Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) - a great political and military figure, the Reich Chancellor of Germany, the founder of the totalitarian dictatorship of the Third Reich, the main ideologist of National Socialism.
Adolf Hitler was one of the most famous bloody dictators of all time. world history. He was distinguished by extremely nationalistic views, pursued a corresponding policy in Germany and dreamed of conquering the whole world. Hitler is the founder of the theory of fascism, he ordered the creation of fascist concentration camps, where people of the “wrong” nationality (mostly Jews) ended up, where they were tortured and killed. Hitler unleashed the Second World War, conquered several countries and reached the USSR.
Brief biography of Hitler
Hitler was born in a small town on the border of Austria and Germany in an ordinary family. As a child, he did not show military talents and did not excel at school. Hitler was not taken to the university, he tried twice to enter the Academy of Arts in the art department.
At a young age, unable to study further, Hitler voluntarily joined the army, from where he was immediately sent to the front. It was during the war that the birth of many political ideas took place in it, which later formed the basis of the theory of National Socialism. Hitler performed well in the army and quickly rose through the ranks, reaching the rank of corporal, as well as receiving several awards.
In 1919, Hitler returned from the war and joined the German Workers' Party, where, as quickly as in the war, he gained confidence and moved up the career ladder. Already in 1921, Hitler became the head of the party thanks to the skillful policy he carried out during the political and economic crisis in Germany. Since that time, Hitler began to actively promote nationalist ideas in society and reform the political system of Germany, using the party apparatus and military experience.
Shortly thereafter, Hitler, who was one of the main organizers of the Bavarian putsch, is arrested. In prison, Hitler wrote his most famous work, Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In this work, he sets out his own views on the future of the world and Germany, as well as the theory of the supremacy of one race (Aryan) over others, saying that it is Germany and the Germans who should become the head of the world in the future. This work is the most striking expression of all the nationalist ideas of Hitler, which guided him in politics and military affairs.
In 1933, Hitler's path to world domination began. This year he was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Hitler received this post thanks to the economic reforms carried out, which allowed Germany to get out of the serious crisis that the country fell into after.
Having taken the post of Reich Chancellor, Hitler began to actively pursue a nationalist policy:
- all parties except the nationalists were banned;
- persecution of the Jewish population began (at first they were deprived civil rights and then began to kill indiscriminately);
- SS detachments, concentration camps were created, Hitler strictly ensured that everything in the country obeyed exclusively his will.
In the same period, Adolf Hitler passed a law according to which he became a dictator in Germany for the next four years and had unlimited sole power. Germany has become a country of the Third Reich - a new political system based on nationalism and terror.
Germany alone was not enough for Hitler, so in 1938 he began to conquer the world. The first to fall were Austria and Czechoslovakia, which became part of Germany. Shortly thereafter, World War II broke out, during which Hitler managed to advance to the borders of the USSR and attack the country. lasted four years, but did not yield to Germany, the USSR. Russian troops expelled Hitler's army from their territories and marched all the way to Berlin, capturing it.
In the last years of the war, Hitler and his wife Eva Braun were in a special bunker from which the army was controlled. Having learned that Berlin had been surrendered to the Soviet troops, Hitler, unable to survive such a shame, committed suicide.
This happened in 1945. According to generally accepted data, he shot himself, but there is an opinion that Hitler could have taken an ampoule of poison.
Hitler's policy
The essence of Hitler's policy was racial discrimination and the superiority of one race over another. This is what guided the dictator in domestic and foreign policy, creating a completely new political and administrative system, where everything was based on unconditional submission and fear. According to Hitler's idea, Germany (and with it the whole world) was to turn into a state where people of the "correct" race rule, and the rest are in their unconditional submission, like slaves.
However, it is also worth noting that Hitler, despite his nationalist orientation, carried out a number of very successful economic and political reforms. Under him, Germany was able to overcome the devastating consequences, establish production, raise industry (it was reoriented to the military) and, in general, improve its well-being.
Thanks to Hitler's policies before the war, Germany was able to get back on its feet and gain some stability.
Results of Hitler's reign
Germany under Hitler:
- got out of the economic crisis and established industrial production;
- completely changed the system, turning into a national socialist state with a dictator at the head (Third Reich).
but negative consequences there were more. Hitler unleashed the Second World War, which had a negative impact not only on other countries, but also on Germany itself, and also killed and tortured millions of people in concentration camps.
Hitler is considered the most brutal and bloody dictator of the 20th century.
Adolf Hitler is a well-known political leader in Germany, whose activities are associated with heinous crimes against humanity, including the Holocaust. The founder of the Nazi Party and the dictatorship of the Third Reich, the immorality of the philosophy and political views of which are still widely discussed in society today.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter Hitler managed to become the head of the German fascist state in 1934, he launched a large-scale operation to seize Europe, became the initiator of World War II, which made him a “monster and a sadist” for Soviet citizens, and for many Germans a brilliant leader who changed people's lives for the better.
Childhood and youth
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in the Austrian city of Braunau am Inn, located near the border with Germany. His parents, Alois and Clara Hitler, were peasants, but his father managed to break into the people and become a state customs officer, which allowed the family to live in decent conditions. "Nazi No. 1" was the third child in the family and dearly loved by his mother, who was very similar in appearance. Later, he had a younger brother Edmund and sister Paula, to whom the future German Fuhrer became very attached and took care of all his life.
Embed from Getty Images Adolf Hitler as a childAdolf's childhood years were spent in constant moving, caused by the peculiarities of his father's work, and changing schools, where he did not show any special talents, but still managed to finish four classes of a real school in Steyr and received a certificate of education, in which good marks were only in drawing and physical education. During this period, his mother Klara Hitler dies of cancer, which dealt a serious blow to the psyche of the young man, but he did not break down, but, having completed the necessary documents for receiving a pension for himself and his sister Paula, he moved to Vienna and set foot on the path of adulthood.
At first he tried to enter the Art Academy, as he had an outstanding talent and craving for fine arts but failed the entrance exams. The next few years, the biography of Adolf Hitler was filled with poverty, vagrancy, odd jobs, constant moving from place to place, rooming houses under city bridges. All this time, he did not inform his relatives or friends about his location, as he was afraid of being drafted into the army, where he would have to serve along with the Jews, for whom he felt a deep hatred.
Embed from Getty Images Adolf Hitler (right) in World War IAt the age of 24, Hitler moved to Munich, where he met with the First World War, which made him very happy. He immediately volunteered for the Bavarian army, in whose ranks he took part in many battles. He took the defeat of Germany in the First World War very painfully and categorically blamed politicians for it. Against this background, he engaged in large-scale propaganda work, which allowed him to get into the political movement of the people's workers' party, which he skillfully turned into a Nazi one.
Path to power
Having become the head of the NSDAP, Adolf Hitler gradually began to make his way deeper and deeper to political heights and in 1923 organized the "Beer putsch". Enlisting the support of 5,000 stormtroopers, he broke into a beer bar, where a rally of the leaders of the General Staff was taking place, and announced the overthrow of the traitors in the Berlin government. On November 9, 1923, the Nazi putsch headed towards the ministry to seize power, but was intercepted by police detachments, who used firearms to disperse the Nazis.
Embed from Getty Images Adolf HitlerIn March 1924, Adolf Hitler, as the organizer of the putsch, was convicted of treason and sentenced to 5 years in prison. But the Nazi dictator spent only 9 months in prison - on December 20, 1924, for unknown reasons, he was released.
Immediately after his release, Hitler revived the Nazi party NSDAP and transformed it with the help of Gregor Strasser into a nationwide political power. During that period, he managed to establish close ties with the German generals, as well as establish contact with large industrial magnates.
At the same time, Adolf Hitler wrote his work "My Struggle" ("Mein Kampf"), in which he outlined his autobiography and the idea of National Socialism. In 1930, the political leader of the Nazis became the supreme commander of the assault troops (SA), and in 1932 he tried to get the post of Reich Chancellor. To do this, he had to renounce his Austrian citizenship and become a German citizen, as well as enlist the support of the allies.
Embed from Getty Images Paul von Hindenburg and Adolf HitlerFrom the first time, Hitler failed to win the elections, in which Kurt von Schleicher was ahead of him. A year later, German President Paul von Hindenburg, under Nazi pressure, dismissed the victorious von Schleicher and appointed Hitler in his place.
This appointment did not cover all the hopes of the Nazi leader, since power over Germany continued to remain in the hands of the Reichstag, and his powers included only the leadership of the Cabinet of Ministers, which had yet to be created.
In just 1.5 years, Adolf Hitler managed to remove all obstacles from his path in the form of the President of Germany and the Reichstag and become an unlimited dictator. From that moment, the oppression of Jews and Gypsies began in the country, trade unions were closed and the "Hitler era" began, which for 10 years of his reign was completely saturated with human blood.
