The Biography of Adolf Hitler

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war to ever occur in history. This gruesome war started in 1939 and ended in 1945. There were 30 nations involved in World War II. Throughout the 6 year course of the war, 75 million people died. A man responsible for at least 11 million people’s deaths would be Adolf Hitler (Stephans). He caused many deaths and unfortunate situations making his name known to the majority of people. Hitler would forever leave a nasty mark in many people's lives, as well the world itself.

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria (Knapp). His parents were Alois Hitler and Klara Poizi. Hitler and his father, Alois, fought frequently over many topics, especially fine arts. He had five siblings. His younger brother Edmund passed away of measles in 1900. The death of his brother hurt Hitler deeply, causing him to develop into an introvert. He attended school like any other child. Eventually, both his father and mother passed away. He decided to move to Vienna where he applied to the Academy of Fine Arts twice. Both times, the Academy rejected his application. He then lived in homeless shelters with very little money. Many people believe this is when he started to believe in anti-Semitism, which is prejudice against Jews. 

In the year of 1913, Hitler decided to move to Munich, Germany. Shortly after he moved to Munich, World War I started. He decided to join the German Army in 1914 as an Austrian citizen. When Hitler was fighting in Ypres Salient in Belgium on October 14, 1918, he was temporarily blinded by a British gas shell. He was immediately evacuated to a hospital in Germany. There he healed, but also had lots of time to think. In his book Mein Kampf, he said he decided to dedicate himself to restoring Germany to greatness again during this time (Ed). The war ended in 1918 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Germany had to admit they caused World War I and had to pay lots of reparations. Hitler found the treaty degrading towards Germany.

Hitler continued to work for the German military after World War I. In September of 1919, he joined the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), also known as the Nazis. He rose to the chairman position and designed the flag with a swastika symbol in 1921. As time went on, Germany fell into a poor period of time known as the Great Depression. The people were desperate and needed new leaders; therefore, Hitler was appointed chancellor by Hindenburg. He started to gain lots of power after passing the Enabling Act, which gave his cabinet full power for four years. Hitler soon titled himself “Führer,” which means leader. A few years later in 1933, Hitler had made the Nazi party the only legal political party in Germany. 

Adolf Hitler had obtained too much power. He started passing laws such as the Nuremberg laws which were anti-Semitic. His men and him blamed the Jews for all their problems; therefore, the Jews were taken from their homes and sent to concentration camps. The Jews were forced to work at the camps and millions were killed. The genocide, known as the Holocaust, killed off two thirds of the Jewish population. After this tragic event caused by Hitler came World War II. Germany began taking over lands such as Poland, Norway, and Denmark. France was angered by this, so they joined the war as well as many other nations. Throughout the course of the war, it was clear that Germany was going to lose. On January 16, 1945 Hitler moved his center of command to an underground shelter. During this time, he married Eva Braun. Hitler knew the world was against him. He decided he would commit suicide. On April 30, 1945 he took a dose of cyanide and shot himself in the head. This one man caused mass destruction in the world. Adolf Hitler would forever be remembered as the man who killed millions.

Works Cited

Ed. (2017, July 08). This Day In History: Hitler Is Wounded In A Gas Attack (1918). Retrieved January 13, 2021, from https://historycollection.com/day-history-hitler-wounded-gas-attack-1918/

Editors. (2020, December 10). Adolf Hitler. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.biography.com/dictator/adolf-hitler

Knapp, W. (n.d.). Adolf Hitler. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler

Stephans, K. (2017, May 26). 11 million, not 6 million, died in the Holocaust. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/11-million-not-6-million-died-in-the-holocaust/2017/05/26/6fdcc270-3f1c-11e7-b29f-f40ffced2ddb_story.html