Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was an Austro-Hungarian born German artist, statesman, theoretician, politician, soldier, and writer. He became Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and Führer in 1934, positions both of which he held until his suicide in 1945. He led the National Socialist German Workers Party (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) and created The Third Reich. He was most well-known for starting, causing and waging World War II.

He is often considered to be one of the most evil people to have ever existed and is the main antagonist of World War II.

Early life
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary (now in modern Austria), right on the Austro-German border. He was the fourth of Alois and Klara Hitler's six children.

When Adolf was three, his family moved to Kapuzinerstrasse 5, where Adolf would acquire his lifelong accent. As a child, he tirelessly played "Cowboys and Indians" and became fixated on war after finding a picture book about the Franco-Prussian War in his father's room.

When Adolf was 11 years old, he started secondary school. It was his father's idea to send him to a Realschule, where they taught mainly science and technical skills. But Adolf was a reluctant student. He much preferred drawing and writing to science and numbers. And he resented the hour-long walk to and from the school.

On February 2nd, 1900, Adolf's younger brother Edmund died from measles. The death deeply affected Adolf that it caused a change in his personality; he went from a confident, outgoing boy to a detached, sullen boy who constantly battled his father and his teachers. Many psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and psychohistorians have post-humously diagnosed or described Hitler as suffering from

.

Adolf's father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a high-ranked official, and this became a huge source of conflict between them. Adolf wanted to go to classical high school and become an artist but his father sent him to the Realschule in Linz, a technical high school.

For young Adolf Hitler, German nationalism quickly became an obsession, and it was a good way to rebel against his father, who served the Austrian government. Like many Austrian Germans he showed pride in his German ancestry, he expressed loyalty only to Germany despising the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After Alois' sudden death on January 3, 1903, Hitler's behaviour at the technical school became even more disruptive, and he was asked to leave. Adolf enrolled at the Realschule in Steyr but was expelled during his second year. He never returned to school again. When he was 14, he fell into a frozen lake, but thankfully a priest was able to pull him out before he drowned. The priest later regretted his decision.

From 1905 on, Hitler lived a bohemian life in Vienna on an orphan's pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, citing "unfitness for painting", and they told him his abilities should be used for architecture. He followed this recommendation, and he became convinced that this was his path to pursue, but he lacked the academic preparation for architecture school.

In 1907, Adolf's mother died of breast cancer, and he was forced to give some of the money his mother had sent him to his sister. He ran out of money after the second time he was rejected by the Art Academy. Adolf Hitler always said he first became started following antisemitism in Vienna, which had a large Jewish community.

Hitler claimed that Jews were enemies of the Aryan race. He held them responsible for Austria's crisis. He also identified certain forms of socialism and Bolshevism, which had many Jewish leaders, as Jewish movements, merging his antisemitism with anti-Marxism. He later blamed Germany's military defeat in World War I on the 1918 revolutions and he considered Jews the culprits of Germany's downfall and economic problems.

In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, where he became more interested in architecture. When Germany entered World War I in August 1914, he asked permission to serve in a Bavarian regiment. This request was granted, and he enlisted in the Bavarian Army.

World War I
Hitler served in France and Belgium as a runner for the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment, which exposed him to enemy fire. His duties at regimental headquarters, while often dangerous, gave Hitler time to pursue his artwork. When he had the time he drew cartoons and instructional drawings for the army newspaper. Hitler had long admired Germany, and during the war, he had become a passionate German patriot. Hitler was twice decorated for bravery, once in 1914 receiving the Iron Cross Second Class and in 1918, the Iron Cross First Class. Additionally, in 1917 he received the Wound Badge for injuries he suffered on his leg. On October 15th, 1918; Hitler was admitted to a field hospital, temporarily blinded by a mustard gas attack. During his stay there he received news that Germany lost World War I. To Hitler, as too many other Germans and German-speakers, this was a betrayal by the cowardly politicians. He was shocked by Germany's capitulation even while the German army still held enemy territory. Like many other nationalists, Hitler believed Germany was stabbed in the back by civilian leaders and Marxists back on the home front. These politicians were later dubbed the November Criminals.