Nazism and war
In 1934, Hitler gained power over Germany, where a total Nazi regime immediately began, the ideology of which was the only true one. Having become the ruler of Germany, the Nazi leader immediately revealed his true face and began major foreign policy actions. He is rapidly creating the Wehrmacht and restoring aviation and tank troops, as well as long-range artillery. Contrary to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany seizes the Rhineland, and after Czechoslovakia and Austria.
Embed from Getty Images Soldiers of Nazi GermanyAt the same time, he carried out a purge in his ranks - the dictator organized the so-called "Night of Long Knives", when all prominent Nazis who posed a threat to Hitler's absolute power were destroyed. Assigning himself the title of supreme leader of the "Third Reich", the Fuhrer created the "Gestapo" police and a system of concentration camps, where he imprisoned all "undesirable elements", namely Jews, gypsies, political opponents, and later prisoners of war.
The basis of Adolf Hitler's domestic policy was the ideology of racial discrimination and the superiority of indigenous Aryans over other peoples. His goal was to become the only leader of the whole world, in which the Slavs were to become "elite" slaves, and the lower races, to which he ranked Jews and Gypsies, were completely destroyed. Along with massive crimes against humanity, the ruler of Germany was developing a similar foreign policy, deciding to take over the whole world.
Embed from Getty Images Adolf Hitler inspects the armyIn April 1939, Hitler approves a plan to attack Poland, which was defeated already in September of the same year. Further, the Germans occupied Norway, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg and broke through the front of France. In the spring of 1941, Hitler captured Greece and Yugoslavia, and on June 22 attacked the then-led USSR.
In 1943, the Red Army launched a large-scale offensive against the Germans, thanks to which World War II entered the territory of the Reich in 1945, which completely drove the Fuhrer crazy. He sent pensioners, teenagers and disabled people to battle with the Red Army, ordering the soldiers to stand to death, while he himself hid in the "bunker" and watched what was happening from the side.
Holocaust and death camps
With the coming to power of Adolf Hitler in Germany, Poland and Austria, a whole complex of death camps and concentration camps was created, the first of which was created in 1933 near Munich. It is known that there were more than 42 thousand such camps, in which millions of people died under torture. These specially equipped centers were intended for genocide and terror both over prisoners of war and over the local population, which included the disabled, women and children.
Embed from Getty Images Auschwitz concentration campThe largest Nazi "death factories" were "Auschwitz", "Majdanek", "Buchenwald", "Treblinka", in which people who dissented from Hitler were subjected to inhuman torture and "experiments" with poisons, incendiary mixtures, gas, which in 80% of cases led to to the painful death of people. All death camps were created with the aim of "cleansing" the entire world population from anti-fascists, inferior races, which for Hitler were Jews and gypsies, ordinary criminals and "elements" simply undesirable for the German leader.
The symbol of the ruthlessness of Hitler and fascism was the Polish city of Auschwitz, in which the most terrible conveyors of death were built, where more than 20 thousand people were killed daily. This is one of the most terrible places on Earth, which became the center of the extermination of Jews - they died there in "gas" chambers immediately after their arrival, even without registration and identification. The Auschwitz camp has become a tragic symbol of the Holocaust - the mass destruction of the Jewish nation, which is recognized as the largest genocide of the 20th century.
Why did Hitler hate the Jews?
There are several versions why Adolf Hitler hated the Jews so much, whom he tried to "wipe off the face of the earth." Historians who have studied the personality of the "bloody" dictator put forward several theories, each of which could be true.
The first and most plausible version is the "racial policy" of the German dictator, who considered only native Germans to be people. In this regard, he divided all nations into three parts - the Aryans, who were supposed to rule the world, the Slavs, who were assigned the role of slaves in his ideology, and the Jews, whom Hitler planned to completely destroy.
Embed from Getty Images Nazi Adolf HitlerThe economic motives of the Holocaust are also not ruled out, since at that time Germany was in a critical state in terms of the economy, and the Jews had profitable enterprises and banking institutions, which Hitler took away from them after exile in concentration camps.
There is also a version that Hitler destroyed the Jewish nation in order to maintain the morale of his army. He gave the Jews and Gypsies the role of victims, whom he gave to be torn to pieces so that the Nazis could enjoy human blood, which, according to the leader of the Third Reich, should set them up for victory.
Personal life
The personal life of Adolf Hitler in modern history has no confirmed facts and is filled with a lot of speculation. It is known that the German Fuhrer was never officially married and had no recognized children. At the same time, despite his rather unattractive appearance, he was the favorite of the entire female population of the country, which played an important role in his life. Historians claim that "Nazi No. 1" knew how to influence people hypnotically.
Embed from Getty Images Adolf Hitler was a favorite of womenWith his speeches and cultural manners, he charmed the opposite sex, whose representatives began to recklessly love the leader, which forced the ladies to do the impossible for him. Hitler's mistresses were mostly married ladies who idolized him and considered him an outstanding person.
In 1929, the dictator met, who conquered Hitler with her appearance and cheerful disposition. During the years of her life with the Fuhrer, the girl twice tried to commit suicide because of the loving nature of her common-law spouse, who openly flirted with the women he liked.
Embed from Getty Images Adolf Hitler and Eva BraunIn 2012, US citizen Werner Schmedt declared that he was the legitimate son of Hitler and his young niece Geli Ruabal, whom, according to historians, the dictator killed in a fit of jealousy. He provided family photos in which the Fuhrer of the Third Reich and Geli Ruabal stand in an embrace. Also, the possible son of Hitler presented his birth certificate, in which only the initials “G” and “R” are in the column of data about the parents, which was done allegedly for the purpose of secrecy.
According to the son of the Fuhrer, after the death of Geli Ruabal, nannies from Austria and Germany were engaged in his upbringing, but his father constantly visited him. In 1940, Schmedt saw Hitler for the last time, who promised him that if he won World War II, he would give him the whole world. But since the events did not unfold according to Hitler's plan, Werner had to hide his origin and place of residence from everyone for a long time.
Death
On April 30, 1945, when Hitler's house in Berlin was surrounded by the Soviet army, "Nazi No. 1" admitted defeat and decided to commit suicide. There are several versions of how Adolf Hitler died: some historians claim that the German dictator drank potassium cyanide, while others do not exclude that he shot himself. Together with the head of Germany, his common-law wife Eva Braun, with whom he lived for more than 15 years, also died.
Embed from Getty Images Jewish elders read the announcement of Adolf Hitler's deathIt is reported that the bodies of the spouses were burned before entering the bunker, which was the demand of the dictator before his death. Later, the remains of Hitler's body were found by a group of guards of the Red Army - only dentures and part of the Nazi leader's skull with an entrance bullet hole have survived to this day, which are still stored in Russian archives.
chairman (fuhrer) of the NSDAP party, head of Nazi Germany, Reich Chancellor in 1933-1945, dictator
short biography
Adolf Gitler(German Adolf Hitler [ˈaːdɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ]; April 20, 1889, the village of Ranshofen (now part of the city of Braunau am Inn), Austria-Hungary - April 30, 1945, Berlin, Germany) - the founder and central figure of National Socialism, founder totalitarian dictatorship of the Third Reich, leader ( Fuhrer) National Socialist German Workers' Party (1921-1945), Reich Chancellor (1933-1945) and Fuhrer (1934-1945) of Germany, Supreme Commander armed forces Germany (since December 19, 1941) in World War II.
Hitler's expansionist policy was one of the main reasons for the outbreak of World War II. Numerous crimes against humanity committed by the Nazi regime both in Germany itself and in the territories occupied by it, including the Holocaust, are associated with his name. The International Military Tribunal recognized as criminal the organizations created by Hitler (the SS, the Security Service (SD) and the Gestapo) and the very leadership of the Nazi Party.
Surname etymology
According to the famous German philologist, specialist in onomastics Max Gottschald (1882-1952), the surname "Hitler" ( hittlaer, Hiedler) was identical to the surname Hutler("caretaker", probably "forester", Waldhütler).
Pedigree
Father - Alois Hitler (1837-1903). Mother - Clara Hitler (1860-1907), nee Pölzl.
Alois, being illegitimate, until 1876 bore the name of his mother Maria Anna Schicklgruber (German: Schicklgruber). Five years after the birth of Alois, Maria Schicklgruber married the miller Johann Georg Hiedler (Hiedler), who spent his whole life in poverty and did not have his own home. In 1876, three witnesses testified that Giedler, who died in 1857, was the father of Alois, which allowed the latter to change his surname. The change in the spelling of the surname to "Hitler" was allegedly caused by a misprint by the priest when writing in the Birth Registration Book. Modern researchers consider the probable father of Alois not Hidler, but his brother Johann Nepomuk Güttler, who took Alois to his house and raised him.
Adolf Hitler himself, contrary to the assertion that has been widespread since the 1920s and introduced by the candidate of historical sciences, associate professor and senior researcher at the Institute of General History of the USSR Academy of Sciences V. D. Kulbakin, even in the 3rd edition of the TSB, never bore the surname Schicklgruber.
