Damon Mcknight
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party and the man responsible for the Holocaust. He was born Austrian but grew up in both Germany and Austria and considered himself ethnically German. Hitler's obsession with German nationalism is well-documented, and he expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the rule of the ethnically diverse Habsburg monarchy. Hitler's nationalism was not German state nationalism, but German ethnic nationalism, which was supported by his own words. This distinction is important when discussing Hitler's goals and the context of the time, as nation-states were becoming the norm, and the German ethnic group had been split apart for hundreds of years.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Place of Birth | Braunau am Inn, Austria |
| Date of Birth | 20 April 1889 |
| Parents' Nationality | Austrian |
| Political Affiliation | Nazi Party |
| Military Affiliation | German Army |
| Ideology | German Nationalism, Germanic Racism |
| Citizenship | Austrian (until 1925), Stateless (1925-1932), German (from 1932) |
| Political Career | Chancellor of Germany (1933-1945), Führer of Germany (1934-1945) |
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What You'll Learn
- Hitler was Austrian-born but renounced his citizenship in 1925
- He developed German nationalist ideas from a young age
- Hitler's worldview revolved around territorial expansion and racial supremacy
- He was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following Nazi Party victories
- Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 triggered World War II
Hitler was Austrian-born but renounced his citizenship in 1925
Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary (present-day Austria). He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl. In 1892, when Hitler was three years old, the family moved to Passau, Germany, following Alois's promotion to the custom administration there. The family returned to Austria and settled in Leonding in 1894, and in 1895, Alois retired to Hafeld, near Lambach, where he farmed and kept bees.
Hitler moved to Germany in 1913 and served in the German Army during World War I, receiving the Iron Cross for his service. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), which later became the Nazi Party, and in 1921, he was appointed the leader of the Nazi Party.
Hitler rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor of Germany in 1933. His invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 marked the start of the Second World War. During the war, Hitler was closely involved in military operations and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
Despite being born in Austria, Hitler developed a strong sense of German nationalism from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany and despised the declining Habsburg monarchy, which ruled over an ethnically diverse empire. Hitler's favourite teacher was also known to espouse German nationalist ideas and was reportedly part of the underground Nazi SS. During his early adult years in Vienna, Hitler consumed numerous books on German nationalism, which helped shape his beliefs.
In 1925, Hitler formally renounced his Austrian citizenship. He had attempted to acquire German citizenship, but his efforts were unsuccessful, and he remained stateless for almost seven years. During this time, he faced limitations on his political activities and the risk of deportation. However, in 1932, Hitler finally obtained German citizenship and was able to pursue his political ambitions, including running in the 1932 presidential election.
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He developed German nationalist ideas from a young age
Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary. He moved to Germany in 1913 and joined the German Army at the start of World War I. Despite being an Austrian citizen, Hitler's loyalty lay with Germany. He expressed German nationalist ideas from a young age, despising the declining Habsburg monarchy and its rule over an ethnically diverse empire.
Hitler's favourite teacher, Dr. Leopold Poetsch, was a German historian and public speaker who influenced Hitler's budding nationalism. Hitler and his friends used the greeting "Heil", sang the "Deutschlandlied", and Hitler even joined the German Workers' Party in 1919, which would later become the Nazi Party. He moved to Vienna in 1907, where he consumed countless books on German nationalism, which helped form his extreme beliefs. He also observed the success of the city's mayor, Lueger, who was regularly re-elected on a virulently anti-Semitic platform.
Hitler's nationalism was not typical Austrian nationalism, but a form of Germanic racism, where he saw Germans, Austrians, Dutch, Scandinavians, and even the English as one people against the Slavs. This was influenced by the older model of governance in German-speaking parts of Europe, where the nation was seen as a bound based on ethnicity and language, transcending political boundaries. Hitler's nationalism was also shaped by his time in the German Army during World War I, where he believed that the army had been betrayed by traitors, with accusations pointing towards the Jews.
Hitler's nationalism and anti-Semitism became central to his political rise. He became a popular agitational speaker in Munich, taking over the German Workers' Party and building it into a larger group. He gained popularity by exploiting economic unrest and targeting his political messages at those affected by inflation, depression, and the aftermath of World War I. In 1933, after a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party, Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, marking the start of his dictatorship and the transformation of Germany into a war state.
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Hitler's worldview revolved around territorial expansion and racial supremacy
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who served as the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. Hitler's worldview was shaped by his obsession with German nationalism, even though he was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungry. Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler developed German nationalist ideas from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining Habsburg monarchy and its rule over an ethnically diverse empire.
