In the last few moments of his life, Adolf Hitler along with his wife Eva Braun, whom he just married less than two days prior on April 29, 1945 in the late morning, were held up in his bunker beneath Berlin. Hitler was briefed about the assassination of Mussolini, the Italian dictator (“Adolf Hitler Biography”) Afraid of being captured by enemy troops, Hitler and Eva both swallowed hydrogen cyanide capsules. He took a precautionary measure and shot himself in the head with his own pistol, a Walther PPK 7. 65mm at approximately 3:30 pm (“The Gun That Killed Hitler: Walther PPK”).
Adolf Hitler was a fanatical leader, a megalomaniac, who led his country with false promises and led them into the abyss. In his early years Adolf was a distraught child. Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary on April 20, 1889. He was the fourth child out of six children born to the family of Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Alois Hitler, who eventually became a senior customs’ official, and Klara Polzl was from a family of poverty- stricken laborers (“Adolf Hitler History”).
Around when Hitler was just three years old his family moved from Austria-Hungary to Germany. In his youth, Hitler often had personal family issues with his father. His father showed no support and interest for his career path in the visual arts. Hitler’s German nationalism soon blossomed around this time and he rejected Austria- Hungary supremacy. (“Adolf Hitler Biography”) Adolf’s father died in 1902 when he was 13 (Witherbee). In 1904, he dropped out of school (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Hitler’s devotion and loyalty towards Germany helps him become the man and leader that he’s destined to be.
Hitler moved to Vienna, Italy when he was 18 and with the money he inherited from his father (“Adolf Hitler History”). He made a living as an assistant house-painter and by selling mediocre sketches (“Adolf Hitler EBSCO”). Chasing after his occupation, he applied to the Academy of Fine Arts two times and was denied a scholarship twice. When he ran of money, he had no choice but to resign to a homeless shelter, where he lived for many years. It was speculated that this was where he manifested his anti-Semitic and fascist beliefs (“Adolf Hitler Biography”).
His beliefs will eventually grow into pure hatred for the Jews and many other minorities. As World War I broke out, Hitler applied and devoted his time to the German rmy and its cause. He was accepted into the artillery in August of 1914 and was given the rank of corporal. Hitler was on the battlefield in a number of important battles, and was hurt in the battle of the Somme. He was awarded for his bravery in battle and received the Iron Cross First class and the black wound badge (“Adolf Hitler Biography”), he seemed to have found his calling. As the war effort commenced Adolf became irritated, and bitter.
Adolf’s experience on the battlefield fortified his German nationalistic behaviors. In October 1918, he was blinded by a mustard gas attack. While Hitler was in the hospital Germany surrendered, causing him to sink into a state of prolonged depression and for most of his time he spent sulking. After the war had ended, at this very point in time his future seems rather unforeseeable (“Adolf Hitler History”). Hitler returned to the country of Munich. In 1919, Hitler made an appearance at his first meeting of the German Workers’ Party, an anti-Semitic, nationalist group as a mole for the German brigade.
However, Hitler started to agree with Anton Drexler’s German jingoism and his hatred of the Jewish populace. Hitler quickly gained his reputation as an outstanding lecturer by iving inspirational speeches that targeted the very oppression of Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. It became apparent that people soon began joining his Party just to hear him deliver his inspiring uplifting speeches. His speeches were so mesmerizing that the crowds were in such states of excitement that they seemed eager to follow any suggestion he gave them (“Adolf Hitler History”).
Giving him an upper hand in manipulating people on a large scale, it will become especially useful as time This was the start of his rise to power. As more and goes on. more people became inclined to aid his movement, his eputation ascends. By 1921, Hitler was now the leader of the NSGWP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) or known formally as the Nazi Party. With the poor financial circumstances, and with inflation on the rise, people looked to Hitler and his Party as a solution to their problems and as result of that his Party grew in numbers.
By 1923 Hitler’s Nazi organization had risen to 56,000 members and have gained the support of many more individuals (“Adolf Hitler History”). Hitler’s influence began to broaden as he reached higher in the chain of command and gained a mass following of people who believed n his anti-Semitic beliefs and his share for a perfect world. In November of 1923, for two consecutive days on the 8th and 9th Hitler and his Nazi Party attempted to overthrow the Bavarian Government in hopes that they could get them and the Nazi Party to storm Berlin by force (“Adolf Hitler History”).
