Adolf Hitler held the office of chancellor and leader of Germany’s Nazi Party. Hitler’s policies created World War II. The Holocaust was a genocide that resulted in six million deaths among Jews and fivemillion civilians. Hitler, with Eva Braun as his wife, committed suicide in Berlin on April 30, 1945, following defeat.
Adolf Hitler (born April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn) was the fourth child of six children. Families Adolf Hitler was the fourth of six siblings. His parents were Alois Hitler and Klara Poliz (his mother, a jew), Hitler was an aggressive child and fought often with his abusive father. Hitler broke away from his family in 1900 after the death his younger brother Edmund. Hitler doesn’t kill anyone in his family. Instead, they all succumb to old age or illness. Hitler would use this nationalism as his motivation. Hitler’s father was killed suddenly in 1903. Hitler quit school two years later after his mother approved. Hitler moved to Vienna after his mother died in December 1907. He was a regular worker as well as a painter of watercolors. Hitler twice applied for the Academy of Fine Arts but was rejected each time. He was homeless and lived in shelters as he did not have the money to pay for his orphan’s pension. Hitler later said that these were the years he began to develop his antisemitism. But, this is still controversial.
Hitler made his move to Munich in 1913. Hitler joined the German army shortly after the First World War. In August 1914, he was awarded his degree. To Hitler’s dismay, he remained an Austrian citizen. Hitler was not present at the frontlines for much of his life, with some reports saying that he spent more time there than he actually did. However, he was present at many important battles and was also wounded at the Somme. He was honored for his bravery and received the Iron Cross First Class as well as the Black Wound Badge. Hitler was bitter about the failure of the war effort. This experience strengthened his passion for German patriotism. He was stunned by the 1918 surrender of Germany. He believed, like other German nationalists that the German army was betrayed and manipulated by civil leaders and Marxists. He considered the Treaty of Versailles to be degrading. He specifically criticized the demilitarization, or the acceptance by Germany of certain stipulations. This was responsible for the outbreak of war.
Hitler and Nazis Hitler returned from World War I to Munich, where he continued his work for Germany’s military. He was an intelligence officer and monitored the activities and adopted many anti-Semitic ideas from Anton Drexler, the anti-Marxist founder. In September 1919, Hitler joined the DAP, which changed its name to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) also known as Nazi. Hitler himself designed the Nazi party flag. He used the swastika symbol to place it in a circle of white on a background. He quickly became famous for his inspiring speeches, which he delivered against the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler took over Drexler’s position as Nazi party chairman in the year 1921. Hitler’s fiery speeches in beer halls began to draw more attention. Ernst Rohm, an army captain and head of Nazi paramilitary organisation the Sturmabteilung(SA), was an early follower. Rohm protected meetings and attacked political opponents. Beer Hall Putsch Hitler, the SA and a group of supporters stormed a meeting in Munich that included Gustav Kahr (Bavarian prime minister) on November 8, 1923. Hitler declared the start of the national revolution, declaring that a new government would emerge. The coup, also known as the Beer Hall Putsch, was defeated after a brief struggle that saw many people die. Hitler was detained and sentenced to nine month imprisonment for high-treason. Hitler’s Book: ‘Mein Kampf.’ Hitler was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for high treason during Hitler’s nine month stint in prison. He controlled the majority of Hitler’s autobiographical book and political autobiography Mein Kampf (which literally means My Struggle) while he was in prison. In 1925, the first volume was published. A second volume was released in 1927. It was translated in eleven languages and sold over five hundred thousand copies by 1939. It was full of nonsense, malarkey, and Hitler’s plans to make Germany a racist society.
