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Adolf Hitler – Biography
Founder of nazism, dictator of germany 1933-1945, planned and started world war 2
Adolf Hitler_s Historic Background
To understand Adolf Hitler and his rise to power it_s important to know the historic background. World war 1 was primarily the result of the german militarism. In many ways it was the most militarized nation and until the end of that war it was dominated by its military. When it was defeated in 1918, the german military leadership, which stopped the wwar before the military collapsed, convinced the german people that they were betrayed, „stabbed in the back by civilians“. It was an irrational excuse, given the military_s domination, but it became a popular myth. The defeat in world war 1 was therefore a traumatic shock to most germans, especially to the german soldiers, and almost no one in western europe understood it then.
This resulted in a very weak post-war democratic regime in germany. In addition to that, germany was ddivided between a _western_ and _eastern_ political and social orientations. Today, when germany is a modern liberal _western_ country it_s hard to figure it out, but before world war 2, germany was mostly dominated by the _eastern_ orientation that rejected wwestern liberalism and democracy, and had a militarist aggressive orientation facing east, and the _western_ orientation which represented peaceful liberalism was a minority. However, this minority orientation governed germany_s weak post-WWI democracy.
In Germany and in its _sister_ ethnic-german Austria there was strong anti-semitism that since the 19th century developed to a strong political force that blamed jews for all problems and trouble. This internal hate was intensified after the defeat of world war 1. This was the background for Adolf Hitler_s rise to total power as the dictator of germany, for his aggressive quest for world domination, and the horrible crimes against humanity committed in his command.
Adolf Hitler_s early years
Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in a small aaustrian village close to the german border, the son of a border customs clerk and a housemaid. As a teenager, he began to develop an artistic talent. At age 16 he quit high-school. At age 17 he applied for the Vienna academy of fine arts, but was rejected. When he was 14 his father died, and when he was 18 his loving mother had cancer. She was treated by a jewish doctor, but despite costly and painful treatment she died. HHe was then 18, and alone in the world. He returned to Vienna, and quickly became penniless. He wandered in Vienna, slept in bars and in shelters for the homeless. His attempts to make a living as a painter were futile. He had two jewish friends there, but Vienna was then an active center of strong anti-semitism, and Hitler also read „The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion“, a FAKE document that was written by the pre-WWI russian royal secret police in a cynical attempt to divert public blame of Russia_s trouble from the monarchy to the jews. The _protocols_ describe an imaginary conspiracy of rich jews to dominate the world by dominating countries like puppets and turning them against each other. Hitler, already a typical anti-semitic, believed every word.
In his poor six years in Vienna, Adolf Hitler developed his extreme hate of jews, was exposed to the idea of anti-jewish legislation, discovered his remarkable talent of speech, that used grand romantic metaphors from german culture and from his imaginative artistic soul, and developed his view of how a totalitarian state should be managed, following the example of Vienna_s very successful mayor, who was also an anti-semitic.
At aage 24, still penniless, Adolf Hitler left Vienna and crossed the border to Germany in order to avoid military service in the austrian army. He was arrested and brought back to Austria, but was then found „unfit, too weak, unable to bear arms“. Given his later military service and bravery in combat, it_s obvious that he successfully played a false figure in order to escape a peacetime military service he wanted to avoid.
A soldier in world war 1
When the fragile european balance of power exploded a year later into world war 1, Hitler_s german patriotism was ignited, and he decided to join the military. Because of his previous incident with the austrian military, he returned to germany, the ally sister country, and volunteered to the german army.
After a short training, his unit was sent to the bloody static battlefield in the trenches of the western front, and fought mainly against british forces. He fought bravely, narrowly escaped death several times, and was decorated twice with the Iron Cross medal, but not promoted. He was wounded twice in combat. In his 2nd injury he was temporarily blinded. During his recovery from his 2nd injury, still blind, in a military hhospital, he was surprised and shocked with the news that the war ended with a german defeat.
It_s important to note that during his years in the military, Hitler received political indoctrination that completed his _political education and made him a strong supporter of the _eastern_ militarist orientation. His cruel war experience, he later said, also developed in him an uncompromising iron will.
Post-war germany was in chaos. Communism rose, and communist movements rioted in the cities, some of them led by jews. Eventually germany turned from a militarist monarchy to a democracy, with an executive prime minister and a president that kept powerful authorities, the replacement of the king. The socialists gained control of the government. The situation in the streets got worse. The new government finally signed the peace treaty that included loss of territory, a severe economical burden of compensations, and severe limitations on the german military_s size and equipment, which were supposed to reduce its threat. It was perceived by most germans as a great national humiliation.
Hitler, finally recovered from his injury, and still officially a soldier, joined a para-military militia of war veterans who clashed with the communists in the streets of german cities.
