Hitler's Austrian Roots: Exploring His Early Life

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, in 1889. However, he was raised in both Germany and Austria, moving to Germany at the age of three and returning to Austria at the age of five. Hitler's nationalism was rooted in his belief in the superiority of the German ethnic group, rather than loyalty to a particular state. Hitler's nationalism was also influenced by his time in Vienna, where he was exposed to racist rhetoric and anti-Semitic literature. Hitler's nationalism was further shaped by his experiences during World War I, where he fought for the German Army, and by the post-war political climate in Munich, where he became involved with the German Workers' Party. Hitler's nationalism was, therefore, shaped by a complex interplay of personal, historical, and ideological factors.

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, and was raised near Linz

Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary (present-day Austria), close to the border with the German Empire. He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl. Hitler's father, Alois, was illegitimate and bore his mother's surname, Schicklgruber, until 1876 when a priest annotated his baptismal record to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois's father. Alois then assumed the surname Hitler.

When Hitler was three, the family moved to Passau, Germany. There he acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian dialect, rather than Austrian German, which marked his speech throughout his life. The family returned to Austria and settled in Leonding in 1894, and in June 1895 Alois retired to Hafeld, near Lambach, where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler attended Volksschule (a state-funded primary school) in nearby Fischlham.

The move to Hafeld coincided with the onset of intense father-son conflicts caused by Hitler's refusal to conform to the strict discipline of his school. Alois tried to browbeat his son into obedience, while Adolf did his best to be the opposite of whatever his father wanted. Alois would also beat his son, although his mother tried to protect him from regular beatings.

Alois Hitler's farming efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and in 1897 the family moved to Lambach. The eight-year-old Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church choir, and even considered becoming a priest. In 1898, the family returned permanently to Leonding. Hitler was deeply affected by the death of his younger brother Edmund in 1900 from measles. Hitler changed from a confident, outgoing, conscientious student to a morose, detached boy who constantly fought with his father and teachers.

Hitler's father, Alois, had made a successful career in the customs bureau and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Hitler later dramatised an episode from this period when his father took him to visit a customs office, depicting it as an event that gave rise to an unforgiving antagonism between father and son, who were both strong-willed. Ignoring his son's desire to attend a classical high school and become an artist, Alois sent Hitler to the Realschule in Linz in September 1900. Hitler rebelled against this decision, and in Mein Kampf states that he intentionally performed poorly in school, hoping that once his father saw "what little progress I was making at the technical school he would let me devote myself to my dream".

Hitler's mother, Klara, died of breast cancer in 1907 when Hitler was 18. In 1909, Hitler ran out of money and was forced to live a bohemian life in homeless shelters and dormitories. He earned money as a casual labourer and by painting and selling watercolours of Vienna's sights. During his time in Vienna, he pursued a growing passion for architecture and music, attending ten performances of his favourite Wagner opera, Lohengrin.

In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich. Screened for Austrian military service in February 1914, he was classified as unfit because of inadequate physical vigour; but when World War I broke out, he petitioned Bavarian King Louis III to be allowed to serve, and one day after submitting that request, he was notified that he would be permitted to join the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. After some eight weeks of training, Hitler was deployed in October 1914 to Belgium, where he participated in the First Battle of Ypres. He served throughout the war, was wounded in October 1916, and was gassed two years later near Ypres. He was hospitalized when the conflict ended. During the war, he was continuously in the front line as a headquarters runner; his bravery in action was rewarded with the Iron Cross, Second Class, in December 1914, and the Iron Cross, First Class (a rare decoration for a corporal), in August 1918. He greeted the war with enthusiasm, as a great relief from the frustration and aimlessness of civilian life. He found discipline and comradeship satisfying and was confirmed in his belief in the heroic virtues of war.

Hitler's father, Alois, was illegitimate and bore his mother's surname, Schicklgruber

Hitler's father, Alois Hitler (né Schicklgruber), was born on 7 June 1837 in the hamlet of Strones, a parish of Döllersheim in the Waldviertel of northwest Lower Austria. He was the illegitimate child of Maria Schicklgruber, a 42-year-old unmarried peasant whose family had lived in the area for generations. The identity of Alois's biological father is unknown, and on his baptismal certificate, the space for his father's name was left blank. Alois was brought up by his mother and his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schicklgruber, in the family home.

When Alois was five, Maria married Johann Georg Hiedler, who is often cited as having been Alois's biological father. However, the biological relationship between the two is disputed. When Alois was ten, he was sent to live with Johann Georg's brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, who owned a farm in the nearby village of Spital. Johann Nepomuk is also considered a possible biological father, although this is also disputed.

In 1876, Alois convinced the Austrian local authorities to acknowledge Johann Georg as his biological father, and his name was changed from Alois Schicklgruber to Alois Hitler. The authorities misspelled the surname, which should have been 'Hiedler'. This was the only form of the surname that his son, Adolf Hitler, used.

Hitler's mother, Klara, died of breast cancer when Hitler was 18

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, on 20 April 1889. He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Hitler (née Pölzl). Hitler was raised near Linz and lived in Vienna in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Germany in 1913.

