Hitler, Adolf – Biography Essay, Research Paper

Adolf Hitler was responsible for more evil and suffering than any other man in modern history. There were many occurrences during his lifetime that triggered the outcome of what would happen later in history.

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau Am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889. As a child he did very poorly in his studies; he did not complete high school. He was a great artist and actor. ‘He applied for admission to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna but was rejected for lack of talent.’ (Andreas Dorpalen, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia) He didn’t let anyone stop him from what he wanted to accomplish. He was the greatest pubic speaker in his time. Later events reveal that Hitler was evil and wanted to create his own specific culture and race.

>From 1909 to 1913, Hitler lived in the poorer districts of Vienna, moving from place to place. ‘As a young boy he idolized the priests and for two years seriously considered becoming a priest himself.’ (http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/boyhood.htm) In 1913, he moved to Munich, Germany to avoid military service in the Hapsburg Empire, which he despised.

Adolf Hitler served for Germany in World War One. He was injured during the Battle Of The Somme and was hospitalized. Upon his release, he was assigned to light duty in Munich, Germany. He was shocked at the lack of concern and anti-war attitude among German civilians. ‘He blamed the Jews for much of this and saw them as conspiring to spread unrest and undermine the German war effort. This idea of an anti-war conspiracy involving Jews would become an obsession to add to other anti-Semitic notions he acquired in Vienna, leading to an ever-growing hatred of Jews.’ (http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/warone.htm)

After the war had ended and Germany was in ruins, Corporal Adolf Hitler was ordered to investigate a small group known as the German Workers’ Party in

September 1919, so Hitler attended. A man suggested that the German state of Bavaria break away from Germany and forming a new South German nation with Austria. This infuriated Hitler and he lectured the man for fifteen uninterrupted minutes. One of the founders whispered, “…he’s got the gift of the gab. We could use him.” The members welcomed Hitler into their group in 1919 and Hitler accepted. This was one of the first steps to cause World War Two.

Hitler soon became the center of attraction in the group, slowly attracting people to their group. He was also the main speaker of the German Workers’ Party. In his speeches, Hitler spoke against the Treaty of Versailles and delivered an anti-Semitic lecture, blaming the Jews for Germany’s problems. The German Workers’ Party developed its political platform, the Twenty Five Points, which included the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. He stated the Twenty Five Points at a meeting in Munich, where two thousand people attended.

Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party in early 1921. In the summer of 1920, Hitler chose the symbol, which to this day remains possibly the most notorious in history, the swastika. Hitler later renamed his party to National Socialist German Workers’ Party, called for short, Nazi. To gain more popularity for himself and his party, he went to Berlin. At this time, the members of his party considered Hitler to be highly arrogant, even dictatorial. Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by announcing his resignation from the Party on July 11, 1921. They realized the loss of Hitler would mean the end of the Nazi Party. Hitler seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he was made chairman and given dictatorial powers. The remaining members of the Nazi Party eventually backed down and Hitler’s demand was put to vote. The result was 543:1 in favor of Hitler. On July 29, 1921, Adolf Hitler was introduced as F?hrer of the Nazi Party.

In April of 1921, the European Allies of World War One presented a bill to Germany demanding payment ($33 billion) for damages caused in the war, which Germany had started. Germany fell into fatal debt and hunger riots broke out. By November 1923, the Nazis, with 55,000 followers, were the biggest and best organized. The Nazi Party demanded action; Hitler knew he had to act or risk losing the leadership of his Party. His party developed a plan. The plan was to kidnap the leaders of the Bavarian government and force them at gunpoint to accept Hitler as their leader.

At 8:30pm on November 8, 1923, SA troops under the direction of Hermann G?ring surrounded the place. This attempted takeover was known Nazi Revolution. Hitler ordered the three highest officials of the Bavarian government into a back room and informed them they were to join him in proclaiming a Nazi revolution and would become part of the new government. The officials reluctantly agreed, but secretly were not sincere. Later, the three of them secretly escaped from the building. The next morning, Hitler and his Nazi’s desperately marched into Munich and attempted to take it over, but failed. Hitler was charged with Treason and was convicted. His penalty was five years, eligible for parole in six months.

While he was behind bars, he wrote the first volume of a book, Mein Kampf (”My Struggle”), outlining his political and racial ideas in brutally complex detail, serving both as a blueprint for future actions and as a warning to the world.

In his book, Hitler divides humans into categories based on physical appearance, establishing higher and lower orders, or types of humans. At the top, according to Hitler, is the Germanic man with his fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes. Hitler refers to this type of person as an Aryan. He asserts that the Aryan is the supreme form of human, or master race. “The mightiest counterpart to the Aryan is represented by the Jew.”

A few days before Christmas 1924, Hitler was released from prison after nine months. When Hitler was 39 years old, he fell in love with his niece Geli Raubal (was the daughter of his half sister), who was nearly half Hitler’s age. They had a romantic life, but when their relationship was having problems, Geli shot herself and died. Hitler became extremely depressed.

During the Great Depression, Hitler knew the people were desperate and would listen to him, so he decided to run for president. On Election Day September 14, 1930, the Nazis received over eighteen percent of the total, and were thus entitled to 107 seats in the German Reichstag. In the presidential election held on March 13, 1932, Hitler got thirty percent of the votes, while Hindenburg got forty nine percent.

Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. His goal was to end democracy and establish dictatorship, and when President Paul von Hindenburg in August 1934, Hitler became the unchallenged dictator of Germany. Political enemies were arrested by the thousands, locked up and tortured. Hitler took over Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938-1939 and built up the German military power to the point where it was ready to risk war.

World War Two finally broke out in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. Hitler led many German victories. His greatest military undertaking of all was the invasion of the Soviet Union, which failed. Hitler refused to retreat, which caused him to lose the already conquered countries.

Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 3, 1945, when Russian troops were already fighting in the destroyed streets of Berlin. His lifetime struggle to dominate Germany and the rest of Europe, the murders of millions of Jews, and his goal to get revenge on the victors of World War One would be deeply imprinted in the books of history.