FREE ESSAY ON HITLER

HITLER

Adolf Hitler
On April 20, 1889, Klara and Alois gave birth to a son who would eventually become the
man the world recognizes today as one of the most notorious men in history. Alois named
his fourth son Adolf Hitler. His early childhood was spent under a cloud of normalcy in
the small town of Braunau, Austria, a small town across the Inn River from Germany. His
mother Klara was a meager housewife while his father a customs official. When Hitler was
six his family moved to a place near Linz, Austria. Though Adolf received good marks in
elementary school, he slacked severely in high school as his mind wandered to other areas
besides academics. His ill-tempered father did not approve of this and had a violent
disagreement concerning his son's aspirations to become an artist. Alois wanted Hitler to
become a civil servant. This conflict was left unresolved for years and lasted till his
father was in his deathbed in 1903. With no one left to stop him, Adolf dropped out of
school at the age of sixteen and followed his ambitions to become an artist. He spent his
time daydreaming, drawing pictures and reading books, while his mother supported him
through a widow's pension. In 1907, Hitler went to Vienna to apply to the Academy of Fine
Arts. The years in Vienna did not bode well for Hitler. First, he was rejected acceptance
to the Academy because the trustees thought his talent was mediocre. Compounding to this
rejection was the death of his mother. With his artistic ambitions in shambles, he
explored other areas and became interested in politics. He admired the effective
leadership and organization of the Social Democratic Party. During his stay in Vienna
Hitler was affected by a growing nationalist movement. He developed a belief that no form
of government could last if it treated people of different nationalities equally. This
helped shaped his budding hatred for Jews and Slavs and the mentality that Germans were
superior to all other races. In addition, Hitler spent his free time reading books. He
became a student of warfare. This would later prove to be a valuable asset in World War
II.
With the outbreak of the Great War in the summer of 1914, Hitler quickly volunteered for
service in the German Army. He became a great asset in his infantry. He served valiantly
as a messenger on the Western Front, taking part in some of the most bloodiest battles.
Adolf was injured twice and was twice decorated for bravery. Adolf gained popularity as a
result. When Germany surrendered to the Allies Hitler was in the hospital recovering from
a temporary blindness incurred to him by mustard gas. He was deeply distraught by the
news of the armistice. He believed that the unity of Germany was threatened and that he
must attempt to save his beloved country. This invigorated ambition for power coupled
with state of despair and turmoil that Germany was left after the war opened the door for
Hitler's rise to power. Hitler gave the impoverished, hunger-stricken Germans a glimpse
of hope. He promised a return to the glory days when foreign nations paid tribute to
Germany. 
Hitler, the Nationalists, the Communists and others attacked the puppet government
established by the Treaty of Versailles. They demanded the punishment for the criminals
who signed the treaty. Hitler joined a small nationalist party in 1919, called the German
Worker's Party which would later be renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party
or the Nazi Party. This group called for the union of all Germans, including the German
minorities in countries such as Czechoslovakia. They demanded that citizens of non-German
or Jewish origin be deprived of German citizenship. The Nazis also wanted the revocation
of the Treaty of Versailles. Due to his extraordinary skill as a politician he quickly
became the leader of the Nazi party. Hitler built up the party membership stirring crowds
with his speeches. He promised to restore the economy, assure work for all and lead
Germany into greatness again. To help him accomplish this, Hitler organized a private
army he called the storm troopers. His army fought the armies of the Communist, Social
Democrats and other parties who opposed him and his Nazis. When the opportunity came to
overthrow the Weimar Republic, Hitler quickly acted on it. In 1923, Germany was in deep
trouble. France and Belgium sent troops to occupy the Ruhr District, Germany's chief
industrial region. This spurred revolts all throughout the nation and the state of
Bavaria was in open conflict with the central government in Berlin. This had been the
opportunity that Hitler had been waiting for. On November 8, 1923, Hitler proclaimed a
Nazi revolution at a rally in a Munich beer hall. The next day, he attempted to seize the
Bavarian government. This became known as the Beer Hall Putsch. Unfortunately for the
Nazis, the state police intervened and stopped the storm troopers. Hitler was sentenced
to five years in prison. It was during his stay in prison that he wrote his book " Mein
Kampf". 
Here he stated his beliefs, his plans for Germany in the future including his ideas to
conquer Europe. He also declared the superiority of Germans, the concept of the pure
Aryan. He blamed the Jews for the evils of the world. He accused them of corrupting
everything of ethical and national value.
Hitler was freed about nine months after his trial. He left prison to find his Nazi party
in shambles. The government had outlawed the group after the Beer Hall Putsch. He felt it
was his duty to rebuild his party. In time he was able to convince the government to lift
the ban on the Nazis, promising them that the party would act legally. Hitler won the
support of influential men including town officials, industrialists and business people.
To protect the party, he also established an elite party guard known as the S.S. By 1929,
as a result of their organization and discipline, the Nazis became an important minority
party. It was then that Hitler began to assemble some of the people that would help him
rise to power. This select group included Joseph Goebbels, chief Nazi propagandist;
Hermann Goering, Hitler's second in command; Rudolf Hess, Hitler's faithful secretary;
and Heinrich Himmler, leader of the S.S. The outbreak of the Great Depression put the
Nazis in center stage of German politics. Unemployment was widespread, food was scarce
and inflation soared. The Nazis offered to change all this. In 1932, five major elections
were held in Germany as its leaders struggled to give the nation political stability. In
the elections for the Reichstag, the Nazis became Germany's strongest political party. As
leader of the strongest political party, Hitler was able to manipulate Germany's
president, Paul von Hindenburg, to appoint him as chancellor. Soon Hitler was able to
consolidate the presidential and chancellorial offices. From here he became unstoppable.