Research Paper

Adolf Hitler

Elizabeth Webb

College English

Mr. Neuburger

March 9, 2009
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Many would define the Holocaust as one of the most demoralizing periods in the

history of the world. From early 1933 to 1939, the Nazi party controlled all of Germany and

most of Europe. This party, led by Adolf Hitler, planned and directed the loss of many lives.

While many see Hitler as a monster, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that he was a

human being like everyone else. Knowing the thoughts and beliefs of Adolf Hitler are essential

to understanding the devastating phenomenon of the Holocaust.

Born in the small town of Braunau Am Inn on April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler led the life of

a typical Austrian boy. At the age of six, he entered primary school. After moving several times,

Adolf and his family settled down in Lambach, Austria. Hitler, now nine years old, had been

enrolled in a monastery school at a local Catholic Benedictine monastery. Adolf attended school

there every day where he did well academically, and even took part in the boys’ choir. After years

at primary school, Adolf Hitler had to choose what kind of secondary school to attend. According

to David A. Meier, life started to get harder for Hitler during this period. During his years at the

monastery school, Adolf became more interested in artistry. He wanted to go to classical school

so one day he could become an artist. However, his father wanted him to become a civil servant

and forced Hitler to attend technical high school. At this school, Adolf Hitler became very

unhappy and lonely. He did not perform well his first year at technical school, and therefore had

to be held back a year. During this time, Hitler became very interested in German nationalism.

Although Adolf Hitler had been born Austrian, he expressed his loyalty openly to the German

Imperial House of Hohenzollern. The consequence of his father working within the Austrian

government and expressing loyalty to the monarchy put a lot of pressure on Adolf. Given

that the relationship between father and son already caused a problem with Hitler’s attitudes, the

pressure of conforming to his father’s will sent him into a state of rebellion. From this point on,
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Adolf Hitler began to become further interested and involved in the prejudiced and anti-Semitic

views that would later shape the happenings of the Holocaust. (Page 3)

The History Place describes how in 1907, at the age of sixteen, Adolf Hitler left home for

Vienna, where he lived for six years as a miserable vagabond. Then, in May of 1913, Hitler left

Vienna for Munich where he joined the 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment, where he served as a

dispatch runner. After the German defeat in 1918, Hitler became fully convinced it was his fate

to rescue the humiliated nation from the Versailles Treaty, and from the Jews. Later that year,

Hitler entered the German Workers’ Party as an assignment from a military intelligence unit who

monitored the party. It was then that Hitler soon became interested in the party’s programs, and

got involved as a member, states The History Place. (Page 2) Within just a couple years, Adolf

Hitler had the name changed to the National Socialist German Workers Party, also known as the

Nazi Party, and was announced Chairman by July 1921. Adolf saw this party as an excellent

opportunity to reach his political goals. His emotional and mesmerizing speeches captivated his

audiences, thus attracting hundreds of Germans to hear the policies of the young leader.

The most defining event for the newly developed Nazi party was the endorsement of the

fall of the Weimar Republic. This independent republic had been proclaimed soon after the

German monarchy fell after World War I. Hitler, along with many local nationalist groups,

sought to overthrow the government in Munich. On November 8, 1923, Hitler held a rally at a

Munich beer hall and accordingly proclaimed a revolution. David A. Meier states in the article

Hitler’s Rise to Power how Hitler, with about 2,000-armed men, marched through Munich

announcing a new provisional government, which would carry through a revolution against “Red

Berlin”. Support for the recently developed government failed to materialize, however, and the

police suppressed the revolt. As a result, the police arrested Hitler and his followers. (Page 3) On
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February 26, 1924, Hitler faced a trial and conviction for treason. He received a five-year

imprisonment term in Landsberg Fortress.

While in prison, Hitler spent much time reflecting his views on the future of German

people. He put these thoughts and beliefs into the dictation of the writing of the first volume of

Mein Kampf. The content of the book itself detailed Hitler’s views on politics, race, and anti-

Semitism. The article Hitler’s Rise of Power states the book also included the autobiography of

Hitler’s childhood and adolescent years, but the facts were inaccurate and false. The main point

of the book was to portray the fault of the Jews for all the problems of the world. Hitler spoke of

the supposed Jewish conspiracy to gain world leadership by promoting liberal democracy, as

well as tainting the racial and cultural purity of the Aryan race. This book explains into detail the

thoughts and prejudices of Hitler, and includes information of how he would later conduct the

affairs of the Holocaust. (Page 4)

Furthermore, once released from prison, Hitler’s popularity rapidly grew. By 1925, he

once again started to speak in public. For years, the Nazi Party then began to gain election seats

in the German government. Almost eight years after his release from prison, Adolf Hitler was

announced Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, states the article (Hitler’s Rise to

Power, Page 2) Once in office, Hitler instantly began to make changes within the structure. For

the duration of just four years, Hitler had managed to change entirely the German monarchy to

the dictatorship he had always sought to create. The German people effortlessly accepted the

policies of the Nazi party due to the state of the country. The aftermath of World War I had a

devastating effect on the German economy. People were left jobless and often, even homeless.

These discouraging conditions left the public looking for anything offering hope and the
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improvement of life. The Nazi message appealed to the desolate country, and offered the hope

many were seeking.

Early on, Hitler began to initiate his attacks on the Jewish people. Laws forced Jews out

of public life, and they were slowly segregated until Jews were banned from even walking on the

streets on Germany. According to the article Adolf Hitler, when World War II started on

September 1, 1939, Hitler’s plan was to gain control of the lands surrounding Germany.

Meanwhile, Jews were to be annihilated and had been sent to concentration camps since 1933, as

a part of Hitler’s “Final Solution” to rid the world of the “inferior race”. The thirteen camps,

mostly located in Germany, were used as work camps before sending the Jews to extermination

camps, or death camps. Once sent to extermination camps, Jews were forced to live in horrid

conditions where they awaited the day in which they were chosen to die in the gas chambers.

(Page 3)

As the war drug on, the Nazi Resistance began to lose power. The Allied forces,

consisting of the United States, Great Britain, and France, moved across Europe in a series of

offenses on Germany. Finally, in the late spring of 1945, Allied forces began to encounter and

liberate concentration camps. Realizing his defeat, Hitler married his long-standing mistress,

Eva Braun, and made his final political testament. In this document, Adolf concluded the same

message he had his whole life. According to The Rise of Hitler, it states Hitler said in his final

political statement: “Above all I charge the leaders of the nation and those under them to

scrupulous observance of the laws of race and to merciless opposition to the universal poisoner

of all peoples, international Jewry.” (Page 8) The next day, Hitler committed suicide by shooting

himself in the head, ending the terrorist’s reign on the German nation.
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Throughout Adolf Hitler’s life, he believed in one thing continuously- the

complete extermination of the Jewish race. There is no clear reason why Hitler hated the Jews so

much, but knowing the background and the life story of Adolf Hitler helps to better understand

the impact he had on the German nation. The hard childhood Hitler endured, as a child may have

been the most influential aspects in the event of the Holocaust.

Works Cited

"Adolf Hitler- The Holocaust." The Holocaust. 2006. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www.auschwitz.dk/Hitler.html>.

"Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf." About Nazism. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www.nazism.net/about/adolf_hitler/mein_kampf/>.

"Hitler's Book- Mein Kampf." The Rise of Hitler. 1996. The History Place. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/kampf.html>.

Meier, David A. "Hitler's Rise to Power." . 2000. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/dmeier/Holocaust/hitler.html>.

Robert, Wistrich S. "Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)." Jewish Virtual Library. 1997. 27 Aug. 2008

<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html>.