On November 9th, Hitler and his Party crashed a civic convention of around 3,000 civilians in a massive pub located in Munich. He then gave a notice that the national revolution was in progress. He then openly stated about the creation of a new government system. There was a brief conflict, resulting in 20 casualties, it ecame known as the Beer Hall Putsch, which failed and resulted in Hitler’s arrest. He was tried for high treason against the German State (“Adolf Hitler History”).
Even though he was tried for treason, the judge issuing his sentence gave him a considerable light sentence of five years imprisonment (“Adolf Hitler”). These five years were very important to the development of his reputation. It was during his time in prison, where he spent most of his time instructed the first volume of his most influential piece of literature, known as ‘Mein Kampf, to his commissioner, Rudolf Hess. Mein Kampf highlighted his political beliefs and his plan to change Germany’s population into one based on race.
Upon his release from prison, Hitler rearranged the Nazi Party (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). It was when the Great Depression struck Germany hard, the people looked up to him for leadership, and the Natzi Party began to entice a considerable amount of people to join their rankings. This was the beginning of Hitler’s rise to power. Hitler ran against Paul von Hindenburg for presidency in the election of 1932. Hitler came in second in both rounds of the election, winning over 35 ercent of the final votes.
The statistics in the election showed that he was very influential in German affairs (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). By July the Nazis had already seized most of the seats in Germany’s Parliamentary system (Witherbee). Given his popularity Hindenburg was forced to assign Hitler as chancellor, as to give political balance (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Making him the head of state in 1933. In office as the newly appointed chancellor, Hitler set out to increase his power. He delegated Nazis to government, and seized control over emergency powers.
After a questionable fire broke out Reichstag, the Reichstag Fire Decree was enacted. It stripped away basic human rights, like freedom of speech (Witherbee), and allowed persecution without the need of a trial (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). He passed the Enabling Act of March 1933, which gave Hitler’s Cabinet absolute authoritative powers over the government body for four years, on July 4th Hitler declared the Nazi Party as the only legal political party in Germany. During this particular point in time, Hitler had requested construction of the first concentration camps (Witherbee).
The first concentration camps will be very dire and important, to the Holocaust. Hitler began building his army, using propaganda and fabricating enemies such as the Jewish populace. He was able to raise his army in large quantities, while the League of Nations procrastinated and didn’t even bother was too late. A day prior to Hindenburg’s death in August of 1934, the Cabinet executed a law that effectively wiped the check in and regulate his actions, until it presidential post, fusing all the political positional powers of the president to that of the Chancellor.
Thus making Hitler the head f state and the head of government (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Hitler stripped German Jews of all their civil rights and citizenship, and encouraged racism against the Jews. Hitler began mobilizing his armed forces to invade the Rhineland at their demilitarized zone, which was demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles. He moved on with his powerful forces to conquer his home country of Austria, and then conquered parts of Czechoslovakia (“Adolf Hitler History”). He declared unity with the Austrian government in 1938. In October of that year his army invaded Sudetenland.
Hitler signed an agreement with ther European leaders to surrender Sudetenland to Germany, and for that achievement of reversing part of what has been done by the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler was named Time magazine’s man of the year (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Hitler formed an alliance with Italy and a passive pact with the Soviet Union. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and both France, and Britain declared war on Germany (Witherbee). This was the first plot point of World War II. In 1940, Hitler began widening his influence by invading Scandinavia, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
He planned on nvading the U. K by bombing raids, and made an alliance with Japan, forming the Axis Powers, to distract the United States from supporting Britain (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). On June 22, 1941, Hitler violated the treaty against Joseph Stalin, and the Soviet Union. (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Hitler sent three million soldiers to the USSR, the German invasion was put to a stop on December 1941 outside the walls of Moscow. (“Adolf Hitler Biography”) Just like Napoleon, Hitler began to lose the war by trying to invade Russia and ultimately getting outwitted by the basic slash and burn technique.
The cruelest part of the war was what was being committed against the European Jews. During the Holocaust 11 million people were killed, about 6 million of those deaths were European Jews. Hitler ordered the Jews to be subjected to inhumane torture, and hard labor in the concentration camps. The Jews were forced to undergo terrible, but groundbreaking human experiments. Jews were rounded up, and slaughtered in large numbers. Concentration Camps adopted many methods of extermination of the Jewish populace, whether it was by lynching, firing squad, oven, and most of all by gas chamber.
