(Redirected from Hitler)
'Adolf Hitler' (
20 April 1889 –
30 April 1945) was the leader of
National Socialist (Nazi) German Workers Party. He was appointed
Chancellor of Germany in
1933, becoming "
Führer" in
1934 until his suicide in 1945.
The Nazis gained power during
Germany's
period of crisis after
World War I. They used
propaganda and
charismatic oratory, emphasizing
nationalism,
anti-Semitism, and
anti-Communism. After restructuring the
economy and rearming the
military, a
totalitarian dictatorship based around the Führer was established. Hitler pursued an aggressive
foreign policy, with an ideological goal of ''
Lebensraum'' (expanding living space for Germans). The
German Invasion of Poland in 1939 triggered armed conflict between the
British and
French Empires (the
Allies) and Germany.
The
Axis Powers occupied most of
Europe and parts of
Asia at their zenith but were eventually defeated by the
Allies. By the end of the war, Hitler's policies of territorial conquest and
racial subjugation had brought death and destruction to tens of millions of people, including the
genocide of some six million
Jews in what is now known as
the Holocaust.
In the final days of the war, Hitler and his new wife,
Eva Braun,
committed suicide in
his underground bunker in
Berlin, as the city was overrun by the
Red Army of the
Soviet Union.
Early years
Childhood and heritage
Adolf Hitler as an infant.
Adolf Hitler was born in
Braunau am Inn,
Austria, the fourth child of six.
[1] His father,
Alois Hitler, (1837–1903), was a customs official. His mother,
Klara Pölzl, (1860–1907), was Alois' third wife.
She was also his cousin, so a
papal dispensation had to be obtained for the marriage. Of Alois and Klara's six children, only Adolf and his sister
Paula reached adulthood.
[2] Hitler's father also had a son,
Alois Jr, and a daughter,
Angela, by his second wife.
Alois Hitler was born
illegitimate. For the first 39 years of his life he bore his mother's surname, Schicklgruber. In 1876, he took the surname of his stepfather,
Johann Georg Hiedler. The name was spelled Hiedler, Huetler, Huettler and Hitler and probably changed to "Hitler" by a clerk. The origin of the name is either from the
German word ''Hittler'' and similar, "one who lives in a hut", "shepherd", or from the
Slavic word ''Hidlar'' and ''Hidlarcek''.
Allied
propaganda exploited Hitler's original family name during World War II.
Pamphlets bearing the phrase "Heil Schicklgruber" were
airdropped over German cities. But he was legally born a Hitler and was also related to Hiedler via his maternal grandmother,
Johanna Hiedler.
The name "Adolf" comes from
Old High German for "noble wolf" (Adel=nobility + wolf).
[3] Hence, one of Hitler's self-given nicknames was ''Wolf'' or ''Herr Wolf''—he began using this nickname in the early 1920s and was addressed by it only by intimates (as "Uncle Wolf" by the Wagners) up until the fall of the Third Reich.
[4] The names of his various
headquarters scattered throughout
continental Europe (''
Wolfsschanze'' in
East Prussia, ''Wolfsschlucht'' in
France, ''Werwolf'' in
Ukraine, etc.) reflect this. By his closest family and relatives, Hitler was known as "Adi".
As a boy, Hitler said he was often whipped by his father. Years later he told his secretary, "I then resolved never again to cry when my father whipped me. A few days later I had the opportunity of putting my
will to the test. My mother, frightened, took refuge in the front of the door. As for me, I counted silently the blows of the stick which lashed my rear end."
[5]
Hitler's paternal grandfather was most likely one of the brothers Johann Georg Hiedler or
Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. There were rumours that Hitler was one-quarter
Jewish and that his grandmother,
Maria Schicklgruber, became
pregnant while working as a servant in a Jewish household. The implications of these rumours were politically explosive for the proponent of a
racist ideology. Opponents tried to prove that Hitler had Jewish or
Czech ancestors. Although these rumours were never confirmed, for Hitler they were reason enough to conceal his origins. According to Robert G. L. Waite in ''The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler'', Hitler made it illegal for German women to work in Jewish households, and after the "
Anschluss" (annexation) of Austria, Hitler turned his father's hometown into an artillery practice area. Waite says that Hitler's insecurities in this regard may have been more important than whether Judaic ancestry could have been proven by his peers.