Hitler's push for eastward expansion, or "Drang nach Osten", was driven by his contempt for Slavs and Jews, both well-represented in the East. He believed that the Slavs were manipulated by the Jews and that the people of Soviet Russia were "controlled by Jews". This ideology was central to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union and was influenced by the historic Prussian and German revulsion against Slavs. Hitler's racial policies labelled Jews, Romani, Slavs, and most non-Europeans as inferior non-Aryan subhumans. These policies resulted in the Holocaust, the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.
Hitler's expansionist agenda was not limited to the East. In 1938, he colluded with Austrian Nazis to annex Austria to Germany, known as the Anschluss. He also forced Czechoslovakia to surrender the Sudetenland, a border region populated predominantly by ethnic Germans. These actions were part of Hitler's long-promised expansion of national boundaries to incorporate ethnic Germans. Hitler's worldview was shaped by his belief in the superiority of the Aryan race and the need for German expansion, which led to devastating consequences for millions of people during World War II.
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He was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following Nazi Party victories
Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. By 1932, the Nazis were the largest political party in the Reichstag. Hitler's rise to power was spurred by German people's frustration with economic conditions and the humiliation of defeat in World War I and the harsh peace terms of the Versailles Treaty. Hitler channelled this discontent into support for his fledgling Nazi Party. In the July 1932 election, the Nazis won 230 governmental seats, and together with the Communists, they made up over half of the Reichstag.
Hitler's appointment as chancellor was the result of complicated negotiations involving ex-chancellor Franz von Papen, conservative German National People's Party (DNVP), and President Paul von Hindenburg. They hoped to contain Hitler's extreme tendencies by appointing von Papen as vice-chancellor and other non-Nazis to key government positions. However, Hitler's emergence as chancellor marked a crucial turning point, as he soon smashed democratic institutions and transformed Germany into a war state intent on conquering Europe for the so-called Aryan race.
Hitler's ideology was shaped by his youth and early adult years in Austria and Vienna. He developed German nationalist ideas from a young age, expressing loyalty only to Germany and despising the declining Habsburg monarchy. He consumed books about German nationalism, which influenced his beliefs. Although Hitler was born in Austria, he considered himself ethnically German. He formally renounced his Austrian citizenship in 1925 but did not acquire German citizenship for almost seven years.
Hitler's time as chancellor saw the implementation of numerous racist policies targeting German Jews. He also pursued an expansion of national boundaries to incorporate ethnic Germans, colluding with Austrian Nazis to annex Austria to Germany. His invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, triggered World War II in Europe, and during the war, Nazi forces executed millions of victims deemed inferior or undesirable.
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Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939 triggered World War II
Adolf Hitler, the Austrian-born German politician and dictator of Nazi Germany, invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, marking the start of World War II. This invasion was the culmination of Hitler's long-promised expansion of national boundaries to incorporate ethnic Germans, which began in 1938 with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
Hitler's invasion of Poland was a significant escalation that triggered a pan-European war. It was also a clear demonstration of Germany's military capabilities, combining air power and armour in a new form of mobile warfare. The invasion was referred to by Germany as the 1939 Defensive War, with Hitler proclaiming that Poland had attacked Germany and that Germans in Poland were being persecuted. This appeal to German nationalism was a central aspect of Hitler's ideology, and he had articulated his violent, racially-based worldview in his book, "Mein Kampf," years before taking power.
In the lead-up to the invasion, Hitler had withdrawn from the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact of 1934 and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935, signalling his intentions. Poland, distrustful of Hitler, formed military alliances with the United Kingdom and France, who guaranteed the integrity of the Polish state. Despite these alliances, Hitler remained determined to wage war, and the conflict soon spread beyond Europe with the entry of Japan and the United States, ultimately resulting in the global conflict known as World War II.
Hitler's invasion of Poland was a pivotal moment in history, marking the beginning of a devastating world war that would shape the course of the 20th century. It was a consequence of Hitler's extreme nationalist and racist ideology, his pursuit of "living space" for Germans, and his desire to reverse post-World War I territorial losses. The invasion also highlighted the failure of appeasement policies by Britain and France, who had previously conceded to Hitler's demands in the hopes of avoiding war.
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Frequently asked questions
Hitler considered himself ethnically German, despite being born in Austria.
Hitler's German nationalism was influenced by his early life in Austria and Germany, his favourite teacher, and the books he read as a young adult.
Yes, Hitler's father, Alois Hitler, was Austrian.
No, Hitler was not Jewish. However, there are conspiracies that claim he was, due to the unknown identity of his paternal grandfather and his paternal grandmother's work as a housemaid for a wealthy Jewish businessman.