On January 7, 1885, Alois married his relative (great-niece of Johann Nepomuk Güttler) Clara Pölzl. This was his third marriage. By this time, he had a son, Alois, and a daughter, Angela, who later became the mother of Geli Raubal, Hitler's alleged mistress. Due to family ties, Alois had to obtain permission from the Vatican in order to marry Clara.
Hitler knew about inbreeding in his family and therefore always spoke very briefly and vaguely about his parents, although he required others to document their ancestors. From the end of 1921, he began to constantly overestimate and obscure his origins. He wrote only a few sentences about his father and maternal grandfather. On the contrary, he often mentioned his mother in conversations. Because of this, he did not tell anyone that he was related (in a direct line from Johann Nepomuk) to the Austrian historian Rudolf Koppensteiner and the Austrian poet Robert Gamerling.
Adolf's direct ancestors, both in the Schicklgruber line and in the Hitler line, were peasants. Only the father made a career and became a government official.
Attachment to the places of childhood, Hitler had only to Leonding, where his parents are buried, Spital, where relatives lived on the maternal side, and Linz. He visited them even after coming to power.
Childhood
Adolf Hitler was born in Austria, in the town of Braunau an der Inn, near the border with Germany, on April 20, 1889 at 18:30 at the Pomeranian Hotel. Two days later he was baptized with the name Adolf. Hitler was very much like his mother. The eyes, shape of the eyebrows, mouth and ears were exactly like hers. His mother, who gave birth to him at the age of 29, loved him very much. Before that, she lost three children.
Until 1892, the family lived in Braunau at the Pomeranian Hotel, the most representative house in the suburbs. In addition to Adolf, his half-blooded (half-blooded) brother Alois and sister Angela lived in the family. In August 1892, my father was promoted and the family moved to Passau.
On March 24, brother Edmund (1894-1900) was born, and Adolf for some time ceased to be the center of attention of the family. On April 1, my father received a new appointment in Linz. But the family remained in Passau for another year so as not to move with a newborn baby.
In April 1895, the family gathers in Linz. On May 1, at the age of six, Adolf entered the one-year public school in Fischlgam near Lambach. And on June 25, my father unexpectedly retires early for health reasons. In July 1895, the family moved to Gafeld near Lambach an der Traun, where his father bought a house with a plot of land of 38 thousand square meters. m.
IN primary school in Fischlham, Adolf studied well and received only excellent marks. In 1939, he visited this school and bought it, and then gave the order to build a new school building nearby.
On January 21, 1896, Adolf's sister Paula was born. He was especially attached to her all his life and always took care of her.
In 1896, Hitler entered the second grade of the Lambach School of the old Benedictine Catholic monastery, which he attended until the spring of 1898. Here, too, he received only good marks. He sang in a boys' choir and was an assistant priest during Mass. Here he first saw the swastika on the coat of arms of Abbot Hagen. He later ordered the same one to be carved from wood in his office.
In the same year, due to the constant nit-picking of his father, his half-brother Alois left the house. After that, Adolf became the central figure of his father's concerns and constant pressure, as his father was afraid that Adolf would grow up to be the same idler as his brother.
In November 1897, my father bought a house in the village of Leonding near Linz, where the whole family moved in February 1898. The house was near the cemetery.
Adolf changed schools for the third time and went to the fourth grade here. People's School in Leonding he visited until September 1900.
After the death of his brother Edmund on February 2, 1900, Adolf remained the only son of Clara Hitler.
Hitler (in the center) with classmates. 1900
It was in Leonding that he developed a critical attitude towards the church under the influence of his father's statements.
In September 1900, Adolf entered the first class of the state real school in Linz. Change rural school Adolf did not like the big and alien real school in the city. He only liked to walk the 6 km distance from home to school.
From that time on, Adolf began to learn only what he liked - history, geography, and especially drawing; didn't notice everything else. As a result of this attitude to study, he stayed for the second year in the first grade of a real school.
Youth
When 13-year-old Adolf was in the second grade of a real school in Linz, on January 3, 1903, his father died unexpectedly. Despite the incessant disputes and strained relations, Adolf still loved his father and sobbed uncontrollably at the coffin.
At the request of his mother, he continued to go to school, but finally decided for himself that he would be an artist, and not an official, as his father wanted. In the spring of 1903 he moved into a school dormitory in Linz. Lessons at school began to attend irregularly.
On September 14, 1903, Angela got married, and now only Adolf, his sister Paula and mother's sister Johanna Pölzl remained in the house with her mother.
When Adolf was 15 years old, and he was finishing the third grade of a real school, on May 22, 1904, he was confirmed in Linz. During this period, he composed a play, wrote poetry and short stories, and also composed the libretto for Wagner's opera based on the Wieland legend and the overture.
He still went to school with disgust, and he disliked French most of all. In the autumn of 1904, he passed the exam in this subject the second time, but they took a promise from him that in the fourth grade he would go to another school. Gemer, who at that time taught Adolf French and other subjects, said at the trial of Hitler in 1924: “Hitler was undoubtedly gifted, although one-sided. He almost did not know how to control himself, he was stubborn, self-willed, wayward and quick-tempered. Wasn't diligent." According to numerous testimonies, it can be concluded that already in his youth, Hitler showed pronounced psychopathic traits.
In September 1904, Hitler, fulfilling this promise, entered the state real school in Steyr in the fourth grade and studied there until September 1905. In Steyr, he lived in the house of the merchant Ignaz Kammerhofer at Grünmarket 19. Subsequently, this place was renamed Adolf Hitlerplatz.
On February 11, 1905, Adolf received a certificate of completion of the fourth grade of a real school. The mark "excellent" there was only in drawing and physical education; in German, French, mathematics, shorthand - unsatisfactory; in other subjects - satisfactory.
On June 21, 1905, the mother sold the house in Leonding and moved with her children to Linz at 31 Humboldt Street.
In the autumn of 1905, at the request of his mother, Hitler reluctantly began to attend school again in Steyr and retake exams in order to receive a certificate for the fourth grade.
At this time, he was diagnosed with a serious lung disease - the doctor advised his mother to postpone his schooling for at least a year and recommended that he never work in an office in the future. Mother took Adolf from school and took him to Spital to relatives.
On January 18, 1907, the mother underwent a complex operation (breast cancer). In September, as his mother's health improved, the 18-year-old Hitler traveled to Vienna to take the entrance exam to the general art school, but failed the second round of the exams. After the exams, Hitler managed to get a meeting with the rector, from whom he received advice to take up architecture: Hitler's drawings testified to his abilities in this art.
In November 1907, Hitler returned to Linz and took over the care of his terminally ill mother. On December 21, 1907, Klara Hitler died; on December 23, Adolf buried her next to her father.
In February 1908, after settling matters related to the inheritance and drawing up pensions for himself and his sister Paula as orphans, Hitler left for Vienna.
A friend of his youth Kubicek and other associates of Hitler testify that he was constantly at knives with everyone and felt hatred for everything that surrounded him. Therefore, his biographer Joachim Fest admits that Hitler's anti-Semitism was a focused form of hatred that raged until then in the dark and finally found its object in the Jew.
In September 1908, Hitler made another attempt to enter the Vienna Art Academy, but failed in the first round. After the failure, Hitler changed his place of residence several times without giving anyone new addresses. Avoided service in the Austrian army. He did not want to serve in the same army with the Czechs and Jews, to fight "for the Habsburg state", but at the same time he was ready to die for the German Reich. He got a job as an "academic artist", and from 1909 as a writer.
In 1909, Hitler met Reinhold Hanisch, who began to successfully sell his paintings. Until the middle of 1910, Hitler painted a lot of small-format paintings in Vienna. They were mostly copies from postcards and old engravings depicting all sorts of historical buildings in Vienna. In addition, he drew all kinds of advertisements. In August 1910, Hitler told the Vienna police that Ganish had withheld part of the proceeds from him and had stolen a painting. Ganish was sent to prison for seven days. From that time on, Hitler himself sold his paintings. The work brought him such a large income that in May 1911 he waived his monthly pension as an orphan in favor of his sister Paula. In addition, in the same year he received most of the inheritance of his aunt Johanna Pölzl.
During this period, Hitler began to intensively engage in self-education. Subsequently, he was able to communicate freely and read literature and newspapers in the original French and English. During the war he liked to watch French and English films without translation. He was very well versed in arming the armies of the world, history, etc. At the same time, he showed an interest in politics.
In May 1913, at the age of 24, Hitler moved from Vienna to Munich and settled in the apartment of tailor and shop owner Josef Popp on Schleißheimer Straße. Here he lived until the outbreak of the First World War, working as an artist.
On December 29, 1913, the Austrian police asked the Munich police to establish the address of the hiding Hitler. On January 19, 1914, the Munich criminal police brought Hitler to the Austrian consulate. On February 5, 1914, Hitler went to Salzburg for an examination, where he was declared unfit for military service.