According to the most recent book about Hitler's life as a soldier in WWI, it was revealed that he was considered to be a wimp by several of his comrades and that his supposed brutality in WWI was actually heavily exaggerated by NatSoc propaganda.

Rise to power
After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich and joined the German Workers' Party (the predecessor of the Nazi Party.) He met Dietrich Eckart, who became his political mentor. Hitler quickly rose through the party's ranks and became leader in July 1921. Shortly afterwards, the German Workers' Party became known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party, better known as the Nazi Party. Early members of Hitler's inner circle would include Rudolf Hess, Hermann Göring, Ernst Röhm, and Erich Ludendorff.

Hitler tried a failed coup, the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, in 1923. This was a one-way ticket to prison for six months. During his stay, he wrote a book/rant/political treatise called Mein Kampf (“My Struggle” in English). This bought him publicity and revealed his true intentions and means to create a better Germany then the former Weimar Republic which was a very scary place to be living in. After being released from prison, Hitler helped turn the Nazi Party into a major political force in Germany. He made his first attempt at running for public office in 1932, running for President against Paul von Hindenberg. Though Hitler would come up short in this election, he won over support from many of Germany's most powerful industrialists.

On recommendation from several other politicians, Hindenberg appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Eventually, Hitler and the Nazis took full control of the German goverment by July 1933. Hitler declared himself Führer in 1934 and consolidated his power over Germany with the Night of the Long Knives shortly thereafter, giving way for the 11-year Nazi regime. He outlawed his competition, re-militarized Germany, and started World War II in Europe in a bid to control much of the world by military means.

In 1938, Hitler's government initiated the Holocaust: a planned mass genocide of all Jews in Europe. One year later, the Nazis invaded Poland, officially kickstarting World War II. The invasion of Poland would be followed by a number of Nazi invasions and occupations all across Europe. He would also gain strong allies in Imperial Japan (lead by Emperor Hirohito) and Fascist Italy (lead by Benito Mussolini); the alliance between the three would become known as the Axis Powers.

World War 2
Over his seven years in power, Hitler had built up a huge army and air force, with massive numbers of planes, tanks, and trucks. Now he used them to great effect, conquering Denmark and Norway, and launching attacks on France. By this time, French troops were stationed all along Germany's western border. But Hitler distracted them by invading the Netherlands and Belgium. As the French and British responded by moving north, German tanks broke through to the south and advanced into France. A month later, a triumphant Hitler was in Paris.

Only a narrow stretch of the sea now let between Hitler and the British Isles. He hoped that the Britsh would willingly surrender. But the new British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was determined to fight to the end.

Hitler watched, frustrated, as the British air force won the battle for control of the skies. Eventually, he gave up and turned his attention east. Recklessly breaking the non-aggression he'd signed with Joseph Stalin he now sent his troops into Russia, which would ultimately be his undoing.

The Russian troops were slow to respond but mighty in number. By November, German forces were engaged in bitter warfare, as the temperature plummeted below freezing.

Death
By mid-1945, Hitler was utterly defeated, and, finding no way out of the situation, committed suicide in his bunker on April 30th, 1945 by shooting himself in the head. His wife of one day, Eva Braun, committed suicide by taking a cyanide pill.

The Third Reich would not long survive after the death of the Führer; in his last will and testament, Hitler appointed Joseph Goebbels as Chancellor of Germany and Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz as President of Germany. Goebbels would commit suicide himself only one day after Hitler had, and only one month later, Dönitz and Chief of Staff Alfred Jodl agreed to sign the instruments of unconditional surrender on May 23, formally putting an end to Hitler's vision of a "thousand-year Reich".