This was his first step towards dominion. His plans were an even harsher America. Hitler shared his anti-Semitic, pro-Aryan worldview in the first volume. He also expressed his anger at France’s victory in World War I. The second volume described his plan for gaining and maintaining power. Mein Kampf’s writing style, while often unlogical and full of grammar errors, was very persuasive and relatable. It appealed to many Germans who were displaced by World War I.The Great Depression in Germany presented Hitler with an opportunity to become a politician. Germans were more skeptical about the Democratic government than ever and open to extremist ideas. Hitler was running against Paul von Hindenburg, an eighty-four year-old, for the presidency in 1932. Hitler finished second in both rounds, with more than 36% of the votes. Hindenburg likely allowed Hitler the chancellorship to ensure political balance. Hitler used his chancellorship to establish a legal dictatorship.
The “Reichstagfire Decree”, made after a suspicious incident at parliament, suspends basic rights. Hitler also passed the “Enabling Act”, giving his cabinet full legislative power for four years. It allowed him to create a more restrictive constitution. Hitler and his political allies took full control of the executive and legislative branches of government and sought to silence any remaining political opposition. Other parties were threatened to disperse by June’s end. Hitler was already there, and he had sat down on the street corner with no hesitation.
Hitler’s Nazi Party became the only legal political party of Germany on July 14, 1933. Germany pulled out of the League of Nations in October of 1933. Also, the military opposition was dealt with. The “Night of the Long Knives”, in which the SA demanded more military and political power, took place between June 30th and July 2, 1934. Rohm, the so-called “rival”, as well other SA leaders were taken into custody and shot. The cabinet had passed a law to abolish the office president and combine its powers with the chancellor the day before Hindenburg died in August 1934. Hitler was named leader of the German people and chancellor. Hitler was elevated to the position of head of state. Hitler had taken control of Germany. Hitler is vegan Hitler set his own dietary rules, including no alcohol or meat.
His fanaticism about the superior Aryan race fueled him to encourage Germans to avoid drugs and nonkosher food, as well as promote anti-smoking programs across the country. Hitler and the Nazi regime enacted hundreds of laws and regulations that restricted and excluded Jews from society. These Anti-Semitic legislations were made at all levels, fulfilling the Nazis’ promise to persecute Jews. Hitler began a national boycott against Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. The “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” on April 7th 1933 was followed by a national boycott of Jewish businesses. The Nazi application of the Aryan Pargraph, which demanded the exclusion from all public areas, including employment, non-Aryans, and Jewish-founded organizations, was the law. Additional legislation was passed to limit the number and activities of Jewish students at universities and schools, as well as the ability of Jews to work in the legal and medical professions.
The Main Office of the German Student Union’s newspaper demanded “Action Against the Un-German Spirit.” Students burned more than 25,000 German-language books. This set the stage for Nazi propaganda and censorship. 1934 saw the end of Jewish actors being allowed to perform in theater or film. The Reichstag introduced Nuremberg Laws to define a “Jew” as someone who has grandparents on both sides. The Nuremberg Laws also established the “Law for the Protection of German Blood, German Honor”, which prohibited the marriage of non-Jewish Germans and Jewish Germans. Hitler and his regime repressed the Anti-Semitic resistance in 1936. Germany hosted the Winter Olympics Games and the Summer Olympic Games to avoid international criticism and have a positive impact on tourism. The Nazi persecution against Jews increased after the Olympics. It was exacerbated by the continuing “Aryanization” Jewish business, which resulted in the firing and takeovers of Jewish workers.
Nazis kept Jews out of German society, banning them form public schools, universities and theaters. Jewish doctors were also prohibited from treating patients of “Aryan” race. Jews had to carry identification cards. In the fall 1938, Jewish citizens were required to stamp their passports with a “J.” A wave of violent anti-Jewish mobs swept Germany and Austria on November 9-10, 1938. Nazis demolished synagogues and damaged Jewish homes, schools, businesses, and other places. Nearly 100 Jews were killed. Kristallnacht (or the Night of Broken Glass), was a Nazi-led persecution of Jews that escalated to new levels of violence and brutality. Nearly 30,000 Jewish men, including many who were Jewish, were taken into custody and sent to concentration centers. Persecution Of Homosexuals And People with Disabilities Hitler’s harsh laws focused on children with mental and physical disabilities. Between 1933 and 1945, his regime arrested an estimated 100,000 homosexuals. Some were placed in jail, while others were sent for concentration.
