Hitler, Adolf: Early Life

The son of Alois Hitler (1837–1903), an Austrian customs official, Adolf Hitler dropped out of high school, and after his mother's death in 1907 moved to Vienna. He twice failed the admission examination for the academy of arts. His vicious anti-Semitism (perhaps influenced by that of Karl Lueger) and political harangues drove many acquaintances away. In 1913 he settled in Munich, and on the outbreak of World War I he joined the Bavarian army. During the war he was gassed and wounded; a mediocre soldier who lacked leadership skills and never progressed beyond the rank of corporal, he nonetheless received the Iron Cross for bravery. The war hardened his extreme nationalism, and he blamed the German defeat on betrayal by Jews and Marxists. Upon his return to Munich he joined a handful of other nationalistic veterans in the German Workers' party.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Fall of Hitler and the Third Reich
• World War II
• Hitler in Power
• Hitler's Rise to Power
• The Nazi Party and Hitler's Rise
• Early Life
• Bibliography

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