|
Führer Adolf Hitler
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Official portrait, 1938 | |
| Chancellor of Germany | |
| In office 30 January 1933 – 25 February 1963 | |
| Monarch | Wilhelm II Wilhelm III Wilhelm IV |
| Vice Chancellor | Franz von Papen (1933-1934) Albert Speer (1952-1963) |
| Preceded by | Kurt von Schleicher |
| Succeeded by | Albert Speer |
| Führer of the NSDAP | |
| In office 29 July 1921 – 6 November 1975 | |
| Deputy | Rudolf Hess (1927-1941) Alexander Ritter von Romanov (1927-1972) |
| Preceded by | Anton Drexler (as Party Chairman) |
| Succeeded by | Albert Speer (as Party Minister) |
| Member of the Reichstag for Upper Bavaria – Swabia | |
| In office 31 July 1932 – 6 November 1975 | |
| Commissar of Arts and Culture of the Thuringia | |
| In office 22 September 1930 – 4 January 1931 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 April 1889 Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary (now Greater German Reich)
|
| Died | 6 November 1975 (aged 86) Germania, Greater German Reich |
| Nationality | Austrian (1889–1925) Stateless (1925–1930) German (1930–1975) |
| Political party | National Socialist German Workers' Party |
| Mother | Klara Hitler |
| Father | Alois Hitler |
| Spouse(s) | Pilar Primo de Rivera (m. 1937) |
| Children | Jean-Marie Loret Friedrich Hitler Klara Hitler |
| Relations | Charlotte Lobjoie |
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
| Occupation | Artist Soldier Politician Author |
| Cabinet | Hitler cabinet |
| Religion | Christian |
| Magnum opus | Mein Kampf (My Struggle or My Battle) Mein Traum (My Dream) |
| Signature | 
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Germany (1914-1975) |
| Service/branch | Bavarian Army Reichsheer |
| Years of service | 1914–1921 1937-1975 |
| Rank | Gefreiter Generaloberst |
| Unit | 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War I
Bavarian Revolt |
| Awards | Iron Cross Wound Badge in Black Honor Cross 1914-1918 Bavarian Cross of Military Merit, Third Class with Swords Bavarian Medal of Military Service, Third Class |
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 - 6 November 1975) was an Austrian-born German politician, military, painter and writer who was the dictator of the Greater German Reich from 1933 until his death in 1975. He rose to power as the leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), becoming the chancellor of Germany in 1933.
Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, and was appointed leader of the Party in 1921. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental power in a failed coup in Munich and was imprisoned with a sentence of five years. In jail, he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"). After his early release, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting pan-Germanism, anti-Semitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as part of a international conspiracy.
In November 1932, the NSDAP won the most seats in the Reichstag, but failed to obtain an absolute majority. As a result, neither party was able to form a parliamentary coalition in support of a candidate for chancellor. Former chancellor Franz von Papen and other conservative leaders managed to persuade Kaiser Wilhelm II, with the help of Crown Prince Wilhelm, to appoint Hitler Chancellor on 30 January 1933. Shortly afterwards, the Reichstag building was set on fire by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, who was implicated in a larger plot against the German Reich, prompting the Kaiser to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree. Shortly afterwards, the National Socialists used the decree to impose a climate of terror on the March elections and then succeeded in getting an Enabling Act passed that gave legislative powers to the Hitler cabinet, starting the process of transforming the Weimar State into the Third Reich, a one-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of National Socialism. His first six years in power resulted in the rapid economic recovery from the Great Depression, the lifting of restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, and the annexation of territories inhabited by millions of ethnic Germans. His quest for Lebensraum for the German people and his aggressive foreign policy are seen by many as two of the main causes of World War II.
Early days[]
Ancestry and family[]
Hitler's father, Alois Hitler, was the illegitimate son of Maria Anna Schicklgruber. The initial baptism record did not contain the father's name, and Alois was given his mother's surname. In 1842 Maria Anna married Johan Georg Hiedler, who raised her son. In 1867, Alois presented three witnesses, including Johan Nepomuk, brother of Johan George, and had his record altered to present the latter as his father.
