"How influential was Hitler's role in the rise of the Nazi Party 1920-1933?"

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Harpal Chima 13A                                                                                                                                  History

“How influential was Hitler’s role in the rise of the Nazi Party 1920-1933?”

Since the beginning of the 20th century a lot of people have made their mark on history but non-more so than Adolf Hitler. Historians see Hitler as being the demons of all dreams, his patriotism for Germany led him to do unbelievable tasks that saw nearly 6 million Jews being annihilated and a further more 15 million soldiers to died in battle. The crimes that he committed were seen as the most lethal of any since the dawn of man and thus his name is unforgettable so that the crimes and horror he forced upon this world would never be forgotten and thus be repeated.  

Born in April 1889 Adolf Hitler was born and brought up to a family of peasants. His father, Alois Hitler worked in the civil service and his mother Klara Pölzl stayed home to take care of her sons, Adolf and Edmund Hitler and daughter Paula. The Hitler family lived on a small farm outside of Linz, Austria. The children had farm chores to perform along with their school work. In 1895 Hitler entered Primary school and later in 1896 the Hitler family moved to the town of Lambach, Austria, halfway between Linz and Salzburg. In Lambach Adolf became enrolled in a monastery school and did well in it, as a young boy he idolised the priests and for two years seriously considered becoming a priest himself.

In 1898, the Hitler family moved once again, to the village of Leonding, close to Linz. Young Adolf thus changed school again but he found school easy and got good grades with little effort. He also discovered he had considerable talent for drawing, especially sketching buildings. But at home a tragedy had taken place that would have effect on the later years of his life. In 1899 Adolf's little brother Edmund, age 6, died of measles. Adolf, the boy who loved war play now had to confront genuine death for the first time and it seemed to have shaken him badly.

In 1900 the years of grade school ended and the he had to make a decision on the choice of secondary school he would go to. Alois Hitler wanted his son to join the civil service just like his father and forced him to join technical secondary school against his will, as he wanted to join classical secondary school to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Being a country boy in the big city Adolf became depressed and lonely as he was forced to study what he didn’t want to and this was reflected upon his poor grades and thus being forced to stay back. Adolf continually argued with his father over his future career but Alois would not have his son becoming an artist, as it would be utterly ridiculous. But Adolf saw the idea of becoming a civil servant sitting behind a desk all day being utterly boring but his father got his way and thus Adolf continued studying in technical school until January 1903, when his father died.

On January 3rd 1903 Alois Hitler was struck down by a lung haemorrhage and died shortly after. The news came as no shock to the Hitler family as it was not the first time he suffered from a lung haemorrhage. But as Hitler mourned over his death it became clear to him that the arguing has disappeared and he was now head of the family and the choice of his future career was now in his choice.

But he continued technical school but only until May 1904 when he was expelled due to his continuos poor behaviour, pranks and disrespect towards teachers. Thus he enrolled into another school at Steyr where his schooling achievements improved and but he did not take his final exams using poor health as his excuse, Hitler suffered from a bleeding lung ailment, an inherited medical problem. At age 16 Hitler left school and never returned, he now taught himself through heavy reading and lived a relaxed life with none of the pressure or stress of school life.

After dropping out of high school in 1905 at age sixteen Adolf Hitler lived a life of pure relaxation and idleness. With his father now gone he was free to do anything he wanted and this he did attending operas, museums and musicals occasionally. He would later describe these teenage years free from responsibility as the happiest time of his life. In 1906 Hitler left to the city of Vienna the artistic capital of the world, the city showed him his future. Thus in October 1907 Adolf withdrew all the money he had inherited from the death of his father and moved to live and study in the city of Vienna. He decided to attend the prestigious Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Hitler took the two-day entrance exam for the academy's school of painting. Having the confident and cocky attitude that he did he did not believe that he could fail but that was all that would come from his results. His test drawings were judged unsatisfactory and he was not admitted. Hitler was negatively influenced by this rejection and was forced back to the drawing board and thus forced to wait till next year’s exam. But being in the depressed state that he was in he resolved in going back home to his dying mother which made matters worst.

In the early hours of December 21, 1907 Klara Pölzl died quietly. Suffering from breast cancer she was forced into immediate surgery and had her breast removed. But this was not enough as the cancer spread and she became ever closer to death. Her death was most hardly mourned by her son Adolf; the death of his mother was one of the most memorable events in his life and changed his life forever. Adolf was devastated, and described by the doctor he had never seen someone so overcome with grief as Adolf Hitler by the loss of his mother.

Now with both parents gone Hitler once again set his sights on Vienna and the art academy. But Vienna never seemed like a city that would give Hitler a chance to succeed as he failed within the first hurdle, as his test drawings were so poor that he wasn’t given the chance to take the formal exam. It was thus in Vienna where he would form his opinions upon politics and race that would have a large influence upon his future.

In February 1910, he moved into a home for poor men where he would stay for the next few years. Hitler sometimes earned a little money as a day labourer, shovelling snow and carrying bags at the train station. Residents at the home recalled Hitler as undisciplined and moody and eager to discuss politics and often making speeches to the residents. Throughout his time within the home his thirst for reading increased he read upon philosophy, race and nationalism. The utter misery of his poverty also deeply influenced Hitler. He adopted a harsh, survivalist mentality, which meant that he would leave little room for kindness and compassion within his attitude that would greatly influence his future.

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Hitler left Vienna at age 24, to avoid mandatory military service in the Austrian army and went to Munich.  On August 1, 1914, a huge, enthusiastic crowd including Hitler gathered in a big public plaza in Munich to celebrate the new of war. When Hitler first heard the news of war he sunk to his knees and thanked heaven for being alive, two days later he volunteered into the German army.

During the First World War Hitler was just an ordinary soldier fighting in the muddy trenches of the French boarders. By all accounts Hitler was an unusually ill ...

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