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Who was Adolf Hitler?
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician, who was the dictator of
Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as leader of Nazi
party, chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Fürher und Reichskanzler in
1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated world war II in Europe by invading
Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operation of the
genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
He was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary
(present-day Austria) close to the border with the German Empire. He was the
fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife Klara Pölzl. Three of
Hitler’s siblings-Gustav, Ida and Otto- died in infancy. When Hitler was three the
family moved to Passau Germany there he acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian
dialect rather than Austrian-German which marked his speech throughout his life.
The family returned to Austria and settled in Leonding in 1894, and in June 1895
Alois retired to Hafeld, near Lambach where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler
attend to a state funded primary school in nearby Faischlham.
The move to Hafeld coincide with the onset of intense father-son conflicts caused
by Hitler’s refusal to confirm to the strict discipline of this school. His father beat
him although his mother tried to protect him.
Alois Hitler’s farming efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and in 1897 the family
moved to Lambach. The eight year Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church
choir and even considered becoming a priest. In 1898 the family returned
permanently to Leonding. Hitler was deeply affected by the death of his younger
brother “Edmund” in 1900 from measles. Hitler changed from a confident,
outgoing, conscientious student to a morose and detached boy, who constantly
fought with his father and teachers.
Alois has made a successful career in the customs bureau, and wanted his son to
follow in his footsteps. Hitler later dramatised an episode from this period when
his father took him to visit custom office, depicting it as an event that have rise to
an unforgiving antagonism between father and his son, who where both
strong-willed. Ignoring his son’s desire to attend classical high school and become
an artist, Alois sent Hitler to the Realchule (which means technical school) on

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September 1900. Hitler rebelled against this decision, and in
Mein Kampf《 my struggle》 states that he intentionally preformed poorly in
school, hoping that his father saw “ what little progress I was making to the
technical school, he would let me devote my self to my dreams"
Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler began to develop German nationalist ideas
from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining
Hapsburg monarchy and its rule over an ethnically diverse empire. Hitler and his
friends used the greeting “Heil" and sang the “Deutschland lied” instead of
Austrian imperial anthem.
After Alois’s sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler’s performance at school
deteriorated and his mother allowed him to leave. He enrolled at another
technical school in Styer in September 1904, where his behavior and performance
improved. In 1905 after passing a repeat of final exam, Hitler left the school
without any ambition for further education or clear plans for a career.
In 1907, Hitler left Linz to live and study fine art in Vienna, financed by orphan’s
benefits and support from his mother. He applied for admission to the
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna but he was rejected twice. The director suggested
Hitler should apply to the school of architecture but he lacked the necessary
academic credentials, because he had not finished secondary school.
On 21 December 1907, his mother died of breast cancer, at the age of 47; Hitler
was 18 on that time. 1909, Hitler ran out of money and was forced to live a
bohemian life in homeless shelters and a men’s dormitory. He earned money as
casual labourerand and by painting and selling watercolors of Vienna’s sights.
With that slight amount of money he used to buy books and go to opera, even he
had to abide hunger. During his time in Vienna, he pursued a growing passion for
architecture and music, he attended ten performances Lohengrin, his favorite
Wagner opera.

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He received the final part of his father’s estate in May 1913 and moved to
Munich Germany. When conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army he
journeyed to Salzburg on 5 February 1914 for medical assessment. After he
deemed unfit for service, he returned to Munich. Hitler later claimed that he did
not wished to serve the Hapsburg Empire because of the mixture of races in its
army; and belief that the collapse of Austria-Hungary was imminent.
In August 1914, at the out break of world war I

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