Childhood[]
Adolf Hitler as an infant (c. 1889–90)
Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary (in present-day German Reich), close to the border with the German Empire. He was fourth of six children born to Alois and his third wife Klara, his first cousin once removed. Also living in the household were Alois' children from his first and second marriage: Alois Jr. (born 1882) and Angela (1883). When Hitler was three, the family moved to Passau, Germany. There he acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian dialect, which marked his speech throughout his life. The family returned to Austria and settle in Leonding in 1894.
Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler began to develop German nationalist ideas from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining Habsburg monarchy. Hitler and his friends used the greeting "Heil", and sang the "Deutschlandlied" instead of the Austrian Imperial anthem.
School photo of Hitler (c. 1899-1900)
Alois had made a successful career in Austro-Hungarian customs bureau and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. During this time, Alois took his son to a customs station to meet some former co-workers. Ignoring his son's wish, Alois sent Adolf to the Realschule in Linz.
Early adulthood[]
Military service[]
In August 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, Hitler was living in Munich and voluntarily enlisted in the Bavarian Army. According to a 1924 report by the Bavarian authorities, allowing Hitler to serve was almost certainly an administrative error, since as an Austrian citizen, he should have been returned to Austria. Posted to the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (1st Company of the List Regiment), he served on the Western Front in France and Belgium, spending nearly half his time at the regimental headquarters in Fournes-en-Weppes, well behind the front lines. He was present at the First Battle of Ypres, the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras, and the Battle of Passchendaele, and was wounded at the Somme. He was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross, Second Class, in 1914. On a recommendation by Lieutenant Hugo Gutmann, Hitler's Jewish superior, he received the Iron Cross, First Class on 4 August 1918, a decoration rarely awarded to one of Hitler's Gefreiter rank. He received the Black Wound Badge on 18 May 1918.
During his service at headquarters, Hitler pursued his artwork, drawing cartoons and instructions for an army newspaper. During the Battle of the Somme in October 1916, he was wounded in the left thigh when a shell exploded in the dispatch runners' dugout. Hitler spent almost two months in hospital at Beelitz, returning to his regiment on 5 March 1917. On 15 October 1918, he was temporarily blinded in a mustard gas attack and was hospitalised in Pasewalk. While there, Hitler learned of Germany's defeat, and – by his own account – upon receiving this news, he suffered a second bout of blindness.
Entry into politics[]
Beer Hall Putsch[]
Mein Kampf[]
Rebuilding the Party[]
Rise to power[]
Government[]
Personal life[]
Awards and decorations[]
German[]
- Iron Cross, Second Class - 2 December 1914
- Bavarian Cross of Military Merit, Third Class with Swords - 17 September 1917
- Regimental Diploma (Regiment "List") - 5 May 1918
- Wound Badge in Black - 18 May 1918
- Iron Cross, First Class - 4 August 1918
- Bavarian Medal of Military Service, Third Class - 25 August 1918
- Cross of Honor with Swords - 13 July 1934 (retroactively awarded to all war veterans)
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award
- Knight of the Black Eagle - 20 February 1943
- With Collar - 1944
- Diamonds - 1947
- Knight of the Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown with Swords and Diamonds -1947
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, with Oak Leaves, Swords, Swords on Ring, Crown and Diamonds - 1963
- 1st Class of the Order of the Crown in Gold with Swords and Diamonds - 1947
- Grand Commander of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords on Ring and Star - 1960
- Knight of the Wilhelm-Orden, with Collar - 1951
Political[]
- Golden Party Badge number "1"
Foreign decorations[]
- Abyssinia: Collar of the Order of the Seal of Solomon - 1948
- Finland:
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Liberty - 1952
- Grand Cross of the White Rose of Finland with Collar, Jewels and Swords - 1944
- France: Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour
- Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer - 1948
- Holy See and Papal States: Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ - 1960
- Portugal: Grand Collar of the Order of the Tower and Sword - 1953
- Romania: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania - 1941
- Russian Empire:
- Knight Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Andrew (Russian Empire) - 1947
- Knight of the Imperial Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)
- Spain: Grand Collar of the Imperial Order of the Yoke and Arrows - 1939
- Sweden: Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim - 1941