Adolf Hitler and World War 2

Hitler had a poor relationship with his father, who could not accept his son's lack of self-discipline and his interests in art, architecture and music. When his father died in 1903, his mother Klara had very little control over her son, and in 1905 he left school. In 1907 Hitler applied to enter the Vienna Academy of Art but his application was rejected. In that year his mother died from cancer. Hitler had been devoted to his mother and her death affected him deeply. He carried her portrait everywhere he went for the rest of his life.

In 1908 Hitler moved to Vienna. Once again he sought admission to the Academy Of Art but was rejected for a second time. For a while he had enough money to live on from his inheritance and from an orphan's pension but by the time he was twenty-one, Hitler was almost penniless, and was forced to live in a shelter with homeless men. On the odd occasion he made money from drawing sketches or painting scenes of Vienna, but he refused to look for a settled job. But by 1910 he began to show an interest in politics and often spent hours in Vienna's public libraries learning more on the subject and engaging in political conversations in the local coffee houses that he visited. Hitler's views of the world were shaped by his experiences on the streets of Vienna, and this is where his violent anti-Semitism derived from.

In 1913 Hitler left Vienna and moved across the border to Munich, the capital of the German State of Bavaria. He was in Munich at the break out of the First World War and although not a German citizen, he served in the German Army throughout the war. For most of the war he served as a runner, and served at the front line in Flanders (Belgium) and in France. He displayed courage under fire and was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. He was sent home in 1916 when he was wounded but returned to fighting in 1917. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and took part in the Lundendorff offensive of March 1918. In the last months of the war Hitler was awarded the Iron Cross First Class "For bravery and general merit", an honour for a corporal. Hitler's campaign ended when he was partly blinded in a gas attack. He was taken to recuperate in a hospital in Germany and it was here that he heard the news that Germany had surrendered. He describes the shock in his book, Mein Kampf- "Everything went black before my eyes as I staggered back to my ward and buried my aching head between the blankets and pillowÐ'.... during these nights my hatred increased, hatred for the originators of this dastardly crime".

Hitler's rise to power

After the end of World War One Hitler was made a political officer for the army. One of his jobs was to report to the army command on the small political parties that had flourished in Bavaria. It was at this time that he attended a meeting of a small group called the German Worker's Party in September 1919. Hitler had found what he wanted- a small political party that he could shape with his own ideas. Hitler quickly became the leader of the party where his brilliant power as a public speaker attracted large audiences and aroused the emotions of the audience through his spoken word.

The party changed its name to become the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) or NAZI for short. The party then developed its own symbols and colours to be associated with- the swastika, colours red, black and white and a distinct party salute. The party's extreme right wing views to communism and to the republic, the party attracted ex-Freikorps troops and by 1921 the Nazi Party had its own private army, the Sturmabteilung (SA) or Storm Troopers. Wearing brown uniforms, they became a visible strength of the Nazi Party by protecting leaders and physically attacking any physical opponents.

In 1923 the Nazi Party was large enough to attempt to seize power in Bavaria and they tried to seize power in what became known as the Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler and his followers attempted to seize control when they detained the leaders of Bavaria at a political rally in a Munich beer hall on the 8th of November 1923. The Putsch failed however, when the army refused to back the attempt. In a show of defiance, the following day the Nazis marched into the centre of Munich where their demonstration was broken up by armed police, and Hitler and some of his followers were arrested for treason. Hitler then used his trial in 1924 to promote his party and his views. Although he was sentenced to five years imprisonment, he had now become a national figure and was treated well. He had his own room and was allowed unlimited visitors, special food and he had the company of fellow Nazis also in prison. During this time, he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle). He also realised that the only way to get to power was through democratic elections.

The first attempt was in the 1928 elections, but the Nazi Party failed miserably, dropping from 103 seats in 1924 to 73 seats in the Reichstag elections of 1928. Hitler's first real attempt was during the middle of The Great Depression. Over three million Germans were unemployed, and the Nazi Party called an election in September 1930. In a vigorous campaign they held hundreds of rallies across the country, attacking the weaknesses

of other parties. The Nazis grasped the idea that the system had failed and they promised a revitalisation of will and a new beginning.

The Nazis were pleased with the result of the election. Even though they had not come to power, they had increased their representation in the Reichstag to 107 seats. Over thirty-five million Germans had voted for the Nazis, which had now made them the second largest party in parliament.

In 1932 Hindenburg's seven year term as President came to a close. The then Chancellor Bruning tried to have Hindenburg's presidency continued for another two years, but the Nazis and the Nationalists opposed the idea. So Hindenburg, who was now eighty-four, once again stood for President. Hitler had also announced his intention to run for the presidency. The Nazi Party membership now stood at 450 000 and a vigorous election campaign was started by Dr Joseph Goebbels. In an unwavering three-week campaign, the party organised 300 meetings a day across Germany. Hindenburg, however, did not personally attend his meetings; Bruning did so on his behalf. The voting which took place on the 14th of March was so close that no party received an absolute majority. Because of this a second round of voting was conducted on the

10th of April. This second round increased the Nazi vote but it was not enough for victory. Hindenburg received a 53% vote and was re-elected for another seven