He was then given the task of closely monitoring a tiny right-wing political group called _German Worker_s Party_.
Hitler enters politics
Hitler quickly realized that their ideas match his, and that they can be his vehicle for political power, that he decided that he wants as a result of the affair of the war_s defeat and the humiliating peace treaty. In April of 1920, at age 31, still with no profession, he resigned from the military to enter career politics as tthe new leader of this tiny political group that he initially spied on. It had a militarist _eastern_ oriented, anti-semitic, nationalist foreign policy, with a domestic policy of state-controlled _socialism_. It was basically the policy of the previous totalitarian militarist regime, with a big dose of added anti-semitism, and like the communists, it addressed the wide public of workers and ex-soldiers.
In 1923 the german economy collapsed into wild hyper-inflation. The peace treaty compensation was blamed for it, but the rreal reason was that germany_s long time costly militarism that was previously paid for by the fruits of victories, had no victory now to pay its huge national debt, and the government ignored good economical advice that came from top fforeign experts. The inflation was such that a visiting US congressman exchanged $7 for 4,000,000,000 DM, the german currency. Most germans lost everything they had. They blamed the peace treaty compensations and _jewish traders_.
The political crisis that followed resulted in an emergency wide coalition, but also in new violent communist riots. Eager for power, Hitler thought it_s the right time for a revolution of his own. His supporters captured the members of the local government of the state of Bavaria, and he appointed himself the new political master of Bavaria. He marched 3000 of his supporters in the city, but then the police fired at them, and the _revolution_ failed.
Hitler received a sentence of 5 years in prison, bbut thanks to the dominance of the _eastern_ politicians, which included himself, his imprisonment was like a VIP hotel stay. Instead of a prison cell and prisoner_s uniform, he was busy receiving guest politicians and fans six hours a day, wearing traditional bavarian clothes, and in his 35th birthday, the flowers candies and presents he received filled several rooms.
Instead of 5 years, his imprisonment lasted just 9 months. During those months three things happened:
Finally, following top international experts_ aadvice, the government successfully stabilized the economy and started a period of several years of steady economical growth.
The _western_ german orientation lost its remaining popular support, and the german people began to steadily drift back to totalitarianism and militarism. The author D.H. Lawrence, who visited germany in 1921 and again in 1924 noticed this dramatic drift in public orientation. He wrote „The germans are disconnecting from the west and drift to the deserts of the east. Germany no longer seeks to join western europe and peacefulness. It_s over.Germany is turning back to the destructive magic of the east that produced Atila. There is a disturbing sense of danger. there is no more hope for peace and prosperity. Instead there is a return to tartar savagery and further from christian european civilization. It happens, and it_s deeper than any actual event.“ – a breathtaking prophecy, amazingly accurate sensitive observation, a precise warning 15 years! before the war began.
Hitler formed his final ideological and practical political agenda. He detailed it in his book Mein Kampf (my war).
The main points of Hitler_s mad „ideology“ were that : International relations are an endless and merciless _inter-racial_ struggle for domination.
His _racial_ division oof mankind is a hierarchy, with the _aryan race_ (the germans) as the master race at the top, followed by the _nordic_ peoples of northern europe, followed by other nations and races, with the Slav peoples of eastern europe at the bottom, and the jews totally outside the hierarchy as a demonic arch-enemy of the germans.
As the master race, the germans are entitled to, and must, expand their territory by merciless force, and enslave _lower races_.
Particularly, the germans should occupy the vast lands of eastern europe, enslave its peoples, exploit its endless natural and agricultural resources, and fill it with germans.
To be as strong as possible, the germans must strictly keep their _racial purity and be led by a _Fuhrer_ (leader) of total authority – Adolf Hitler.
The jews, the _arch enemy should be eliminated.
Hitler also believed that communism, and particularly the Soviet Union, are in jewish control. This doubled his motivation to attack Russia.
Finally, with eastern europe_s resources in their hands and with the jews out of the way, _The 3rd Reich_ (Hitler referred to nazi germany as the 3rd german empire in history) will be able to defeat all other nations and dominate tthe entire world _for at least a thousand years_.
Hitler_s meteoric political rise
Between 1924 and 1929, Hitler_s party grew slowly, but then, a combination of a global economic crisis, that sharply increased unemployment to a peak of 43% and revived the worst fears of the previous crisis, that strengthened the communists, who returned to street violence, this combination brought fear, and Hitler rose meteorically over this wave of fear, promising germans a return to the old ways and a bright future. His talent as a demagogue served him well in those years. The german political system was in growing chaos, with political street violence, frequent elections, very high unemployment, and general worry. Hitler openly declared that voting for him is a vote to end democracy. In May 1932 his electorate doubled to 37% .
