Adolf+Hitler

ADRIAN RAMIREZ

= = =INTRODUCTION=

Adolf Hitler was a political powerhouse. He united a chaotic Germany after WW1. Germany was united under the Nazi rule and eventually started WW2. Germany became a global threat once again, however this time seeking revenge for their failure during WW1. Hitler was driven by the loss of WW1 and would not stop until Germany was number 1.

=**PERSONAL BACKGROUND**=

Adolf Hitler was a man of great political power. This idea of Hitler being such a political powerhouse may lead people to thinking that Hitler had a great education and a wealthy family. However, this was not the case. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunauam Inn, Austria. At a young age Hitler loved the idea of singing in the church choir, and even considered becoming a priest. However, Hitler’s personality changed with the death of his brother Edmund. Hitler became sullen and detached. Since the age of eight Hitler had a dream of becoming an artist (Rosenburg). However, his father, Alois Hitler, had different intentions. Alois enrolled his son into Realschule in Linz, hoping that his son would follow in his footsteps. Hitler intentionally failed in school in order to follow his dreams (Rosenburg). When Hitler was 13, his father passed away. Hitler’s grades soon began to plummet. His mother then decided to allow Hitler to leave school. A year later Hitler enrolled in Realschule in Steyer where he showed much improvement (Rosenburg). In 1905, Hitler dropped out of school for good and moved to Vienna with his mother. Within 2 years of arriving in Vienna, Hitler’s mother passed away from breast cancer. Hitler was an orphan and was now living off the streets. In Vienna Hitler’s passion for Germany and politics grew (Rosenburg). In the outbreak of World War 1 Hitler served as a volunteer in the Bavarian Army. He was a dispatch runner on the western front (Noaks). After being injured twice in battle Hitler received news about Germany’s defeat. Hitler’s national pride for Germany sky rocketed and later shaped his ideology. In 1919 Hitler enlisted in the D.A.P. (Noaks). He was inspired to join because of the works of Anton Drexter. Hitler liked Drexter’s anti-Semitic, nationalist, anti-Capitalist, and anti-Marxist ideas. On March 31 ,1920 Hitler was discharged from the army and was now working full time at the D.A.P. Hitler used his artistic skills in order to create the swastika. Hitler’s speeches created popularity for himself. In his speeches, Hitler spoke against the treaty of Versailles and especially against the Jews and Marxists. In the year 1921 Hitler’s party went into chaos and as a result Hitler resigned from his position. However, this did not last long. Hitler was back on the D.A.P on July 26, only this time he had absolute power as party chairman. After causing a revolt of about 3,000 people Hitler and 16 members of the N.S.D.A.P were arrested (Noaks). Throughout his time in prison Hitler wrote part of his famous book known as Mein Kampf. After being released from prison in 1925, Adolf Hitler tried to reinstate the disbanded N.S.D.A.P. He was successful in bringing it back but was banned from public speaking (Noaks). On October 24 1929 an opportunity arose for Adolf Hitler when the U.S. stock market crashed. Many Germans citizens had lost their jobs and banks were collapsing. Hitler and the N.S.D.A.P promised jobs and a strengthened economy which gave them the votes necessary to win (Noaks). Through many elections and agreements between the N.S.D.A.P and Alfred Hugenberg, Hitler soon took the role as chancellor of Germany. Through violent acts the N.S.D.A.P. soon got what they were hoping for. On March 23 1933, the enabling act and Reichstag Fire were passed, transforming Hitler’s government into a dictatorship (Noaks). With Hitler in complete power, Hitler looked for help to reverse the damage done to Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. Over the next few years Hitler prepared Germany for war. He gained as much allies as possible and led Nazi-Germany into the Second World War. Throughout the war Hitler and the Germans fought with great courage. Many people around the world believed that Germany would win the war (Noaks). However, in the end Hitler made some terrible decisions which ultimately led to the defeat of the Germans. On April 30, 1945 Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide(Rosenburg).