The camps required gay prisoners to wear pink triangles to identify themselves as homosexuals. Nazis considered homosexuality a crime and a disease. Between 1939 and 1945, at least one-third of Europe’s Jewish population died in the Holocaust and Concentration Camps. Deaths and slavery were committed in concentration camps and extermination centers in Auschwitz Birkenau. Others in the camps included Poles as well as communists. For SS construction projects, prisoners were often forced laborers and sometimes forced to expand concentration camps. They suffered starvation, torture, and were subject to gruesome, painful medical treatments. Hitler never went to the concentration camps. The mass killings were not discussed publicly by him. The crimes committed in the camps were documented by the Germans on paper and film. World War II Hitler signed with several European leaders the Munich Agreement. Treaty ceded Sudetenland to Germany. This was in direct violation of a part of Versailles Treaty.
Hitler was named Time magazine’s Man-of-the Year for 1938 after the summit. His desire to regain German dominance was only amplified by this diplomatic win. Germany invaded Poland and started World War II on September 1, 1939. Two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany. Hitler escalated the military activities of his army by invading Norway. Denmark. France. Luxembourg. Netherlands. Hitler had ordered bombing strikes on the United Kingdom to be carried out by July. In September, Germany signed a formal alliance with Japan, Italy and Italy. This was to stop the United States protecting and supporting the British. Hitler sent a huge army to the Soviet Union, breaking the 1939 cease-and-desist pact with Joseph Stalin.
Hitler temporarily stopped the invading force from capturing large areas of Russia. They then diverted forces to surround Leningrad, Kiev. The Red Army had the opportunity to regroup and counter-offensively attack the German advance, which was stopped in December 1941 outside Moscow. On December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Hitler declared war on the Allies, a coalition that included Britain’s largest empire led by Winston Churchill, the United States’ greatest financial power and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well the Soviet Union which had Stalin’s largest army. Hitler’s initial hope was to be able play the Allies off each other, but Hitler’s military judgement soon became more unstable, and the Axis countries could not sustain his aggressive war. German control of North Africa was lost when the German army failed to capture the Suez Canal in late 1942. The Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) and Battle of Kursk (433) were both decisive events in the war.
D-Day, or the landing of the Western Allied Armies in France, was June 6, 1944. Many German officers believed that Hitler’s continued reign would bring down the country and resulted in significant setbacks. Although organized efforts to assassinate him gained momentum, opponents were able to come within striking distance of it in 1944 through the famous July Plot. It ultimately failed. What happened to Hitler? Hitler was certain that Germany would lose this war by the beginning of 1945. The Soviets had driven Germany’s army back to Western Europe. And the Allies were now advancing westwards into Germany. Hitler married Eva Braun, his girlfriend, at midnight, on the 29th of April 1945. The ceremony took place in his Berlin bunker. Hitler was told about the execution Benito Mussolini’s Italian dictator shortly after this ceremony. Hitler and Braun took their own lives, afraid of being captured by enemy troops. Their bodies were moved to an area bombed outside of Reich Chancellery, and then burned. Berlin fell May 2, 1945. Five days later, Germany surrendered in full to the Allies on May 7, 1945.
Hitler’s death caused a world-wide war through Hitler’s political plans. This left behind an economically devastated and poor Eastern and Central Europe, which included Germany. His policies were a disaster for humanity and resulted to the death of tens or millions of people. Hitler’s defeat ended Germany’s dominance over European history and brought an end to fascism. In the wake of World War II’s devastating violence, a new ideological conflict emerged, the Cold War. Even after his death, he reeked of the world.
