Hitler's Attempt To Join Austrian Army: Explained

Adolf Hitler, who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, tried to dodge the Austrian draft in 1914. He was arrested and taken to the Austrian consulate, where he was ordered to report to his hometown of Linz, Austria, for a fitness exam. He was deemed unfit for military service due to his gaunt physique and returned to Munich. Later that year, he petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria to be able to volunteer in a Bavarian regiment, and his request was granted.

Hitler left Vienna for Munich to avoid conscription into the Austrian Army

In 1913, Hitler left Vienna, where he had been living in poverty since 1907, for Munich, Germany. He was 24 years old at the time and had no job or permanent residence. Hitler had been subject to compulsory military service in Austria since 1910, when he turned 21, but the authorities had been unable to locate him in Vienna, where he had no permanent residence or employment.

Hitler's move to Germany was likely motivated by his desire to avoid conscription into the Austrian Army. He despised the multiethnic character of the Habsburg army, which included Slavs, Jews, Hungarians, Italians, and Romanians. Hitler embraced the radical "Pan-German" ideology espoused by anti-Semitic demagogues like Georg Ritter von Schönerer, who advocated for the German-speaking part of Austria to secede and join the German Reich of Wilhelm II.

Hitler's attempt to evade the draft was short-lived, as he was arrested by a German police detective in Munich on January 18, 1914, and taken to the Austrian consulate. He was ordered to report to his hometown of Linz, Austria, for a fitness exam. Hitler tried to plead poverty and ignorance in a letter to the Austrian officials, claiming that he was unable to afford the journey and that he had been unaware of the requirement to register for military service in 1909. However, these claims were false, as Hitler had inherited money from both his parents and an aunt, and he was certainly aware of the registration requirement.

Ultimately, Hitler's efforts to avoid conscription were unsuccessful. He was examined in Salzburg in February 1914 and found unfit for military service due to poor health and a gaunt physique, likely a result of his impoverished lifestyle in Vienna. With this, Hitler was free to return to Munich and his previous life.

Hitler failed his Austrian Army physical exam in February 1914

In 1913, Hitler left Vienna, where he had been living in relative poverty since 1907, and moved to Munich. He may have done so to evade conscription into the Austrian Army, as he found the multiethnic character of the Hapsburg army repulsive. In Munich, he earned money by painting architectural scenes. However, in January 1914, a German police detective arrested him for dodging the Austrian draft. Hitler was ordered to report to his hometown of Linz, Austria, for a fitness exam. He tried to avoid conscription by pleading poverty and ignorance of the requirement to register for military service.

On 5 February 1914, Hitler underwent a physical exam in Salzburg and was deemed unfit for service due to his gaunt physique, which was likely a legacy of his days of poverty in Vienna. He was judged "incapable of bearing arms" and returned to Munich.

In August 1914, when World War I broke out, Hitler was living in Munich and voluntarily enlisted in the Bavarian Army. According to a 1924 report by the Bavarian authorities, Hitler was allowed to serve due to an administrative error. As an Austrian citizen, he should have been returned to Austria after failing his physical exam for the Austrian Army earlier that year.

Hitler was granted permission to serve in the Bavarian Army

In 1913, Hitler left Vienna, where he had been living in poverty, for Munich, Germany. He had no permanent residence or job and had failed to be accepted into art school. It is likely that he left Austria for Germany at this time to avoid compulsory military service in the Austrian Army, which he found repulsive due to its integration of minority groups. In January 1914, Hitler was arrested for dodging the Austrian draft and was ordered to report to his hometown of Linz, Austria, for a fitness exam. He was deemed unfit to serve due to poor health.

On August 3, 1914, at the start of World War I, Hitler petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria to be able to volunteer in a Bavarian regiment. Because of his Austrian citizenship, he had to request permission to serve in the Bavarian Army, and this permission was granted. Hitler served bravely and proficiently in the Bavarian Army, receiving both the Iron Cross First and Second Class and being wounded twice.

