Untitled Essay, Research Paper
ADOLF HITLER
1. THE BEGINNING
At half past six on the evening of April 20th, 1889 a child was born in the
small town of Branau, Austria. The name of the child was Adolf Hitler. He
was the son a Customs official Alois Hitler, and his third wife Klara.
As a young boy Adolf attendated church regulary and sang in the local choir.
One day he carved a symbol into the bench which resembled the Swastika he
later used as the symbol of the Nazi party. He was a pretty good student.
He received good marks in most of his classes. However in his last year of
school he failed German and Mathematics, and only succeeded in Gym and Drawing.
He drooped out of school at the age of 16, spending a total of 10 years in
school. From childhood one it was his dream to become an artist or architect.
He was not a bad artist, as his surviving paintings and drawings show but
he never showed any originality or creative imagination. To fullfil his dream
he had moved to Vienna the capital of Austria where the Academy of arts was
located. He failed the first time he tried to get admission and in the next
year, 1907 he tried again and was very sure of success. To his surprise he
failed again. In fact the Dean of the academy was not very impressed with
his performance, and gave him a really hard time and said to him “You will
never be painter.” The rejection really crushed him as he now reached a dead
end. He could not apply to the school of architecture as he had no high-school
diploma. During the next 35 years of his live the young man never forgot
the rejection he received in the dean’s office that day. Many Historians
like to speculate what would have happened IF…. perhaps the small town
boy would have had a bit more talent….or IF the Dean had been a little
less critical, the world might have been spared the nightmare into which
this boy was eventually to plunge it.
2. WORLD WAR I
While living in Vienna Hitler he made his living by drawing small pictures
of famous landmarks which he sold as post cards. But he was always poor.
He was also a regular reader of a small paper which claimed that the Araban
race was superior to all and was destined to rule the world. The paper blamed
Communists and Jews for all their problems and hitler agreed to those views.
Hitler agree with most of the points made in the publication. He continued
to live a poor live in Vienna and in 1913 decided to move to Munich. Still
living in Vienna and being Austrain by birth, Hitler showed more loyalty
to the Geramny. He thought that the Aryan race was destined to rule the world.
Many believe that he tried to escape the draft but it was never proven. His
live in Munich was not much better then before and he continued to be poor.
Then in 1914 World War I broke out and Hitler saw this as a great opportunity
to show his loyalty to the “fatherland” by volunteering for the Imperial
army. He did not want to fight in the Austrian Army. Hitler was a good soldier.
Many of political opponents claimed that he was a coward but records clearly
show that he was not. He received to awards of bravery but never achieved
a high Rank.
In 1918 Germany surrendered and Hitler was very upset about the loss. He
believed that it was the Jews and the Communists who betrayed the “fatherland”
and it was here that his disliking of the Jews most likely began. Germany
after the war was in chaos. With no real Government to control the country,
many groups tried to take control. One day a big communist group staged a
big riot but another group of ex-soldiers including Hitler managed to hold
them back.
3. THE NAZI PARTY
Since there were not many chances for employment Hitler stayed in the army.
Hitler was assigned the job of going go to various meetings of groups which
sprang up like mushrooms and to report on them. One day September 12, 1919
- a fateful day in history, Hitler was sent to investigate a small group
which called itself the “German Workers Party”. Hitler was not to happy about
his assignment. He thought it wouldn’t be worth it to even go. At the group
mainly talked about the Countries problem and how the Jews, communists and
others where threatening the master race and offered their own solutions.
Hitler was bored by the meeting but when a man stood up and claimed that
Bavaria should separate from Germany, Hitler got up and argued that point.
He argued that Germany and germans must unite into one to survive. His natural
ability to speak imprest the leader of the group and at the end of the meeting
he gave Hitler a pamphlet and an initiation the next meeting. He wasn’t
interested in attending but after reading the hand out he accepted. He later
joined the German Workers Party and was in charge of Propaganda. The party
was small at first but Hitler’s great skill at deliberating speeches attracted
more and more listeners and it soon became a major party with many followers.
Eventually Adolf Hitler became it’s leader and the rest as they say….is
history.
4. HITLER IN POWER
While spending time in prison for trying to overthrow the government Adolf
Hitler wrote his famous book “Mein Kampf”, in which he describes many problems
and where he states that the Jews and communists were responsible for those
problems. He also decided on the “Final Solution” to the “Jewish Question”.
It was his goal to eliminate the Jewish race from the European continent.
