also on the international community. The Holocaust serves as a reminder of the consequences of unchecked racism, genocide and state-sanctioned violence.
On an international level, Hitler’s actions have sparked debates about the responsibilities of different states and forms of government. Many countries have adopted laws to prevent totalitarianism and set up systems of international conduct for countries to work together to uphold human rights.
Hitler’s actions and his regime have also served as an example of what can happen when human rights abuses are tolerated and the rule of law is disregarded. Despite the horrors of his rule, his impact on global politics is still felt to this day.