=PERSONALITY TRAITS=

Adolf Hitler’s personality as an adult was very different than as a child. When Adolf Hitler was a child he was very bright, outgoing, and confident, however the death of his brother,

Edmund, caused Hitler to become sullen and detached (Carlson). However, when Hitler grew up his personality grew as well. His confidence and intelligence increased dramatically. Hitler was a natural born speaker. He convinced all of Germany that the Jews were the enemies and that they should be exterminated from the world (Carlson). Hitler was known for trashing the Marxian and Jewish ways in his speeches. His speeches would enrage the German citizens and promote nationalism. Hitler was not only a man of speaking but also of intelligence. Hitler’s intelligence brought him a long way. He seized opportunities such as the crash of the American stock market which eventually united Germany and caused World War 2. However, Hitler had a very bad quality. He couldn’t trust anyone except himself. Various times throughout World War 2 Hitler refused the advice of his German military leaders which caused many mistakes. These mistakes would eventually lead to the defeat of Nazi Germany (Carlson).

=OBSTACLES=

= = Adolf Hitler faced many obstacles throughout his life, both politically and physically. In the early years of his life Hitler faced poverty and was constantly being discouraged by his father to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist. However, matters became worse with the deaths of his two parents. At the age of 18, Hitler was an orphan and lived on the streets for a brief time (Rosenburg). Hitler never had a good education. He only went to school for a couple years until he quit and attempted to join the army. On February 5th 1914, Hitler returned to Munich after failing his physical exam (Carlson). Hitler’s hope of joining the army was low until he volunteered in the Bavarian Army in the outbreak of World War 1. After serving in the military, Hitler soon changed his focus to politics where even more obstacles occurred. As a member of the N.S.D.A.P Hitler was responsible for publicly speaking against Marxism and encouraging people to side with the N.S.D.A.P (Carlson). Hitler was constantly challenged by Hermann Esser, an opponent who labeled Hitler as a traitor. On November 11, 1923, Hitler was arrested for high treason along with 16 members of the N.S.D.A.P (Rosenburg). He served 5 years in prison and when released rebuilt the N.S.D.A.P as leader. Rebuilding the N.S.D.A.P was a struggle for Hitler because Germany was in chaos after the U.S. stock market crash. Finally, after many disputes and elections, Alfred Hugenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany where the reign of the Nazi’s would come into full effect.

= HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE =

= = Adolf Hitler is a man of many accomplishments. He is one of the few historical figures to ever single handedly change the world. One of Hitler’s greatest accomplishments was rebuilding Germany into one of the greatest nations of all time. Although, Hitler used totalitarianism to reform Germany, it was necessary. Hitler revitalized the German economy, rebuilt Germany’s military, and lowered the unemployment rate tremendously (Carlson). He gave German citizens their national pride back and redeemed their humiliation by the Treaty of Versailles. On September 1, 1939 Hitler begins World War 2 (Rosenburg). WW2 was the bloodiest war to ever be fought. It scarred the world and resulted in the deaths of millions. At the beginning of WW2 Hitler and the Germans were destroying the Allies. Poland was the first to go followed by France. It seemed as if the Allies had no chance. However, Britain did not waver. Britain was able to hold off German attacks which resulted in a gain of moral within the Allies (Carlson). After seeing that Britain would not fall Hitler and the axis powers focused their forces on

the other Allied countries. As the war raged on Hitler decided to eliminate the people he hated most, the Jews. Hitler constructed hundreds concentration camps throughout Germany, focused on torturing and killing the Jews. This marked the start of the most evil event in human history The Holocaust. On April 30, 1945 the death of Adolf Hitler signaled the end of the war (Carlson). Adolf Hitler had made some crucial mistakes throughout the war which resulted in the defeat of Nazi Germany. Although it seems that WW2 was a bad idea, it had some positive effects to it as well. United States gained tremendous economic growth and America was now viewed as a world power (Rosenburg). Americans can thank Hitler for it was him who gave them the status of a powerhouse to this day.

=**REFERENCES**=

= =

Carlson, Cody. " Adolf Hitler commits suicide". Deseretnews.com, 1 May,2013 web 19 Nov. 2014 Fairweather, Nicolas. " Hitler and Hitlerism: A man of destiny". theatlantic.com. 20 Mar,1932 Web 11 Dec. 2014 Knapp F. Wilfrid. " Adolf Hitler". Britannica.com, 9 June, 2014 Web 6 Nov. 2014 Megargee, Geoffrey, "Hitler's leadership style". BBC.co.uk. 30 Mar 2011, Web, 15 Oct. 2014 Noaks, Jeremy. " The Rise Of Adolf Hitler". BBC.co.uk. 30 Mar. 2011, Web, 1 Oct. 2014 Rosenburg, Jennifer. "Adolf Hitler". about.com, Web. 15 Sep. 2014