Adolf HitlerFrom Artist to Fuhrer

Early Life• Born April 20, 1889 in

Austria• 1 of 6 children, 3 of his

siblings died at early ages• Hitler hated his father, Alois,

there may have been some potential Jewish roots through his grandfather

• Hitler was very close to his mother, Klara, and was VERY upset when she died of breast cancer when he was 18

Education• Hitler’s father wanted him

to be a civil servant, but after his father’s death he tried to get into the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.

• He was shunned from the Academy and ended up living in Austria in poor conditions and often on the streets. He painted and tried to sell these to people to make money.

Vienna – where it all began• Influences from living

on the street mainly German nationalism and Anti-Semitism• Hatred of Jewish

businessmen that had so much and he had so little.• Wanted a stronger

Germany

KRIEG!• WWI broke out in

August, and Germany joined with Austria.• Hatred for Slavs• Left Vienna for

Germany• Conscripted

• Hitler joined the Bavarian Unit of the German Army

Hitler in Munich Rally

World War I• Served as a messenger• Awarded 2 Iron Cross

Medals• Promotion

• Wounded• Shell, Gas

• Outraged when the war ended• Why do you think Hitler

and other German soldiers were outraged?

World War One Photos

Treaty of VersaillesWhat were the conditions?

Weimar Republic• Overthrow of the Kaiser and a small democracy was set up• Germany was at political and economical unrest• Rise of communists and fascists

• Not many people trusted the center, they were either leftist or towards the right

• Joined the Free Corps organization• World War I defined his values

German Workers Party• Spied on them in 1919, and got

intrigued by them• Passionate speaker, and he started

to draw lots of attention from Germans• Member number 7

• Became the spokesperson and renamed the organization to the National Socialist German Workers Party (NDSAP) or known as the Nazi Party in 1920.

• Adopted the Swastika as a symbol of strength

• Used the Free Corps as muscle, renamed as the SA or the Sturmabteilung.

Rise of the Party and the Putsch• Party appealed to

many Germans. Hitler seemed like a man with all the answers• Used Jews as a

scapegoat for the loss of the war and horrible economic times.

1923 Munich Putsch• Stormed a beer hall and announced a revolution had begun.• Very poorly planned and executed, and Hitler was arrested

and tried for treason• Imprisoned at Landsberg prison, and this is where he wrote

Mein Kampf (My Struggle) in 1925.• His message resonated with many of the inmates• Only served 9 months before being released.

Hitler Leaving Landsberg

Political Rise• Nazis wanted their power

through elections• 1930 election : 18% of the

vote.• 1932: 30% of the vote.• Hitler ran against Paul von

Hindenburg for President but lost.

• Nazis caused political unrest in the Reichstag (German Parliament)

• How do you think Hindenburg solved the issue? “Freedom and Bread”

Deal with the Devil…• Hindenburg agreed

to make Hitler Chancellor in exchange for political support.• Celebrated with a

torch-lit parade• Horst-Wessel Lied

From Chancellor to German Fuhrer• Reichstag Fire• Communists blamed• Maybe staged?

• Enabling Act• Gives Hitler full control of

leadership• Night of the Long Knives• Political, SA

• Hindenburg dies in 1934, Hitler becomes successor

Video Clip