HITLER, ADOLF
Adolf Hitler ruled Germany as a dictator from
1933 to 1945. Hitler’s National Socialist (Nazi)
German Workers’ party was based on the idea of
German racial supremacy and a virulent anti-
Semitism.Hitler’s regime murdered more than 6
million Jews and others in concentration camps
and started WORLD WAR II.
Hitler was born in Braunauam Inn, Austria,
on April 20, 1889, the son of a minor govern-
ment official and a peasant woman. A poor stu-
dent, Hitler never completed high school. In
1907 he moved to Vienna and tried to make a
living as an artist. He was unsuccessful and had
to work as a day laborer to support himself.
During this period Hitler immersed himself in
anti-Jewish and antidemocratic literature. He
was also a passionate German nationalist who
believed that Austria should be merged with
Germany so as to unite the German people.
In 1913 he moved to Munich.He gave up his
Austrian citizenship and enlisted in the German
army when WORLD WAR I began in 1914.He rose
to lance corporal in his infantry regiment, won
the Iron Cross, and was wounded in 1917.When
Germany admitted defeat and signed the
ARMISTICE terminating World War I in Novem-
ber 1918, Hitler was in a hospital, temporarily
blinded by a mustard gas attack and suffering
from shock. Outraged at the defeat, Hitler
blamed Jews and Communists for stabbing the
German army in the back.
Other members of the German army felt the
same way. After his discharge from the hospital,
Hitler was assigned to spy on politically subver-
sive activities in Munich. In 1919 he joined a
small nationalist party. The German Workers’
party was transformed in 1920 by Hitler into the
National Socialist German Workers’ party. The
Nazis advocated the uniting of all German peo-
ple into one nation and the repudiation of the
Versailles treaty, which the Allies had forced
Germany to sign. This treaty imposed large
reparations on Germany and restricted the size
of its armed forces.
In 1923 the Nazis tried to capitalize on
political and economic turmoil in Germany.
On November 8 Hitler called for a Nazi revolu-
tion. The beer hall putsch (revolution), named
for its place of origin, failed because Hitler
had no military support. When he led two
thousand storm troopers in revolt, the police
opened fire and killed sixteen people.Hitler was
arrested and sentenced to five years in prison
for TREASON.
While in prison Hitler wrote Mein Kampf
(My Struggle), a rambling book that was both an
autobiography and a declaration of his political
beliefs. He made his intentions plain: If he was
to assume control of Germany, he would seek to
conquer much of Europe and he would destroy
the Jewish race. He rejected democracy and
called for a dictatorship that would be able to
withstand an assault by COMMUNISM.
Hitler served only nine months in prison, as
political pressure forced the Bavarian govern-
ment to commute his sentence. He was set free
in December 1924.
From 1924 to 1928, Hitler and the Nazis had
little political success. The Great Depression,
which started in late 1929, was the catalyst for
Hitler’s rise to power. As the economy declined,
Hitler railed against the Versailles treaty and a
conspiracy of Jews and Communists who were
destroying Germany. By 1932 the Nazis had
become the strongest party in Germany.On Jan-
uary 30, 1933, Hitler was named chancellor, or
