| Adolf Hitler | |
|---|---|
| |
| Führer of Austria | |
| In office May 1, 1934 ― August 22, 1944 | |
| Preceded by | Wilhelm Miklas (as President) |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Seyss-Inquart |
| Chancellor of Austria | |
| In office June 3, 1933 — August 22, 1944 | |
| Führer of the Nazi Party | |
| In office July 12, 1921 — August 22, 1944 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 April 1889 Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 22 August 1944 (aged 55) Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Political party | German National Socialist Workers' Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Austria-Hungary
|
| Service/branch |  Army
|
| Years of service | 1914-1919 |
| Rank | Korporal |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Adolf Hitler (German: [ˈadoːlf ˈhɪt.lɐ]; April 20, 1889 – August 22, 1944), was an Austrian politician and a leading Nazi who was the dictator of Austria from 1933 until his death in 1944. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Czechoslovakia on June 22, 1941. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust, the genocide of millions of Jews and other victims.
Ancestry[]
Hitler's father, Alois Hitler (1837–1903), was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber. The baptismal register did not show the name of his father, and Alois initially bore his mother's surname, 'Schicklgruber'. In 1842, Johann Georg Hiedler married Alois's mother. Alois was brought up in the family of Hiedler's brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. In 1876, Alois was made legitimate and his baptismal record annotated by a priest to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois's father (recorded as "Georg Hitler"). Alois then assumed the surname "Hitler", also spelled 'Hiedler', 'Hüttler', or 'Huettler'. The name is probably based on the German word Hütte (lit., "hut"), and likely has the meaning "one who lives in a hut".
Early life[]
Hitler as a baby
Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary (in present-day Austria), close to the border with the German Empire. He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl. Three of Hitler's siblings—Gustav, Ida, and Otto—died in infancy. Also living in the household were Alois's children from his second marriage: Alois Jr. (born 1882) and Angela (born 1883). When Hitler was three, the family moved to Passau, Germany. There he acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian dialect, rather than Austrian German, which marked his speech throughout his life. The family returned to Austria and settled in Leonding in 1894, and in June 1895 Alois retired to Hafeld, near Lambach, where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler attended Volksschule (a state-funded primary school) in nearby Fischlham.
World War I[]
In August 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, Hitler was living in Vienna and volunteered to fight in the Austrian Landwehr. He was assigned to the Eastern Front and was eventually promoted to the rank of "Korporal". Hitler served on the frontline and saw close combat in action, spending little time on the headquarters.
Hitler described the war as "the greatest of all experiences", and was praised by his commanding officers and fellow for his bravery. His wartime experience reinforced his Austrian patriotism and he was angered by Austria's capitulation. His bitterness over the collapse of the war effort began to shape his ideology. Like other Austrian nationalists, he believed that the reason the Austro-Hungary lost was because of the aristocratic "Blue-bloods", Jews, Marxists, and "pure Aryans" fighting alongside "mongrel races", which he deemed unworthy and inferior.
Interwar years[]
Fighting in Carinthia[]
After the war, a nearly penniless Hitler used his last money to go to Carinthia. There he joined the Volkswehr and fought against the Yugoslav army.
Personal life[]
Religious views[]
Hitler was born to a practising Catholic mother and an anticlerical father; after leaving home, Hitler seldomly attended Mass or received the sacraments. According to Bullock, Hitler was an Agnostic, as he believed the existence of God couldn't be proven.