It is interesting to look and see how a small time boy from Austria with
no education, m
the leader of big nation such as Germany. Historians believe that Hitler
saw a great opportunity to get his views across to the German people who
have lost all hope. Of course people did not start to support him right away.
After he came into power, the Nazi party took control over every aspect of
every day life. Hitler ordered the creation of a special police force to
make sure that all opponents would be elimanted, the Gestapo. He also gave
orders to set up a special force which would be used to transport and take
care of all political prisioners and people thought to be inferior. The name
of the force was the feared SS. Mass propaganda was used to persuade the
German people that the “Fuhrer” would make the country strong and powerful
again. They also used propaganda against the Jews and other minority groups
which were considered enemies. Teachers had to belong to the Nazi party,
and children were taught that Jews very the source of all their problems.
Since the country was in chaos after the war, and was forced to pay billions
in damages, The Germans saw hope in Adolf Hitler. In the late 20’s the depression
hit which made the situation even worse.
Hitler in his speeches blamed the Jews and Communists for their misfortunes
and many listed. Unemployment was very high at that time standing at about
25%. Hitler also spoke out against the unfairness of the Versailles treaty.
Germany lost a lot of its territory. The Empire was no more. He believed
the pure Araban race is destined to rule the world and wanted to build an
Empire that would last a 1000 years. He preached that all Germans must unite
in order for this goal to succeed.
Hitler publicly stated his views on the Jews. But the Jews of Germany didn’t
see Hitler as a great threat at first. However when Hitler became chancellor
and eventually took over totally they changed their mind. The first thing
he did was to take the Jews their right to vote. Soon they were not allowed
to marry with a pure german, they could not hold positions such as teachers,
doctors lawyers,..and so on. Many Jews only then realized that he was serious
and many fled Germany. Why did so many Germans follow Hitler? When he took
power the economy was basically non existent. Many looked for answers and
hope.
Hitler was their answer. He promised to rebuild the Glorious Germany of the
past. First he started to build up the Wehrmacht. Germany was not allowed
to have more than 100,000 men, but Hitler broke the treaty and gave orders
to increase that number.
Factories started putting out weapons and people now had jobs. To the Germans
this was a very good sign. Mass rallies were held, where Hitler continued
to use his powers of speech on the German people.
5. THE ROAD TO WAR
At first the allies did nothing about the fact that Hitler broke the Treaty.
He gave speeches in which he indicated that the German people needed living
space. Later he Marched into the Reihnland, and area which Germany lost.
Next He moved into Austria, his home country and annexed it without a shoot
being fired into the Reich. Following Austria, he wanted control of the
Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia which was mainly German speaking. He
also achieved that goal. The allies didn’t want another war so they led Hitler
do what he wanted to, but when he Attacked Poland on September 1st, 1939
the allies no longer stood by and watched. Britain and France declared war
on Germany a few days after later, World War II began.
6. THE DARK SIDE
After the Wehrmacht conquered and occupied a territory the SS quickly followed.
They would round up Jews, Communists, Gypsies, Homosexuals and others which
were viewed as “Inferior” according to Nazi racial theory and enemies of
the German people and put on trains. They were all sent to Concentration
camps, which were set up to implement the ‘final solution’. Camps such as
Auschwitz, Treblinka, Bergen Belsen were all equipped with gas chambers to
make the killing process quick and efectfull. In those camps 6 million Jews
and many others were killed by the Nazis. Hitler’s army seemed unstoppable
but in the end, the allies managed to win many decisive battles. Eventually
on April 30th, 1945 Hitler committed suicide in his bunker by shooting himself
in the mouth. His body was burned, but no ones knows what happened to the
“Fuhrer’s” ashes. On May 7th, 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally.
7. THE MAN
Hitler was one of the most, if not the most cruel man to ever walk the face
of the earth. His believe of the superiorority of the “Aryan” race made him
hate all others. He believed that the slaws to the east should be made work
for the German people. He thought of blacks as being “Sub-human”. And Most
of all he hated the Jews. So much that in early 1945, when equipment and
manpower was badly needed on the front Hitler insisited on man and equipment
staying and continuing to tranport Jews to the camps. In his Testament he
left his money to his family. And message to the Germany people “Above all
I charge the leaders of the nation and those under them to scrupulous observance
of the laws of race and to merciless opposition to the universal poisoner
of all peoples, international Jewry.”
The only people which would be spared where the Scandinavians to the north,
since they were closely related to the German race. With Hitler’s death the
Nazi party quickly fated. But there is still a lot of tension in todays
Germany.