Participation in World War I
On August 1, 1914, the First World War began. Hitler was delighted by the news of the war. He immediately applied to King Ludwig III of Bavaria for permission to serve in the Bavarian army. The very next day he was offered to report to any Bavarian regiment. He chose the 16th Reserve Bavarian Regiment ("Liszt's Regiment", after the name of the commander).
On August 16, he was assigned to the 6th reserve battalion of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment No. 16 (Königlich Bayerisches 16. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment), consisting of volunteers. On September 1, he was transferred to the 1st company of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 16. On October 8, he swore allegiance to King Ludwig III of Bavaria and Emperor Franz Joseph.
In October 1914 he was sent to Western Front and on October 29 he participated in the battle on the Yser, and from October 30 to November 24 - near Ypres.
November 1, 1914 was awarded the rank of corporal. On November 9, he was transferred to the regimental headquarters as a liaison officer. From November 25 to December 13, he participated in a positional war in Flanders. December 2, 1914 was awarded the Iron Cross of the second degree. From December 14 to 24, he participated in the battle in French Flanders, and from December 25, 1914 to March 9, 1915, in positional battles in French Flanders.
In 1915 he participated in the battles of Nave Chapelle, near La Basset and Arras. In 1916, he participated in reconnaissance and demonstration battles of the 6th Army in connection with the Battle of the Somme, as well as in the Battle of Fromel and directly in the Battle of the Somme. In April 1916, he met Charlotte Lobjoie. Wounded in the left thigh by a fragment of a grenade near Le Bargur in the first battle of the Somme. He ended up in the Red Cross infirmary in Belitz near Potsdam. Upon leaving the hospital (March 1917), he returned to the regiment in the 2nd company of the 1st reserve battalion.
In 1917 - the spring battle of Arras. Participated in battles in Artois, Flanders, in Upper Alsace. On September 17, 1917, he was awarded the Cross with Swords for military merit, III degree.
In 1918 he participated in the spring offensive in France, in the battles of Evreux and Montdidier. On May 9, 1918, he was awarded a regimental diploma for outstanding bravery near Fontane. May 18 receives the insignia of the wounded (black). From May 27 to June 13 - battles near Soissons and Reims. From June 14 to July 14 - positional battles between the Oise, Marne and Aisne. In the period from July 15 to 17 - participation in offensive battles on the Marne and in Champagne, and from July 18 to 29 - participation in defensive battles on Soissonnes, Reims and Marne. He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, for delivering reports to artillery positions in particularly difficult conditions, which saved the German infantry from shelling by their own artillery.
On August 25, 1918, Hitler received the 3rd Class Service Commendation. According to numerous testimonies, he was prudent, very brave and an excellent soldier. Hitler's colleague in the 16th Bavarian Infantry Regiment, Adolf Meyer, cites in his memoirs the testimony of another of their colleagues, Michael Schleehuber, who characterized Hitler as "a good soldier and an impeccable comrade." According to Schleehuber, he "never saw" Hitler "in any way feel discomfort from service or evade danger", nor did he hear "anything negative" about him during his time in the division.
October 15, 1918 - gassing near La Montaigne as a result of the explosion of a chemical projectile next to it. Eye damage - with this temporary loss of vision. Treatment in the Bavarian field infirmary in Udenard, then in the psychiatric department of the Prussian rear infirmary in Pasewalk. While recovering in the hospital, he learned about the surrender of Germany and the overthrow of the Kaiser, which was a great shock to him.
Creation of the NSDAP
Hitler considered the defeat in the war of the German Empire and the November Revolution of 1918 to be the offspring of traitors who stabbed the victorious German army in the back.
In early February 1919, Hitler signed up as a volunteer in the security service of a prisoner of war camp located near Traunstein near the Austrian border. About a month later, the prisoners of war - several hundred French and Russian soldiers - were released, and the camp, along with its guards, was disbanded.
On March 7, 1919, Hitler returned to Munich, to the 7th company of the 1st reserve battalion of the 2nd Bavarian infantry regiment.
At this time, he had not yet decided whether he would be an architect or a politician. In Munich, during the stormy days, he did not bind himself with any obligations, he simply watched and took care of his own safety. He was in Max's barracks in Munich-Oberwiesenfeld until the day when the troops of von Epp and Noske drove the Communist Soviets out of Munich. At the same time, he gave his work to the prominent artist Max Zeper for evaluation. He handed over the paintings for conclusion to Ferdinand Steger. Steger wrote: "... a completely outstanding talent."
On April 27, 1919, as indicated in Hitler's official biography, he ran into a detachment of Red Guards on a Munich street, who intended to arrest him for "anti-Soviet" activities, but, "using his carbine", Hitler avoided arrest.
From June 5 to June 12, 1919, the authorities sent him to agitator courses (Vertrauensmann). The courses were designed to train agitators who were to conduct explanatory talks against the Bolsheviks among soldiers returning from the front. The lecturers were dominated by ultra-right views, among others lectures were given by Gottfried Feder, the future economic theorist of the NSDAP.
During one of the discussions, Hitler made a very strong impression with his anti-Semitic monologue on the head of the agitation department of the 4th Bavarian command of the Reichswehr, and he invited him to take on political functions on an army scale. A few days later he was appointed an education officer ( confidant). Hitler turned out to be a bright and temperamental speaker and attracted the attention of listeners.
The decisive moment in Hitler's life was the moment of his unshakable recognition by the supporters of anti-Semitism. In the period from 1919 to 1921, Hitler intensively read books from the library of Friedrich Kohn. This library was clearly anti-Semitic in content, which left a deep mark on Hitler's beliefs.
On September 12, 1919, Adolf Hitler, on instructions from the military, came to the Sterneckerbräu pub for a meeting of the German Workers' Party (DAP) - founded in early 1919 by locksmith Anton Drexler and numbering about 40 people. During the debate, Hitler, speaking from a pan-German position, won a landslide victory over the supporter of the independence of Bavaria. The speech made a great impression on Drexler and he invited Hitler to join the party. After some deliberation, Hitler decided to accept the offer and at the end of September 1919, having retired from the army, he became a member of the DAP. Hitler immediately made himself responsible for party propaganda and soon began to determine the activities of the entire party.
On February 24, 1920, Hitler organized the first of many large public events for the party in the beer hall of the Hofbräuhaus. During his speech, he proclaimed twenty-five points compiled by him, Drexler and Feder, which became the program of the party. The Twenty-Five Points combined Pan-Germanism, demands for the abolition of the Treaty of Versailles, anti-Semitism, demands for socialist change and a strong central government. On the same day, at the suggestion of Hitler, the party was renamed the NSDAP (German: Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei - German National Socialist Workers' Party).
In July, a conflict broke out in the leadership of the NSDAP: Hitler, who wanted dictatorial powers in the party, was outraged by the negotiations with other groups that took place while Hitler was in Berlin, without his participation. On July 11, he announced his withdrawal from the NSDAP. Since Hitler was at that time the most active public politician and the most successful orator of the party, other leaders were forced to ask him to return. Hitler returned to the party and on July 29 was elected its chairman with unlimited power. Drexler was left with the post of honorary chairman with no real powers, but his role in the NSDAP has since declined sharply.
For disrupting the speech of the Bavarian separatist politician Otto Ballerstedt), Hitler was sentenced to three months in prison, but he served only a month in the Stadelheim prison in Munich - from June 26 to July 27, 1922. On January 27, 1923, Hitler held the first congress of the NSDAP; 5,000 stormtroopers marched through Munich.
"Beer coup"
By the early 1920s, the NSDAP had become one of the most visible organizations in Bavaria. Ernst Rohm stood at the head of the assault squads (German abbreviation SA). Hitler quickly became a political figure to be reckoned with, at least within Bavaria.
In January 1923, a crisis broke out in Germany, the cause of which was the French occupation of the Ruhr. The government, headed by the non-party Chancellor Wilhelm Kuno, called on the Germans to passive resistance, which led to great economic damage. The new government, led by Reich Chancellor Gustav Stresemann, was forced on September 26, 1923 to accept all the demands of France, and as a result was attacked by both the right and the communists. Anticipating this, Stresemann achieved the introduction of a state of emergency in the country by President Ebert from September 26, 1923.
On September 26, the conservative Bavarian cabinet of ministers declared a state of emergency in the territory of the state and appointed the right-wing monarchist Gustav von Kahr as commissioner of the state of Bavaria, endowing him with dictatorial powers. Power was concentrated in the hands of a triumvirate: Kara, commander of the Reichswehr forces in Bavaria, General Otto von Lossow, and the chief of the Bavarian police, Hans von Seisser (Hans von Seißer). Kahr refused to admit that the state of emergency introduced in Germany by the president was valid for Bavaria and did not follow a number of orders from Berlin, in particular, to arrest three popular leaders of armed groups and close the NSDAP organ Volkischer Beobachter.
