Hitlers Upbringing

Question 1

Hitlers background

Answer 1

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889. He left school at 16 and applied to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, however, he was told he didn’t have enough talent to get in. Between 1909 and 1914 he lived on the streets, he sold paintings and postcards to earn money. At the beginning of World War One he joined the German Army and fought on the Western Front. He was wounded and received awards for his bravery, including the Iron Cross. Hitler was devastated when Germany lost the war. This left Hitler very bitter, he blamed the politicians, Communists and Jews who he felt had ‘stabbed Germany in the back’.

Question 2

Hitler becoming a leader

Answer 2

Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party in 1919 and he took over leadership in 1921. He created the 25 point programme for the party - this included the Treaty of Versailles should be scrapped, Germany should expand its territory (Lebensraum) - because many Germans were living in Austria, Poland & Czechoslovakia - a new state created by the peace treaty. Jews should be deprived of German citizenship because many were successful in business and commerce. The Nazis were jealous of their power. The Nazis thought only racially pure Germans, called Aryans by the Nazis, could be citizens of the state.