Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Hitler's family is originally from Waldviertel in Upper Austria. The German speaking people was the minority in this area. Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April, 1889, as the fourth child of six in Braunau am Inn, a small town near Linz in the province of Upper Austria, close to the German border, in what was then Austria-Hungary. Because of the father's job, Hitler moved from Braunau to Passau, later to Lambach and finally to Leonding. He attended several Volksschule's. Hitler's mother, Klara Pölzl, was the third wife of Alois Hitler and also his cousin. The father of Hitler died in 1903. Hitler failed high school exams in Linz twice. In 1905, he left school without an exam. He became interested in the anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish), Pan-German teachings of Professor Leopold Poetsch. In September 1907, he went to Vienna and made an entrance examination. On 1 and 2 October, he failed the second examination. Hitler went back to Linz at the end of October. In December 1907, Hitler's mother died and because of that he was depressed. In 1909, Hitler went the second time to Vienna to study art. He was not good enough for the Academy of Arts and failed the first entrance examination. Hitler said he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna. This town had a large Jewish community.
Hitler has been influenced by Martin Luther's On the Jews and their Lies. In Mein Kampf, Hitler refers to Martin Luther as a great warrior, a true statesman and a great reformer.
In 1913, Hitler was 24 years old. At that time, all young Austrian men had to join the army. Hitler did not like the Austrian army, so he left Austria for Germany. He lived in a German city, Munich.
On 16 August 1914, Hitler joined the Bavarian army. He fought for Germany in World War One. Hitler served in Belgium and France in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment. He spent nearly the whole time on the Western Front. He was a runner, one of the most dangerous jobs on the Front. On 1 November 1914, Hitler became a Gefreiter...