Hitler was inspired by the example of Mussolini's march on Rome, he hoped to repeat something similar by organizing a campaign against Berlin and turned to Kahr and Lossov with a proposal to undertake a march on Berlin. Kahr, Lossow and Seiser were not interested in carrying out a senseless action and on November 6 informed the German Struggle Union, in which Hitler was the leading political figure, that they did not intend to be drawn into hasty actions and would decide on their own actions. Hitler took this as a signal that he should take the initiative in his own hands. He decided to take von Kara hostage and force him to support the campaign.
On November 8, 1923, at about 9 pm, Hitler and Erich Ludendorff, at the head of armed attack aircraft, appeared at the Burgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich, where a rally was held with the participation of Kara, Lossow and Seiser. Going inside, Hitler announced the "overthrow of the government of the traitors in Berlin." However, the Bavarian leaders soon managed to leave the pub, after which Kahr issued a proclamation dissolving the NSDAP and the assault squads. For their part, attack aircraft under the command of Ryoma occupied the building of the headquarters of the ground forces in the War Ministry; there they, in turn, were surrounded by soldiers of the Reichswehr.
On the morning of November 9, Hitler and Ludendorff, at the head of a 3,000-strong column of storm troopers, moved to the Ministry of Defense, but on Residenzstraße they were blocked by a police detachment that opened fire. Carrying away the dead and wounded, the Nazis and their supporters left the streets. This episode entered the history of Germany under the name "beer putsch".
In February - March 1924, a trial took place over the leaders of the putsch. Only Hitler and a few of his associates were in the dock. The court sentenced Hitler for high treason to 5 years in prison and a fine of 200 gold marks. Hitler was serving his sentence in Landsberg Prison. However, after 9 months, on December 20, 1924, he was released.
On the way to power
Hitler - orator, early 1930s
During the absence of the leader, the party disintegrated. Hitler had to practically start everything from scratch. Ryom, who began the restoration of the assault detachments, rendered him great help. However, the decisive role in the revival of the NSDAP was played by Gregor Strasser, the leader of right-wing extremist movements in North and Northwest Germany. Bringing them into the ranks of the NSDAP, he helped transform the party from a regional (Bavarian) into a nationwide political force.
In April 1925, Hitler renounced his Austrian citizenship and was stateless until February 1932.
In 1926, the Hitler Youth was founded, the top leadership of the SA was established, and the conquest of "red Berlin" by Goebbels began. In the meantime, Hitler was looking for support at the all-German level. He managed to win the trust of a part of the generals, as well as establish contacts with industrial magnates. At the same time, Hitler wrote his work Mein Kampf.
In 1930-1945 he was the Supreme Fuhrer of the SA.
When the parliamentary elections in 1930 and 1932 brought the Nazis a serious increase in deputy mandates, the ruling circles of the country began to seriously consider the NSDAP as a possible participant in government combinations. An attempt was made to remove Hitler from the leadership of the party and to stake on Strasser. However, Hitler managed to quickly isolate his associate and deprive him of any influence in the party. In the end, it was decided in the German leadership to give Hitler the main administrative and political post, surrounding him (just in case) with guardians from the traditional conservative parties.
In February 1932, Hitler decided to put forward his candidacy for the election of the Reich President of Germany. On February 25, the Minister of the Interior of Braunschweig appointed him to the post of attaché at the Braunschweig representation in Berlin. This did not impose on Hitler any official duties, but automatically gave German citizenship and allowed to participate in elections. Hitler took lessons in oratory and acting from the opera singer Paul Devrient, the Nazis organized a grandiose propaganda campaign, in particular, Hitler became the first German politician who made election trips by plane. In the first round on March 13, Paul von Hindenburg won 49.6% of the vote, while Hitler came in second with 30.1%. On April 10, in the second vote, Hindenburg won 53%, and Hitler - 36.8%. The third place was taken both times by the communist Telman.
On June 4, 1932, the Reichstag was dissolved. In the elections held on July 7, the NSDAP won a landslide victory, gaining 37.8% of the vote and receiving 230 seats in the Reichstag instead of the previous 143. The second place was given to the Social Democrats - 21.9% and 133 seats in the Reichstag.
On November 6, 1932, early elections to the Reichstag were again held. This time, the NSDAP lost two million votes, gaining 33.1%, and received only 196 seats instead of the previous 230.
However, 2 months later, on January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg dismissed von Schleicher from this post and appointed Hitler Reich Chancellor.
Reich Chancellor and Head of State
Seizure of power
"Potsdam Day" - a solemn ceremony on March 21, 1933 on the occasion of the convening of the new Reichstag
With the appointment to the post of Reich Chancellor, Hitler had not yet received power over the country. Firstly, only the Reichstag could make any laws in Germany, and Hitler's party did not have the required number of votes in it. Secondly, in the party itself there was opposition to Hitler in the person of the stormtroopers and their leader Ernst Röhm. And finally, thirdly, the head of state was the president, and the Reich Chancellor was just the head of the cabinet, which Hitler had yet to form. However, in just a year and a half, Hitler removed all these obstacles and became an unrestricted dictator.
On February 27 (less than a month after Hitler was appointed Chancellor), a fire broke out in the parliament building - the Reichstag. Official version of what happened said that the Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, who was captured while extinguishing a fire, was to blame. It is now considered proven that the arson was planned by the Nazis and directly carried out by stormtroopers under the command of Karl Ernst.
Hitler announced a conspiracy of the Communist Party to seize power, and the very next day after the fire, Hindenburg presented two decrees: "On the protection of the people and the state" and "Against the betrayal of the German people and the intrigues of traitors to the motherland," which he signed. The Decree "On the Protection of the People and the State" repealed seven articles of the constitution, restricted freedom of speech, the press, meetings and rallies; allowed viewing correspondence and listening to phones. But the main result of this decree was a system of uncontrolled confinement in concentration camps called "protective arrest."
Using these decrees, the Nazis immediately arrested 4,000 prominent members of the Communist Party - their main opponent. After that, new elections to the Reichstag were announced. They took place on March 5 and the Nazi Party received 43.9% of the vote and 288 seats in the Reichstag. The decapitated Communist Party lost 19 seats. However, even such a composition of the Reichstag could not satisfy the Nazis. Then, by special decree, it was forbidden communist party Germany, and the mandates that were supposed to go to the communist deputies (81 mandates) were canceled. In addition, some SPD deputies opposed to the Nazis were arrested or expelled.
And already on March 24, 1933, the new Reichstag adopted the Law on Emergency Powers. Under this law, the government, headed by the Reich Chancellor, was given the power to issue state laws (previously only the Reichstag could do this), and Article 2 indicated that laws thus issued could contain deviations from the constitution.
On June 30, 1934, the Gestapo staged a mass pogrom against SA stormtroopers. More than a thousand people were killed, among them the leader of the attack aircraft, Ernst Röhm. Many people who had nothing to do with the SA were also killed, in particular Hitler's predecessor as Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and his wife. This pogrom went down in history as the Night of the Long Knives.
On August 2, 1934, at nine o'clock in the morning, German President Hindenburg died at the age of 86. Three hours later, it was announced that, in accordance with a law passed by the Cabinet of Ministers the day before the death of the president, the functions of chancellor and president were combined in one person and that Adolf Hitler assumed the powers of head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The title of president was abolished; from now on, Hitler should be called the Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor. Hitler demanded that the entire personnel of the armed forces swear allegiance not to Germany, not to the constitution, which he violated by refusing to appoint the election of Hindenburg's successor, but to him personally.
On August 19, a referendum was held, in which these actions were approved by 84.6% of the electorate.
Domestic politics
Under Hitler's leadership, unemployment was drastically reduced and then eliminated. Large-scale actions were launched to provide humanitarian assistance to the needy population. Mass cultural and sports festivals were encouraged. The basis of the policy of the Hitler regime was preparation for revenge for the lost World War I. To this end, industry was reconstructed, large-scale construction was launched, and strategic reserves were created. Propaganda indoctrination of the population was carried out in the spirit of revanchism.
First the communist and then the social democratic parties were banned. A number of parties were forced to declare self-dissolution. Trade unions were liquidated, whose property was transferred to the Nazi workers' front. Opponents new government without trial or investigation were sent to concentration camps.
An important part of Hitler's domestic policy was anti-Semitism. Mass persecution of Jews and Gypsies began. On September 15, 1935, the Nuremberg Racial Laws were passed, depriving Jews of civil rights; in the fall of 1938, an all-German Jewish pogrom (Kristallnacht) was organized. The development of this policy a few years later was the operation "endlösung" (the final solution to the Jewish question), aimed at the physical destruction of the entire Jewish population. This policy, which Hitler first declared back in 1919, culminated in the genocide of the Jewish population, the decision on which was already made during the war.
Beginning of territorial expansion
Shortly after coming to power, Hitler announced Germany's withdrawal from the war clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, which limited Germany's war effort. The 100,000th Reichswehr was turned into a millionth Wehrmacht, tank troops were created and restored military aviation. The status of the demilitarized Rhineland was abolished.
In 1936-1939, Germany, under the leadership of Hitler, provided significant assistance to the Francoists during civil war in Spain.
