Adolf Hitler

INTRO/THESIS

Adolf Hitler has long been the focus of many debates and arguments. It is accurate to say that he is one of the most controversial leaders ever to walk the Earth. It is hard to believe by most how such a cruel and oddly looking man became the leader of a very powerful country. Hitler's rise to power was not through that of brute force (except for his first try through the Beer Hall Putsch), but rather through his ideas of a better, superior Germany. In this paper I want to examine Hitler's childhood and life in the army during WW I, how it shaped his thoughts on Jews, and his tedious rise to "Fur her" in Germany. I also want to answer the question, "was the fall of Hitler preventable or inevitable?"

CHILDHOOD

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in a small town of Braunau, Austria, near the German border. Both of Hitler's parents came from poor peasant families. Right from the beginning, Hitler had it rough. Three of his sibling died within the first few years of life and only him and a sister would make it into adult hood. Already you can see Hitler was exposed to death and hardship at such a young age, a very traumatic experience for anyone. Hitler's father, Alois, was fifty-one and had already married twice before he met his last wife, Klara (Adolf's mother). Alois was a very strict man who wanted to see his son succeed in life. A son from his previous marriage had been a huge disappointment to him, so he routinely beat and whipped young Adolf to keep him in line, in fear of Adolf becoming like his abandoned first son. As a result of this constant pressure from his father, Hitler did extremely well in primary school and looked destined to become something great. Also, he was very popular with the other students and was portrayed as a great leader, even so young in life. He soon realized school was not as easy as he thought when told he was going to have to repeat a year during his middle school years. This embarrassed Adolf very much and soon saw the respect of his classmates lessen, much like his grades had. Hitler then decided he wanted to become an artist, much to the dismay of his father, and after many arguments, they decided on Realschule, since it offered a drawing course. Soon after this decision, his father died of a hemorrhage in 1903. Since their father worked as a customs official, the Hitler family received a nice pension and never really had to worry about money during this painful time. Hitler was able to cope with the loss of his father because of his mother's ability to spoil him. Klara very much wanted to see her son succeed in school, but, like her husband, failed to keep Adolf's interest in school. After he failed so many times back home, Hitler decided to move to Vienna to try to gain entrance into a prestigious art school. While living in Vienna, he developed his interest in politics as well as his hatred for Jews. Even though he had a few Jewish friends, Vienna was the center on anti-Semitism and Hitler feed off of this cities propaganda. During this time, his mother was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Her treatment was being diagnosed by a Jewish doctor, Dr. Edward Bloch, who helped serve the poor. After getting rejected by both schools he applied for in Vienna, he then, soon after, had to cope with the loss of his mother (approx. December 1907) after she suffered more than she needed (the Jewish doctor prescribed a rather expensive, dangerous drug which was no help). Hitler was much more distraught after the loss of his mother then of his father. Hitler loved her so much more that, still to this day, many claim that Hitler was clutching a picture of his mother when he died.

LIFE IN THE MILITARY

It is now 1909 and Hitler has no parents. His financial status was stable due to a nice inheritance from his father when he turned eighteen. Through this time, Hitler would spend most of his mornings in bed reading, his afternoons in the cities studying buildings and museums, and other leisure activities. Reality quickly hit him when he had to flee the country due to his great reluctance to join and serve in the Austro-Hungarian military. It took the authorities four years to catch Adolf (he was living in Munich with a dying aunt at the time). When they did, he was told he would spend a year in prison and still must serve his time in the army. After reporting to Salzburg, the authorities informed him that he was "unfit...too weak...and unable to bear arms." According to Mein Kampf, Hitler was not to upset about getting turned down by the Austrian government and claimed that "I did not want to fight for the Habsburg state, but was ready at any time to die for my people and for the Reich which embodied it (Hitler 163)."

Soon after this incident, World War I began and Hitler was grateful to volunteer for the German army, and fight for the country he loved so dearly. On the arrival of his letter, Hitler was claimed to have said "I was overcome with impetuous enthusiasm, and falling on my knees, wholeheartedly thanked Heaven that I had been granted the happiness to live live at this time (Spartacus, internet source)."

Hitler liked being in the army. For the first time he was part of a group that was fighting for a common goal. Hitler also liked the excitement of fighting in a war. Although fairly cautious in his actions, he did not mind risking his life and impressed his commanding officers for volunteering for dangerous missions. Hitler's passion for danger and the spotlight, lead him to become a dispatch-runner for the Germans. One day, of the eight runners sent out, only Hitler and four others made it back alive. For the first time since primary school, Adolf felt that success that had eluded him for many years. While fighting in one of the battles in Belgium, Hitler was injured by a mustard gas bomb that nearly cost him is vision. This would be Hitler's last act as a soldier because, due to the injuries suffered at Belgium, he was sent to a military hospital in Berlin to recover. Although his days of being a soldier were over, it did not stop him from collecting five medals during WWI, including the prestigious Iron Cross . His commanding officer was also quoted, stating, "As a dispatch-runner, he has shown cold-blooded courage and exemplary boldness. Under conditions of great peril, when all the communication lines were cut, the untiring and fearless activity of Hitler made it possible for important messages to go through (Spartacus)." Although Hitler received many honors during the war, he never advanced farther than Lance Corporal in the army. This was due to his eccentric behavior and fears that other soldiers would