Adolf Hitler

Adolf HitlerThe Early

Years

Adolf Hitler is born

April 20, 1889 in Braunau am

Inn, in the country of

Austria, near the German

border

Adolf Hitler

Austria & Germany

Braunau am Inn, Austria Austria & Germany Proximity

Klara HitlerShe was 18 when

she gave birth to Adolf

She was 23 years younger than Adolf’s father, her husband Alois

Adolf Hitler was very close to his mother & carried a photo of her until the day he died!

Alois HitlerWorked as a

customs officer in Austria (needed to be near border)

Was an alcoholicWas a rigid, strict,

cold disciplinarianHe physically

abused (beat) Adolf regularly

Adolf Hitler, age 10

Adolf ran away from home, tired of the beatings

Alois caught him and beat him so badly that Adolf was in a coma for several days, near death…

Adolf Hitler, a Young Boy

Young Adolf wanted to be a priest, and sang

in the church choir!

Adolf Hitler, 1900 (age 11)

Attended elementary school in Linz, Austria

Was egotistical and domineering

Demanded absolute subordination from other students

Adolf was not a very good student

Adolf Hitler, 1905 (age 16)

Adolf dropped out of school, hoping to become an artist

Alois (his father) very much disapproved of Adolf becoming an artist

Adolf Hitler, 1907 (age 17)

Adolf moved to Vienna, Austria to pursue a career as an artist

He rented a small room while in Vienna

He lived off a small inheritance from a family member

Also sold paintings to support himself

Klara Hitler, 1907Klara Hitler, Adolf’s

mother, died of breast cancer

Adolf was devastated by her death; he was very close to his mother

Adolf became non-functional after Klara’s death

1860-1907

The Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna

Twice, in 1907 & 1908, rejected Adolf Hitler as a prospective art student

The Academy believed that Adolf had no aptitude for painting

Adolf Hitler only painted landscapes, never people; this appeared to be a weakness

He was lonely, poor, miserable, and lacking direction

Exposure to Anti-Semitism

Living in Vienna gave Adolf his first exposure to Jews from Eastern Europe

He became attracted to anti-Semitic rhetoric (dialogue), newspapers, pamphlets

Several on the admissions committee for the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts were Jewish

1913, Movement to Munich, Germany

Hitler moved to Munich, Germany in May 1913 after inheriting his father’s estate (Aloise died in 1903)

Hitler felt that he was never welcomed in Vienna

Hitler felt that Vienna was too “cosmopolitan” for him (too worldly, mixed peoples)

1914, Hitler’s Turning Point

World War I—Hitler enlists in the Germany army as a volunteer (he was Austrian)

Hitler had to return to Austria when the war began, but he was deemed unfit for military service

Hitler would later say that he had no intention of serving the Austro-Hungarian Empire, much preferring the proud German army

Hitler’s Role in World War I

Was a Lance Corporal (a courier) on the Western Front (no battle action)

Found his calling in battle, carnage, and death

Was the happiest he had ever been in his life, and for the first time felt that he “belonged”

Hitler is injured on the Western Front

Hitler was injured in October 1918 in Flanders (Belgium) and was temporarily blinded

Hitler was later awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, for his service

It was during his recovery from injury when he learned that Germany (The Weimar govt.) had signed an armistice to end the war

Was Hitler Jewish?

Fact: Alois (Hitler’s father) was the illegitimate son of an unmarried 42 year-old peasant woman.Fact: She became pregnant while working as a domestic for a Jewish family.Fact: She never revealed who the father was, and Hitler was obsessed with the thought that his paternal grandfather MIGHT have been Jewish!

HOW did Hitler respond?

After Nazi Germany invaded Austria in 1938, Adolf Hitler ordered the town of Dollersheim to be completely destroyed, including its birth registry, which held the birth certificate of his father

He ordered the village to be used as an artillery range, which completely destroyed all the buildings, including making the graves in the cemeteries unrecognizable

So was Hitler in fact Jewish?

We will never know, since by obliterating the town of Dollersheim he erased any evidence of a Jewish past

What we do know is that trying to cover up his past, he created rumor and myth!

Was Hitler homosexual?

Despite some debate by historians, there is no evidence that Adolf Hitler was homosexual

When he was in the army, Adolf was often alone painting rather than womanizing!

These reports, and efforts later by his political enemies to smear him, have allowed this debate to occur

Hitler and his relationships with

women After his mother, the

most important woman in Hitler’s life was his niece, Geli Raubal (from his half-sister)

Geli lived with Hitler in his Munich apartment

Hitler idolized and worshipped her, but was extremely jealous of her relationships with other men

He treated her in a controlling, authoritarian way

What became of Geli?

Hitler was furious that Geli was carrying on a relationship with a Jewish man—and Geli became pregnant

Shortly after, Hitler and Geli had a fight, and Hitler left that evening

The next morning Geli was found dead in the apartment from a gunshot wound to the chest!

Official cause of death; suicide

Hitler’s last love interest

Eva Braun was an 18 year-old who worked as an assistant for Hitler’s photographer

Braun admired Hitler, and they began a relationship; she wanted to marry Hitler and have children with him

Hitler was against both of these, and simply said “I am married to Germany.”

Eva Braun felt lonely and neglected; Hitler never took her out in public, and never showed her affection

Eva Braun marries (and dies) with

Hitler Eva Braun remained in a

relationship with Hitler throughout his reign as Germany’s leader

On April 29, in Hitler’s underground bunker in Berlin, Hitler and Braun were married

Their marriage lasted about 40 hours; on April 30, at about 1PM, Hitler and Braun committed suicide in the bunker