At this time, Hitler believed that he was seriously ill and would die soon, and began to rush to implement his plans. On November 5, 1937, he wrote a political testament, and on May 2, 1938, a personal one.
In March 1938, Austria was annexed.
In the autumn of 1938, in accordance with the Munich Agreement, part of the territory of Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland, was annexed.
Time magazine, in its issue of January 2, 1939, called Hitler "the man of 1938". The article dedicated to "Man of the Year" began with Hitler's title, which, according to the magazine, reads as follows: "Führer of the German people, Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, Navy & Air Force, Chancellor of the Third Reich , Herr Hitler". The final sentence of a very lengthy article proclaimed:
For those who followed the final events of the year, it seemed more than likely that the Man of 1938 could make the year 1939 unforgettable.
original text(English)
To those who watched the closing events of the year it seemed more than probable that the Man of 1938 may make 1939 a year to be remembered.
Third Reich in 1939. The so-called. "Old Reich"; blue - lands annexed in 1938; light blue - Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
In March 1939, the rest of the Czech Republic was occupied, turned into a satellite state of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Slovakia remained formally independent), and part of the territory of Lithuania, including Klaipeda (Memel region), was annexed. After that, Hitler made territorial claims to Poland (first - on the provision of an extraterritorial road to East Prussia, and then - on holding a referendum on the ownership of the "Polish Corridor", in which people who lived in this territory as of 1918 should have taken part). The latter requirement was clearly unacceptable to Poland's allies - Great Britain and France - which could serve as a basis for the brewing of a conflict.
The Second World War
These claims met with a sharp rebuff. On April 3, 1939, Hitler approved a plan for an armed attack on Poland (Operation Weiss).
On August 23, 1939, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, the secret annex to which contained a plan for the division of spheres of influence in Europe. On August 31, the incident at Gleiwitz was arranged, which served as a pretext for the attack on Poland on September 1. It marked the beginning of World War II. Having defeated Poland during September, Germany occupied Norway, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium in April-May 1940 and invaded France. In June, Wehrmacht forces occupied Paris and France capitulated. In the spring of 1941, Germany, under the leadership of Hitler, captured Greece and Yugoslavia, and on June 22 attacked the USSR. The defeats of the Soviet troops at the first stage of the Great Patriotic War led to the occupation by German and allied troops of the Baltic republics, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and the western part of the RSFSR. A brutal occupation regime was established in the occupied territories, which destroyed many millions of people.
However, since the end of 1942, the German armies began to suffer major defeats both in the USSR (Stalingrad) and in Egypt (El Alamein). The following year, the Red Army went on a broad offensive, while Anglo-American troops landed in Italy and pulled it out of the war. In 1944, Soviet territory was liberated from occupation, the Red Army advanced into Poland and the Balkans; at the same time, Anglo-American troops, having landed in Normandy, liberated most of France. With the beginning of 1945, hostilities were transferred to the territory of the Reich.
Assassination attempts on Hitler
The first unsuccessful attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler took place in 1930 at the Kaiserhof Hotel. When Hitler came down from the podium after speaking to his supporters, an unknown person ran up to him and tried to spray poison in his face from a homemade shooting pen, but Hitler's guards noticed the attacker in time and neutralized him.
- On March 1, 1932, a group of unknown persons in the amount of four people in the vicinity of Munich fired at a train in which Hitler was traveling to speak to his supporters. Hitler was not hurt.
- On June 2, 1932, a group of unknown people ambushed a car with Hitler on the road in the vicinity of the city of Stralsund. Hitler was not hurt again.
- On July 4, 1932, unknown people fired at a car with Hitler in Nuremberg. Hitler received a tangential wound to his hand.
During 1933-1938, 16 more attempts were made on Hitler's life, which ended in failure, including on December 20, 1936, a German Jew and a former member of the Black Front, Helmut Hirsch, was going to plant two homemade bombs at the NSDAP headquarters in Nuremberg, where Hitler was to visit. However, the plan fell through as Hirsch was unable to bypass security. On December 21, 1936, he was arrested by the Gestapo, and on April 22, 1937, he was sentenced to death. Hirsch was executed on June 4, 1937.
- On November 9, 1938, 22-year-old Maurice Bavot, from a distance of 10 meters, was going to shoot Hitler with a 6.5 mm Schmeisser semi-automatic pistol during a festive parade dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Beer Putsch. However, Hitler changed his plan at the last moment and went on the opposite side of the street, as a result, Bavo could not carry out his plan. Later, he also tried to get a personal meeting with Hitler through a fake letter of recommendation. However, he spent all the money and at the beginning of January 1939, he decided to leave for Paris without a ticket. On the train, he was detained by the Gestapo. On December 18, 1939, the court sentenced Bovo to death by guillotine, and on May 14, 1941, the sentence was carried out.
- On October 5, 1939, members of the SPP planted 500 kilograms of explosives on the route of Hitler's motorcade in Warsaw, but for some unknown reason the bomb did not work.
- On November 8, 1939, at the Burgerbräu beer hall in Munich, where Hitler spoke every year to NSDAP veterans, Johann Georg Elser, a former member of the Red Fronts' Union, a militant organization of the KPD, installed an improvised explosive device with a clockwork into a column, in front of which a podium was usually set up for leader. As a result of the explosion, 8 people were killed and 63 injured, but Hitler was not among the victims. Confining himself to a brief greeting to the audience, he left the hall seven minutes before the explosion, as he had to return to Berlin. On the same evening, Elser was captured at the Swiss border and, after several interrogations, confessed to everything. As a "special prisoner" he was placed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, then transferred to Dachau. On April 9, 1945, when the Allies were already near the concentration camp, Elser was shot by order of Himmler.
- On May 15, 1942, a group of people attacked Hitler's train in Poland. Several of the Fuhrer's guards were killed, as were all the attackers. Hitler was not hurt.
- On March 13, 1943, while Hitler was visiting Smolensk, Colonel Henning von Tresckow and his adjutant, Lieutenant von Schlabrendorf, planted a bomb in a brandy gift box on Hitler's plane, in which the explosive device did not work.
- March 21, 1943, during a visit by Hitler to an exhibition of captured Soviet military equipment in Berlin, Colonel Rudolf von Gersdorff was to blow himself up along with Hitler. However, the Fuhrer left the exhibition ahead of schedule, and Gersdorff barely had time to deactivate the fuse.
- On July 14, 1944, the British intelligence services were going to conduct Operation Foxley. According to the plan, the best British snipers were to shoot Hitler during his visit to the Berghof mountain residence in the Bavarian Alps. The plan was not finally approved, and its implementation did not take place.
- On July 20, 1944, a conspiracy was organized against Hitler, the purpose of which was to physically eliminate him and conclude peace with the advancing allied forces. The bombing killed 4 people, Hitler survived. After the assassination attempt, he was not able to be on his feet all day, since more than 100 fragments were removed from them. In addition, he had a dislocation of his right arm, the hair on the back of his head was scorched, and his eardrums were damaged. He was temporarily deaf in his right ear.
Death of Hitler
There is no doubt that Hitler shot himself.Dr. Matthias Uhl
With the arrival of the Russians in Berlin, Hitler was afraid that the Reich Chancellery would be bombarded with sleep gas shells, and then paraded in Moscow, in a cage.Traudl Junge
According to the testimony of witnesses interrogated by both the Soviet counterintelligence agencies and the corresponding allied services, on April 30, 1945, in a surrounded Soviet troops In Berlin, Hitler, along with his wife Eva Braun, committed suicide after killing his beloved dog Blondie. In Soviet historiography, the point of view was established that Hitler took poison (potassium cyanide, like most of the Nazis who committed suicide). However, according to eyewitnesses, he shot himself. There is also a version according to which Hitler, having taken an ampoule of poison into his mouth and bit through it, simultaneously shot himself with a pistol (thus using both instruments of death).
According to witnesses from among the attendants, even the day before, Hitler gave the order to deliver canisters of gasoline from the garage (to destroy the bodies). On April 30, after dinner, Hitler said goodbye to people from his inner circle and, shaking hands with them, retired to his apartment with Eva Braun, from where a shot soon rang out. Shortly after 15:15 (according to other sources 15:30), Hitler's servant Heinz Linge, accompanied by the Fuhrer's adjutant Otto Günsche, Goebbels, Bormann and Axmann, entered the Fuhrer's apartments. Dead Hitler sat on the couch; there was a blood stain on his temple. Eva Braun lay next to her, with no visible external injuries. Günsche and Linge wrapped Hitler's body in a soldier's blanket and carried it into the garden of the Reich Chancellery; Eve's body was carried out after him. The corpses were placed near the entrance to the bunker, doused with gasoline and set on fire.