Hitler's service in the Bavarian Army was likely the result of an error on the part of the government. In 1924, Bavarian authorities questioned how Hitler was allowed to serve, as he should have been deported back to Austria after failing his physical exam for the Austrian Army in 1914. They concluded that the matter of Hitler's citizenship was simply not raised, allowing him to enter the Bavarian Army.

Hitler's service in the Bavarian Army was likely due to an error

Adolf Hitler, who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, served in the Bavarian Army during World War I. However, there are several indications that his service may have been due to an error.

Firstly, Hitler was an Austrian citizen at the time, and as such, he was required to serve in the Austrian Army. In fact, he had left Vienna for Munich in 1913, possibly to evade conscription into the Austrian Army, as he found the multiethnic character of the Habsburg Army repulsive due to his racist beliefs. However, the Bavarian police sent him back to Salzburg for induction into the Austrian Army in 1914, where he failed his physical exam due to poor health.

Secondly, when World War I broke out in August 1914, Hitler, despite his Austrian citizenship, petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria to volunteer in a Bavarian regiment, and his request was granted. This was a significant exception to the general rule that Austrians served in the Austrian Army and Germans in the German Army. It is likely that his Austrian citizenship was simply overlooked, and he was allowed to enlist in the Bavarian Army by mistake.

Thirdly, after the war, a report by the Bavarian authorities in 1924 questioned how Hitler had been allowed to serve in the Bavarian Army. They could not explain why he had not been deported back to Austria in 1914 after failing his physical exam for the Austrian Army. The authorities concluded that the matter of Hitler's citizenship had likely been overlooked, and this error had allowed him to enter the Bavarian Army.

In summary, while Hitler enthusiastically served in the Bavarian Army during World War I and was decorated for his bravery, it appears that his service may have been the result of an oversight or error on the part of the authorities. His Austrian citizenship, which would have normally disqualified him from serving in the Bavarian Army, was likely not properly taken into account, allowing him to enlist and serve as a soldier in the Bavarian forces during the war.

Hitler was decorated for bravery twice during World War I

Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, served in the German army during World War I and was decorated for bravery twice. He received the Iron Cross Second Class in 1914 and the Iron Cross First Class in 1918, an honour rarely given to a lance corporal. Hitler's bravery decorations were well-deserved, as he served bravely and proficiently during the war.

Hitler was 25 years old when he joined the Bavarian Army in 1914. Because of his Austrian citizenship, he had to request permission to serve in the Bavarian Army, which was granted. During the war, Hitler served in France and Belgium in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (1st Company of the List Regiment). He was an infantryman in the First Battle of Ypres in October 1914, which resulted in heavy casualties for the Germans. After the battle, Hitler was promoted from private to lance corporal and was assigned to be a regimental message runner. This was considered a relatively safe job, as regimental runners were often stationed several miles behind the front lines.

Hitler's bravery was demonstrated in several battles during World War I. He fought in the First Battle of Ypres in 1914, the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Battle of Arras in 1917, and the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. During the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916, the Bavarians successfully repulsed an attack by the Australians, inflicting heavy casualties on them. Hitler's bravery and dedication to his role were recognised by his superiors, who recommended him for the Iron Cross First Class decoration.

Hitler's bravery and military service were not without cost, as he was wounded twice during the war. In October 1916, he received a wound in his left thigh from a shell explosion during the Battle of the Somme. He was hospitalised for almost two months but begged to be recalled to his regiment, as he could not bear to be away from the front lines while his comrades were fighting. In October 1918, he was temporarily blinded by a British mustard gas attack and was hospitalised again. It was during this hospitalisation that he learned of Germany's defeat and the abdication of the Kaiser.

Hitler's military career and bravery decorations laid the foundation for his rise in German politics and his eventual leadership of Nazi Germany. His experiences in World War I shaped his ideology and fuelled his ambition to "liberate" and "make Germany great."

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