Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler
      In this paper I will discuss Adolf Hitler’s beginnings, his rise to power, and how his decisions affected the rest of the world.
      Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1089 near the German Border in the small Austrian town of Braunau. Both of Hitler’s parents were from the backwoods of lower Austria. Hitler’s father, Alois Schickelgruber Hitler, was an Austrian customs official. Hitler’s mother, Klara Poelzl, was Hitler’s father’s third wife. Alois was a strict father and savagely beat his son if he did not do as he was told. His mother was very loving and affectionate.
      As a young child Hitler did very well in school. In secondary school Hitler’s grades began to fall which made his father very angry. One of the few subjects that Hitler did enjoy in school was art. When Hitler told his father that instead of joining the civil service he wanted to become an artist his father was incensed. The relationship with his father deteriorated and the conflict only ended with the death of Alois Hitler in 1903.
      At fifteen Hitler persuaded his mother to let him drop out of school. At eighteen Hitler received and inheritance from his father’s will and moved to Vienna where he planned to become an art student. Hitler was rejected from the two schools’ he applied to but could not bring himself to tell his mother. Instead he continued to live in Vienna pretending he was an art student.

      In 1907 Klara Hitler died from breast cancer. Her death affected Hitler far greater than the death of his father. He had fond memories of his mother and carried her picture wherever he went. It is said that he had her picture in his hand at the time of his death in 1945.
      The outbreak of the First World War provided Hitler with a fresh start. It was a chance for him to become involved in proving that Germany was superior to other European countries. Hitler claimed that when he heard the news of war: “I was overcome with impetuous enthusiasm, and...