On May 5, 1945, the corpses were found on a piece of blanket sticking out of the ground by a group of guards, senior lieutenant A. A. Panasov, and fell into the hands of SMERSH. General K. F. Telegin headed the government commission for the identification of the remains. Colonel of the medical service F. I. Shkaravsky led the expert commission for the study of the remains. Hitler's body was identified with the help of Käthe Heusermann (Ketty Geisermann), Hitler's dental assistant, who confirmed the similarity of the dentures shown to her at the identification with Hitler's dentures. However, after returning from the Soviet camps, she retracted her testimony. In February 1946, the remains, identified by the investigation as the bodies of Hitler, Eva Braun, the Goebbels couple - Josef, Magda and their six children, as well as two dogs, were buried at one of the NKVD bases in Magdeburg. In 1970, when the territory of this base was to be transferred to the GDR, at the suggestion of Yu. V. Andropov, approved by the Politburo, the remains were dug up, cremated to ashes and then thrown into the Elbe (according to other sources, the remains were burned in a wasteland near the city Schönebeck 11 km from Magdeburg and thrown into the river Biederitz). Only dentures and a part of Hitler's skull with an entrance bullet hole (discovered separately from the corpse) have survived. They are stored in the Russian archives, as well as the side handles of the sofa on which Hitler shot himself, with traces of blood. In an interview, the head of the FSB archive said that the authenticity of the jaw had been proven by a number of international expert examinations. Hitler's biographer Werner Maser expresses doubts that the discovered corpse and part of the skull really belonged to Hitler. In September 2009, researchers from the University of Connecticut, based on the results of their DNA analysis, stated that the skull belonged to a woman less than 40 years old. Representatives of the FSB issued a refutation of this statement.
However, there is also a popular urban legend that the corpses of Hitler's doubles and his wife were found in the bunker, and the Fuhrer himself and his wife allegedly hid in Argentina, where they lived quietly until the end of their days. Similar versions are put forward and proved even by some historians, including the British Gerard Williams and Simon Dunstan. However, the scientific community rejects such theories.
beliefs and habits
According to most biographers, Hitler was a vegetarian from 1931 (since the suicide of Geli Raubal) until his death in 1945. Some authors argue that Hitler only limited himself to eating meat.
He also had a negative attitude towards smoking, in Nazi Germany a fight was launched against this habit. Once, when Hitler went to rest, the rest began to play cards and smoke. Suddenly, Hitler returned. Eva Braun's sister threw a burning cigarette into an ashtray and sat on it, as Hitler forbade smoking in his presence. Hitler noticed this and decided to joke. He approached her and asked her to explain the rules of the game in detail. In the morning, Eva, having learned everything from Hitler, asked her sister, "how are things with the blisters from burns on the pope."
Hitler took care of cleanliness with painful thoroughness. I was terribly afraid of people with a runny nose. He did not tolerate familiarity.
He was an unsociable person. He considered others only when he needed them and did what he considered right. In letters, he was never interested in the opinions of others. He liked to use foreign words. I read a lot, even during the war. According to von Hasselbach's personal physician, he made sure to work through at least one book every day. In Linz, for example, he enrolled in three libraries at once. At first, I leafed through the book from the end. If he decided that a book was worth reading, he read in parts, only what he needed.
- Hitler dictated his speeches "in one breath", directly to the typist. According to eyewitnesses, he delayed the dictation until the last minute; Before dictation, he paced back and forth for a long time. Hitler would then begin dictating—actually giving a speech—with outbursts of anger, gesticulations, etc. The two secretaries barely had time to take notes. Later, he worked for several hours, correcting the typed text.
- Hitler's last lifetime filming was made on March 20, 1945 and published in the film magazine "Die deutsche Wochenschau" dated March 22, 1945. On it, in the garden of the Reich Chancellery, Hitler walks around the line of distinguished members of the Hitler Youth. The last known intravital photograph was taken, apparently, shortly before his birthday on April 20, 1945. On it, Hitler, accompanied by Chief Adjutant Julius Schaub, inspects the ruins of the Reich Chancellery.
- Anophthalmus hitleri- a beetle named after Hitler and made rare by its popularity with neo-Nazis.
- Hitler's personal weapon was the Walther PPK pistol.
- As Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces, Hitler remained in military rank corporal.
- A shop named after Hitler has opened in the Gaza Strip. Visitors say they like the store also because it's named after a man who "had hated Jews more than anyone else."
Popular biographies
Name: Adolf Hitler
Age: 56 years old
Place of Birth: Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary
A place of death: Berlin
Activity: Fuhrer and Chancellor of Germany
Marital status: Was married to Eva Braun
Adolf Hitler - Biography
This name and surname are very hated by many people around the world for the atrocities that this man committed. How was the biography of the one who unleashed a war with many countries, how did he become like that?
Childhood, Hitler's family, how he appeared
Adolf's father was an illegitimate child, his mother remarried a man with the surname Gidler, and when Alois wanted to change his mother's surname, the priest made a mistake, and all the descendants began to bear the surname Hitler, and there were six of them, and Adolf was the third child. Hitler's ancestors were engaged in the peasantry, his father achieved a career as an official. Adolf, like all Germans, was very sentimental and often visited the places of his childhood and the graves of his parents.
Before the birth of Adolf, three children died. He was the only and beloved son, then brother Edmund was born, and Adolf began to devote less time, then Adolf's sister appeared in the family, he always had the most tender feelings for Paula. After all, this is a biography of the most ordinary child who loves his mother and sister, when and what went wrong?
Hitler's studies
In the first grade, Hitler studied only with excellent marks. In the old Catholic monastery, he went to the second grade, learned to sing in the church choir and helped during the mass. For the first time I noticed the sign of the swastika at Abbot Hagene on his coat of arms. Adolf changed schools several times due to parental problems. One of the brothers left home, the other died, Adolf was the only son. At school, he began to like not all the subjects, he stayed for the second year.
Growing up Adolf
As soon as the teenager was 13 years old, his father died, the son refused to fulfill the request of the parent. He did not want to become an official, he was attracted by painting and music. One of Hitler's teachers later recalled that the student was one-sidedly gifted, quick-tempered and wayward. Already in these years one could notice the features of a mentally unbalanced person. After the fourth grade in the document on education there were grades "5" only for physical culture and drawing. He knew languages, exact sciences and shorthand to "two".
At the insistence of his mother, Adolf Hitler had to retake the exams, but he was diagnosed with a lung disease, he had to forget about school. When Hitler turned 18, he leaves for the capital of Austria, wants to enter an art school, but failed to pass the exams. The young man's mother underwent an operation, did not live long, Adolf took care of her until her death as the eldest and only man in the family.
Adolf Hitler - artist
Not enrolling the second time in the school of his dreams, Hitler hides and evades military service, he managed to get a job as an artist and writer. Hitler's paintings began to sell successfully. They mainly depicted buildings of old Vienna copied from postcards.
Adolf began to earn decently on this, takes up reading, is interested in politics. Leaves for Munich and again works as an artist. Finally, the Austrian police found out where Hitler was hiding, sent him for a medical examination, where he was given a "white" ticket.
The beginning of the combat biography of Adolf Hitler
This war was accepted by Hitler with joy, he himself asked to serve in the Bavarian army, participated in many battles, received the rank of corporal, was wounded, had many military awards. Considered a brave and brave soldier. He was wounded again, even losing his sight. After the war, the authorities considered it necessary for Hitler to be part of the agitators, where he showed himself to be a skilled wordsmith, he knew how to control the attention of people listening to him. Throughout this period of his life, anti-Semitic literature became Hitler's favorite reading material, which basically shaped his further political views.
Soon everyone was introduced to his program for the new Nazi Party. Later, he receives the post of chairman with unlimited power. Allowing himself too much, Hitler began to take advantage of his post to incite the overthrow of the existing government, was convicted and sent to prison. There he finally believed that the Communists and the Jews must be destroyed.
He declares that the whole world must be dominated by the nation of Germany. Hitler finds many supporters who unconditionally appoint him to lead the armed forces, founded personal protection by the ranks of the SS, created torture and death camps.
He dreamed of getting even for the fact that once, in World War I, Germany capitulated. He was sick, in a hurry to carry out his plan. The occupation of many territories began: Austria, Czechoslovakia, part of Lithuania, threatened Poland, France, Greece and Yugoslavia. In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed on peaceful coexistence, but, maddened by power and victories, Hitler violated this agreement. Fortunately, Joseph Stalin was at the helm of power, who did not give up his power to the crazy, brutalized egoist in the face of Hitler.
Adolf Hitler - biography of personal life
Hitler did not have an official wife, nor did he have children. He had a repulsive appearance, he could hardly attract women with anything. But do not forget the gift of eloquence and the position it created. From mistresses he had no end, basically, among them there were married women. Since 1929, Adolf Hitler has been living with his common-law wife, Eva Braun. The husband was not at all shy about flirting with everyone, and Eva, out of jealousy, tried many times to commit suicide.
Dreaming of being Frau Hitler, living with him and enduring bullying and quirks, she patiently waited for a miracle to happen. This happened 36 hours before death. Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun got married. But the biography of a man who swung at the sovereignty of the Soviet Union ended ingloriously.
