Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889. He was the son of a minor customs official and a peasant girl. He dropped out of high school and applied for admission to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna but was rejected for lack of talent. Slowly he stated to develop anti-Jewish and antidemocratic convictions, an admiration for the outstanding individual, and contempt for the masses.

Hitler served as a German soldier in World War I. His commander made him an education officer, in order to immunize his charges against pacifist and democratic ideas. In September 1919 he joined the nationalist German Workers' party, and in April 1920 he went to work full time for the party. The party was now renamed the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) party. In 1921 he was elected party chairman with dictatorial powers. In November 1923, a time of economic and political chaos, he led an uprising (Putsch) in Munich against the postwar Weimar Republic, proclaiming himself chancellor of a new authoritarian regime but he failed. Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment but only served eight months. During those eight months in prison he wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf(My Struggle). When the Great Depression struck in 1929, promising a strong Germany, jobs, and national glory, he attracted millions of voters. Hitler came to absolute power in 1933.

When was in power, he took thousands of anti-Nazis off to concentration camps, gave jobs to everyone who was a Nazi, and managed to make German people believe in him to take control over all Europe. He negated the concept of human equality and claimed racial superiority for the Germans. As the master or Aryan race, they were told, they had the right to dominate all nations they wanted.

As he started to build his empire he managed to ally with some great leaders. In 1939, he allied with Francisco Franco, who was dictator of Spain at the time. He also allied with Benito Mussolini, the Italian ruler at that time, and used Italy as his satellite.

In September 1st, 1939, he invaded Poland starting World War II. He derided the concept of human equality and claimed racial superiority for the Germans. In World War II, Hitler's empire included Austria, Czech Sudetenland, Holland, Greece, Yugoslavia Soviet Union, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,