Legacy
Hitler has been widely regarded as one of the most evil people ever to have existed. Nevertheless, given the fear and disgust that surrounds them, Hitler and the Nazis still have many admirers and followers of him and their ideologies. Many Neo-Nazi groups exist to present day; the movement has seen a vocal resurgence during the latter half of the 2010's with the rise of the Alt-Right movement with almost every member of the Alt-Right celebrating him.

Nazis have been rather popular as villains in fiction, and Hitler has been a character in alternative history novels, such as those who call for his assassination, WWII novels, such as Holocaust survivor novels, movies, comics and at least one rather popular Internet meme. He is also a character on the villains wiki.

He was mentioned as being a painter in the Only Fools and Horses episode

. Uncle Albert says that he used to be a painter but Raquel asks how long he has been french to which Rodney asks "And who in their right minds would call a hotel 'The Hotel Hitler?'"

More Quotes
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Most evil acts

 * The Holocaust - A Genocide aimed at European Jews that killed between 6,000,000 and 11,000,000 people. It is considered by many to be the worst crime ever committed and was intended to exterminate all Jews. This was known as the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question", or simply the "Final Solution", which stated that Jews were a "problem" that needed to be "solved".
 * Waging World War II - A Global War considered that resulted in the deaths of between 40,000,000–72,000,000 people. It is widely considered to be the deadliest conflict in human history, and one of the largest clashes of major ideologies that would evolve throughout the decades.
 * The Hitler Youth - a youth group for boys that Hitler used to indoctrinate German youths into believing that he was their saviour, often resulting in the boys becoming child soldiers.
 * Action T4 - a programme similar to the Holocaust that involved the systematic extermination of disabled or mentally ill people to "cleanse" Germany of the "unfit". It was based on the principles of eugenics established in America by Harry Laughlin.

Trivia

 * Hitler only got drunk once in his life. It was when he was 15–16 years old after getting his (obligatory education) school certificate. He was happy and went out partying with his classmates. He got drunk and by mistake used his school certificate in lieu of toilet paper. It was later found dirty and in 4 pieces.
 * Hitler once mentioned that he used to smoke between 25-40 cigarettes a day when he was young, broke and pretty much lived in the streets of Vienna. He said he only ate bread and milk, never had a warm meal, yet spent 30 kreuzers a day on cigarettes. When he realized that for 5 kreuzers he could have bought some butter to put on his bread, he quit smoking.
 * Allegedly, Hitler was a serial prankster, often playing jokes on his ministers and generals. This would backfire on him tremendously, when a stunt on Ernst Hanfstaengl (who believed he was being set up for a suicide mission, whilst headed to Spain on a plane full of Gestapo men), let him to escape to Switzerland. He would then seek refuge with the Allies, revealing vital information on his former friend and leader.
 * He was rumored to have had a micropenis with one testicle. Research has shown that this may have been the case.
 * There are conspiracy theorists who claim Hitler and Eva didn't die in Berlin, but he and Eva had escaped to South America and later died there in the mid 1960's.
 * Hitler's name means "Noble wolf", which is ironic because Adolf Hitler was anything but noble.
 * His favorite movie was Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
 * One of his ancestors had a Czech name, meaning he likely had Slavic ancestry (He was famous for the hate of slavic peoples.)
 * He had blue eyes and brown hair.
 * He has influenced numerous fictional villains, such as Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars, Melisha Tweedy from Aardman's Chicken Run, Scar from Disney's The Lion King, Judge Claude Frollo from Disney's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Darkseid from DC Comics, Madam Margaret from Cartoon Network's Codename: Kids Next Door, General Mandible from Dreamworks' Antz, Lord Farquaad from Dreamworks' Shrek, Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, Zanu from Joe Camp's Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince, and Assef from The Kite Runner.
 * In the Downfall Parodies, Hitler is referred to as the "real Hitler" by the Downfall Hitler (played by Bruno Ganz).
 * The surname Hitler is probably a spelling variation of the name Hiedler, meaning one who resides by a Heidi - in Bavarian dialects a term for a subterranean fountain or river.