Documentary about Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler is a German politician, founder and central figure of National Socialism, founder of the totalitarian dictatorship of the Third Reich, head of the National Socialist German Workers Party, Reich Chancellor and Fuhrer of Germany, Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces in World War II.
Hitler was the initiator of the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), as well as the creation of concentration camps. To date, his biography is one of the most studied in the world.
Until now, various feature films and documentaries continue to be made about Hitler, as well as books are written. In this article we will talk about the personal life of the Fuhrer, his rise to power and inglorious death.
When Hitler was four years old, his father died. After 4 years, in 1907, the mother also dies of oncology, which becomes a real tragedy for a teenager.
Adolf Hitler as a child After that, Adolf became more independent, and he even filled out the relevant documents for receiving a pension.
Youth
Soon Hitler decides to go to Vienna. Initially, he wants to devote his life to art and become a famous artist.
In this regard, he is trying to enter the Art Academy, but he fails to pass the exams. This upset him greatly, but did not break him.
The following years of his biography were filled with various difficulties. He experienced difficult financial circumstances, often went hungry, and even spent the night on the street, because he could not pay for his lodging for the night.
At that time, Adolf Hitler tried to earn money by painting, but this brought him a very meager income.
Interestingly, having reached draft age, he hid from military service. The main reason was his unwillingness to serve along with the Jews, whom he already treated with contempt.
When Hitler was 24 he went to Munich. It was there that he met the First World War (1914-1918), which he was sincerely happy about.
He immediately signed up as a volunteer in the Bavarian army, after which he participated in various battles.
Hitler among colleagues (sitting on the far right), 1914 It should be noted that Adolf showed himself to be a very brave soldier, for which he was awarded the Iron Cross of the second degree.
An interesting fact is that even after becoming the head of the Third Reich, he was very proud of his award and wore it on his chest all his life.
Hitler took the defeat in the war as a personal tragedy. He associated it with the cowardice and venality of the politicians who govern Germany. After the war, he became seriously interested in politics, as a result of which he got into the People's Labor Party.
Hitler's rise to power
Over time, Adolf Hitler took over as head of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), having great authority among his associates.
In 1923, he managed to organize the "Beer putsch", the purpose of which was to overthrow the current government.
When, on November 9, Hitler with a 5,000-strong army of storm troopers headed for the walls of the ministry, he met armed police detachments on his way. As a result, the coup attempt ended in failure.
In 1924, when he died, Adolf was sentenced to 5 years in prison. However, after spending less than a year behind bars, for unknown reasons, he was released.
After that, he revived the Nazi party NSDAP, making it one of the most popular in. Somehow, Hitler managed to establish contacts with the German generals and enlist the support of large industrialists.
It is worth noting that it was during this period of his biography that Hitler wrote the famous book Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In it, he described in detail his biography, as well as his vision of the development of Germany and National Socialism.
By the way, nationalist, according to one version, goes back to the book "Mein Kampf".
In 1930, Adolf Hitler became the commander of the assault troops (SA), and 2 years later he was already trying to get the position of Reich Chancellor.
But that time Kurt von Schleicher won the election. However, a year later he was dismissed by President Paul von Hindenburg. As a result, Hitler nevertheless received the post of Reich Chancellor, but this was not enough for him.
He wanted to have absolute power and be the full ruler of the state. It took him less than 2 years to realize this dream.
Nazism in Germany
In 1934, after the death of 86-year-old German President Hindenburg, Hitler assumed the powers of head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The title of president was abolished; from now on, Hitler should be called the Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor.
In the same year, severe oppression of Jews and Gypsies began with the use of weapons. A totalitarian Nazi regime began to operate in the country, which was considered the only correct one.
In Germany, a policy of militarization was announced. Tank and artillery troops were created in short lines, and aircraft were also built.
It is worth noting that all these actions were contrary to the Treaty of Versailles, signed after the end of the First World War.
However, for some reason, European countries turned a blind eye to such actions of the Nazis.
However, this is not surprising if we recall how it was signed, after which Hitler made the final decision to seize all of Europe.
Soon, on the initiative of Adolf Hitler, the Gestapo police and the concentration camp system were created.
On June 30, 1934, the Gestapo staged a massive pogrom against the SA attack aircraft, which went down in history as the Night of the Long Knives.
More than a thousand people were killed, representing a potential threat to the Fuhrer. Among them was the leader of the attack aircraft, Ernst Röhm.
Many people who had nothing to do with the SA were also killed, in particular Hitler's predecessor as Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and his wife.
After the Nazis came to power, active propaganda of the superiority of the Aryan nation over others began in Germany. Naturally, the Germans themselves were called Aryans, who had to fight for the purity of blood, enslaving and destroying the "lower" races.
In parallel with this, the idea was instilled into the German people that they should become full-fledged masters of the whole world. Interestingly, Adolf Hitler wrote about this 10 years ago in his book Mein Kampf.
The Second World War
September 1, 1939 began - the bloodiest in humanity. Germany attacked and completely occupied it within two weeks.
This was followed by the annexation of territories, and. The blitzkrieg continued with the capture of Yugoslavia.
On June 22, 1941, Hitler's troops attacked the Soviet Union, of which he was the head. Initially, the Wehrmacht managed to win one victory after another quite easily, but during the Battle of Moscow, the Germans began to have serious problems.
A column of captured Germans on the Garden Ring, Moscow, 1944 Under the leadership, the Red Army launched an active counteroffensive on all fronts. After victories in Battles of Kursk it became clear that the Germans could no longer win the war.
Holocaust and death camps
When Adolf Hitler became head of state, he created concentration camps on the territory of Germany, Poland for the purposeful destruction of people. Their number exceeded 42,000.
During the reign of the Fuhrer, millions of people died in them, including prisoners of war, civilians, children and those people who did not support the ideas of the Third Reich.
Some of the most famous camps were in Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Treblinka (where he died a heroic death), Dachau and Majdanek.
Prisoners in concentration camps were subjected to sophisticated torture and cruel experiments. In these death factories, Hitler destroyed representatives of the "lower" races and enemies of the Reich.
In the Polish camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz), gas chambers were built, in which 20,000 people were killed daily.
Millions of Jews and Gypsies perished in such cells. This camp has become a sad symbol of the Holocaust - a large-scale extermination of Jews, recognized as the largest genocide of the 20th century.
If you are interested in learning how the Nazi death camps operated, read short biography, which was nicknamed the "blonde devil".
Why did Hitler hate the Jews
Biographers of Adolf Hitler have several opinions on this issue. The most common version is "racial politics", which he divided into 3 parts.
- The main (Aryan) race were the Germans, who were supposed to rule the whole world.
- Then came the Slavs, whom Hitler wanted to partly destroy and partly make slaves.
- The third group included Jews who had no right to exist at all.
Other researchers of Hitler's biography suggest that the dictator's hatred of the Jews was born out of envy, since they owned large enterprises and banking institutions, while he, as a young German, eked out a miserable existence.
Personal life
It is still difficult to say something about Hitler's personal life, for lack of reliable facts.
It is only known that for 13 years, starting in 1932, he cohabited with Eva Braun, who became his legal wife only on April 29, 1945. At the same time, Adolf had no children from her or from any other woman.
Photo of Hitler growing up An interesting fact is that, despite his unattractive appearance, Hitler was very popular with women, always knowing how to win them over.
Some biographers of Hitler claim that he could hypnotize people. At least, he mastered the art of mass hypnosis for sure, since people during his performances turned into a slavishly submissive crowd of thousands.
Thanks to his charisma, oratory and bright gestures, Hitler fell in love with many girls who were ready for anything for him. Interestingly, when he lived with Eva Braun, she twice wanted to commit suicide because of jealousy.
In 2012, the American Werner Schmedt announced that he was the son of Adolf Hitler and his niece Geli Ruabal.
As proof of this, he provided some photographs showing his "parents". However, Werner's story immediately aroused distrust among a number of Hitler's biographers.
Death of Hitler
On April 30, 1945, surrounded by Soviet troops, 56-year-old Hitler, along with his wife Eva Braun, committed suicide after killing his beloved dog Blondie.
There are two versions of exactly how Hitler died. According to one of them, the Fuhrer took potassium cyanide, and according to another, he shot himself.
According to witnesses from among the attendants, even the day before, Hitler gave the order to deliver canisters of gasoline from the garage to destroy the bodies.
After the death of the Fuhrer was discovered, the officers wrapped his body in a soldier's blanket and, along with the body of Eva Braun, were taken out of the bunker.
Then they were doused with gasoline and set on fire, as such was the will of Adolf Hitler himself.
The soldiers of the Red Army found the remains of the dictator in the form of dentures and parts of the skull. On the this moment they are kept in Russian archives.
There is a popular urban legend that the corpses of Hitler's doubles and his wife were found in the bunker, and the Fuhrer and his wife allegedly hid in Argentina, where they lived quietly until the end of their days.
Similar versions are put forward and proved even by some historians, including the British Gerard Williams and Simon Dunstan. However, the scientific community rejects such theories.
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