Adolf Hitler – dictator of Nazi Germany (1933 – 1945).
Childhood and World War I
He was born on April 20, 1889 in the town of Braunau am Inn, on the border of Upper Austria.
In 1898, his family moved to Linz. In his youth, he wanted to become an artist, which is why he often clashed with his father, who insisted that his son go to work in the civil service in the Habsburg system.
From February 1908 to May 1913, Hitler lived in Vienna. After that, he moved to Munich. He earned his living by creating watercolors and sketches.
The First World War changed the life path of the future dictator – he joined the army. He was wounded twice: in 1916 and 1918. He won several awards during his service.
In October 1918, Hitler was taken to a military hospital in Pazewalka after he partially lost his eyesight due to a gas attack. During treatment, he was informed of the truce concluded on November 11. After being discharged from the hospital in November of the same year, he returned to Munich.
In 1919, he became a member of the Information Bureau of the Bavarian Military Administration, which collected intelligence on civilian political associations and conducted anti-communist political education courses for the military. In the same year, he made his first violent anti-Semitic speeches.
Leader of the Nazi Party
In October 1919, Hitler joined the organization, which later turned into the Nazi Party. A year later, he joined the creation of the party’s political program. The document was built on the ideas of racist anti-Semitism, nationalism with an emphasis on territorial expansion and a sharply hostile attitude towards immigrants.
By 1921, he concentrated the full leadership of the party in his hands, becoming its undisputed leader.
Deprivation of liberty
Avoiding participation in the Weimar elections, Hitler, together with the leadership of the Nazi Party, set a course for the violent overthrow of the Bavarian government. On November 9, 1923, they carried out an attempted coup known as the Beer Hall Putsch. After the failure, the Munich court found Hitler and the other organizers guilty of treason.
Despite the fact that Hitler was found guilty, the sentence was lenient – he spent only a year in prison. During his imprisonment, he worked on the book Mein Kampf, which was published in 1926. In it, he outlined his views based on racism, nationalism and anti-Semitism. Hitler openly advocated the establishment of a dictatorship in Germany, the expansion of the country’s borders by force and the conquest of “living space” in the East.
After he was released from prison, he began to work on the reorganization and unification of the Nazi Party.
The Nazis actively used rhetoric that corresponded to the anxieties and hopes of potential voters. In their propaganda, they advocated strengthening the country’s defense capability, the return of full state sovereignty, the destruction of communism, and the abolition of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. They also agitated for the elimination of external, in particular Jewish, influence on the political and cultural life of Germany. In addition, they emphasized the need for economic growth and the creation of new jobs in the country.
When national parliamentary elections were held in 1928, the Nazi Party decided to test a new strategy, but without success.
Breaking through to power
The situation began to change after the outbreak of the Great Depression in 1930. The economic crisis made Nazi propaganda more attractive to the population. In March of that same year, the majority coalition government collapsed and the three parties that represented the interests of the middle class took advantage of the emergency provisions of the constitution to initiate early parliamentary elections. They wanted to form a new majority that would remove the Social Democrats and representatives of the left from power.
In 1930, the Nazi Party succeeded in the elections, drastically changing the previous balance of power. The result was that the Nazis were able to attract a significant part of the electorate – primarily those who lost their jobs or were dissatisfied with the situation in Germany. As a result, the party received almost 20% of the vote.
Throughout 1931 and 1932, support for the Nazis grew steadily. Many saw Hitler as the only one who could bring Germany out of stagnation, overcome the crisis, cultural degradation, and stop the spread of communist ideas.
After participating in the presidential elections in the spring of 1932, where Hitler received a significant number of votes, his popularity grew even more. In the parliamentary elections in July of the same year, the Nazi Party won 37.3% of the vote and took first place, becoming the largest political force in Germany.
Chancellor of Germany
In the parliamentary elections in November 1932, the Nazi Party lost part of its support, gaining 33.1% of the vote. This decline affected Hitler’s image and at the same time caused a political and financial crisis within the party itself.
The situation for Hitler was unexpectedly changed by Franz von Papen, who served as chancellor from June to November 1932. He believed that electoral failure made the Nazis more dependent and open to control by experienced, if unpopular, conservative politicians. Von Papen was willing to take risks and create a coalition between the Nazis and the German nationalists, while agreeing to have Hitler lead the government as chancellor.
In early January 1933, an agreement was reached between von Papen, Hitler and representatives of the nationalist forces. After that, von Papen convinced President Paul von Hindenburg that there were no other options for Germany. On January 30, 1933, von Hindenburg, reluctantly but still appointed Hitler chancellor.
After coming to power, Hitler began to actively use his new powers to turn the country into a one-party dictatorship and destroy the opposition.
In August 1934, President Paul von Hindenburg died. By that time, Hitler had already enlisted the support of the army. Taking advantage of the moment, he abolished the institution of the presidency and proclaimed himself the Fuhrer of the German people. All military personnel and government officials took an oath of personal allegiance to him as Fuhrer. At the same time, Hitler remained as head of government.
In 1938, Hitler’s victorious march around the world began. First Austria was annexed, then Czechoslovakia. In 1941, German troops launched an offensive against the Soviet Union. Despite four years of hostilities, Hitler failed to defeat the USSR.
At the end of the war, when the German army was defeated, the remnants of the forces were controlled from the bunker where Hitler was hiding. After Berlin was surrounded, on April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide along with his wife, Eva Braun.
Provisions of Hitler’s policy
The political course pursued by Hitler was built on the idea of racial discrimination. In both domestic and foreign policy, he was convinced that one race and one people should dominate the others.
Under his leadership, Germany was to turn into a “racially pure” state. For the sake of implementing the plan, he resorted to the destruction of representatives of other races. Especially cruel persecution was directed against the Jewish population: first they were deprived of their civil rights, and later they were massively arrested and exterminated. Later, during World War II, prisoners of war were also sent to concentration camps.
At the same time, during Hitler’s rule, he still managed to lead the country out of the crisis that persisted after the First World War. The unemployment rate was reduced, and industry was actively developing, focusing mainly on the military sphere.