Klara Hitler was born on 12 August 1860 in the Austrian village of Weitra or Spital. She worked as a domestic servant in her teenage years and was hired as a maid at 16 by her second cousin, Alois Hitler, and his wife. When Alois's second wife, Franziska Matzelsberger, died in 1884, Klara and Alois married in 1885.

Klara gave birth to six children, only two of whom survived to adulthood: Paula and Adolf. She was a devoted mother, and according to the family physician, Eduard Bloch, she was a quiet, sweet, and affectionate person. She was also a devout Roman Catholic and regularly attended church with her children.

In 1906, Klara discovered a lump in her breast but initially ignored it. After experiencing chest pain, she consulted the family doctor in January 1907, who diagnosed her with breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, but the cancer had already spread, and she was informed that her condition was terminal. Adolf, who was very close to his mother, moved back home to care for her.

Klara Hitler died at home in Linz on 21 December 1907 from the toxic side effects of iodoform, an experimental form of chemotherapy. She was 47 years old, and her death left Adolf devastated. He carried the grief for the rest of his life and later wrote in his autobiography, Mein Kampf, that he had "honored my father but loved my mother."

Hitler's mother's death has been the subject of much speculation, with some suggesting that it contributed to his growing violence and hatred of Jews, as she was treated by a Jewish doctor, Eduard Bloch. However, Hitler showed gratitude to Bloch for his care of his mother, allowing him and his wife to emigrate to the United States during the Holocaust.

Hitler was a regular visitor to at least one Jewish family's home in Vienna

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, in 1889 and raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Germany in 1913.

Hitler's time in Vienna was marked by a lack of employment, poverty, and an increasingly unstable personality. He lived a bohemian life in homeless shelters and dormitories, earning money as a casual labourer and by painting and selling watercolours of Vienna's sights. He also pursued a growing passion for architecture and music, attending ten performances of his favourite Wagner opera, Lohengrin.

During his time in Vienna, Hitler was exposed to racist rhetoric and anti-Semitic literature, which was easily available in the city. He was also influenced by the city's popular mayor, Lueger, who was regularly re-elected on a virulently anti-Semitic program. Hitler observed Lueger's success and modelled some of his later behaviour on what he learned from the mayor.

Hitler's time in Vienna was also marked by a growing interest in politics. He witnessed a large protest march by workers and studied the politics of the workers' party, the Social Democrats. He also observed the two other main parties, the Pan German Nationalists and the Christian Social Party, which heightened his interest in German nationalism and anti-Semitism.

Hitler's anti-Semitism was further influenced by a chance encounter with a man in a black caftan and black hair locks. In his book, Mein Kampf, Hitler describes the transformation in his thinking regarding the Jews after this encounter:

> "Once, as I was strolling through the inner city, I suddenly encountered an apparition in a black caftan and black hair locks. Is this a Jew? was my first thought...The more I saw, the more sharply they became distinguished in my eyes from the rest of humanity..."

Despite his growing anti-Semitism, Hitler's relationships with Jewish individuals were not impacted at this time. However, the seeds of hate were planted, and his anti-Semitism would later be nurtured by events such as Germany's defeat in World War I and the establishment of the Communist regime in Russia.

Hitler was a decorated soldier during his service in the German Army in World War I

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I, receiving the Iron Cross.

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Munich, Germany in 1913. Hitler was 25 years old when the First World War broke out in 1914. He was living in Munich and volunteered for the Bavarian Army. Because of his Austrian citizenship, he had to request permission to serve in the Bavarian Army. Permission was granted, and Hitler was enlisted, most likely through an administrative error on the part of the government.

Hitler served as a dispatch runner on the Western Front in France and Belgium, spending nearly half his time at the regimental headquarters in Fournes-en-Weppes, well behind the front lines. He was described by other soldiers as aloof, quiet, and a loner, never receiving mail from home, but regularly reading pamphlets and literature. Hitler often expressed outrage at his fellow soldiers visiting French prostitutes, both for their nationality and the immorality of the act. Despite his peers considering him odd, Hitler was liked and accepted.

Hitler was an infantryman in the 1st Company during the First Battle of Ypres in October 1914, which Germans remember as the Kindermord bei Ypern (Massacre of the Innocents at Ypres). Hitler's regiment entered the battle with 3,600 men but ended with only 611. By December, Hitler's own company of 250 was reduced to 42. After the battle, Hitler was promoted from Schütze (private) to Gefreiter (lance corporal). He was assigned to be a regimental message-runner.

Hitler considered the war the best years of his life. He was twice decorated for bravery. 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 Iron Cross First Class was awarded after an attack in open warfare during which messengers were indispensable. It was recommended by Lieutenant Hugo Gutmann, a Jewish adjutant in the List Regiment.

Hitler's wartime experience reinforced his German patriotism, and he was shocked by Germany's capitulation in November 1918. His displeasure with the collapse of the war effort began to shape his ideology. Hitler believed the Dolchstoßlegende (stab-in-the-back myth), which claimed that the German army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" on the home front by civilian leaders, Jews, Marxists, and those who signed the armistice that ended the fighting.

Hitler described his role in World War I as "the greatest of all experiences", and was praised by his commanding officers for his bravery.

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