Hitler's family moved often, from Braunau am Inn to
Passau, Lambach,
Leonding, and
Linz. The young Hitler was a good student in elementary school. But in the sixth grade, his first year of high school (''Realschule'') in Linz, he failed and had to repeat the grade. His teachers said that he had "no desire to work." One of Hitler's classmates in the Realschule was
Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the great philosophers of the 20th century. A book by Kimberley Cornish suggests that conflict between Hitler and some Jewish students, including Wittgenstein, was a critical moment in Hitler's formation as an anti-Semite.
[6]
Wittgenstein and Hitler in school in a photograph taken at the Linz Realschule in 1903.
Hitler claimed his educational slump was a
rebellion against his father, who wanted the boy to follow him in a career as a customs official; Hitler wanted to become a painter instead. This explanation is further supported by Hitler's later description of himself as a misunderstood artist. However, after Alois died on
January 3,
1903, Hitler's schoolwork did not improve. At age 16, Hitler dropped out of high school without a degree.
Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich
From 1905 on, Hitler lived a
bohemian life in
Vienna on an orphan's
pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (1907–1908), citing "unfitness for painting," and was told his abilities lay instead in the field of
architecture.
[7] His
memoirs reflect a fascination with the subject:
Following the school rector's recommendation, he too became convinced this was the path to pursue, yet he lacked the proper academic preparation for architecture school:
On
December 21,
1907, Hitler's mother died of
breast cancer at age 47. Ordered by a court in Linz, Hitler gave his share of the
orphans' benefits to his sister Paula. When he was 21, he inherited money from an aunt. He struggled as a painter in
Vienna, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to merchants and tourists.
After being refused a second time from the Academy of Arts, Hitler ran out of money. In 1909, he sought refuge in a
homeless shelter. By 1910, he had settled into a house for poor working men.
Hitler says he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna, which had a large Jewish community, including
Orthodox Jews who had fled from
pogroms in
Russia. But according to a childhood friend,
August Kubizek, Hitler was a "confirmed anti-Semite" before he left Linz, Austria. Vienna at that time was a hotbed of traditional religious prejudice and 19th century racism. Hitler may have been influenced by the writings of the ideologist and anti-Semite
Lanz von Liebenfels and
polemics from
politicians such as
Karl Lueger, founder of the
Christian Social Party and
mayor of Vienna, the composer
Richard Wagner, and
Georg Ritter von Schönerer, leader of the
pan-Germanic ''Away from Rome!'' movement. Hitler claims in ''
Mein Kampf'' that his transition from opposing anti-Semitism on
religious grounds to supporting it on racial grounds came from having seen an Orthodox Jew, but actually it seems Hitler was not very anti-Semitic in these years. He often was a guest for dinner in a noble Jewish house, and Jewish merchants tried to sell his paintings.
[8]
Hitler may also have been influenced by
Martin Luther's ''
On the Jews and their Lies''.
Kristallnacht took place on November 10—Luther's birthday.
In ''Mein Kampf'', Hitler refers to Martin Luther as a great warrior, a true statesmen, and a great
reformer, alongside Wagner and
Frederick the Great.
[9] Wilhelm Röpke, writing after the Holocaust, concluded that "without any question,
Lutheranism influenced the political, spiritual and social history of Germany in a way that, after careful consideration of everything, can be described only as fateful."
[10]
Hitler claimed that Jews were enemies of the
Aryan race. He held them responsible for Austria's crisis. He also identified certain forms of
Socialism and
Bolshevism, which had many Jewish leaders, as Jewish movements, merging his anti-Semitism with anti-
Marxism. Blaming Germany's military defeat on the 1918 Revolutions, he considered Jews the culprit of Imperial Germany's downfall and subsequent economic problems as well.
Generalising from tumultuous scenes in the parliament of the multi-national Austria
monarchy, he decided that the democratic
parliamentary system was unworkable. However, according to August Kubizek, his one-time roommate, he was more interested in Wagner's
operas than in his politics.
Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May
1913 and moved to
Munich. He wrote in ''Mein Kampf'' that he had always longed to live in a "real" German city. In Munich, he became more interested in architecture and, he says, the writings of
Houston Stewart Chamberlain. Moving to Munich also helped him escape
military service in Austria for a time, but the Austrian army arrested him finally. After a physical exam (during which his height was measured at 173 cm, or 5 ft 8 in) and a contrite plea, he was deemed unfit for service and allowed to return to Munich. However, when Germany entered World War I in August 1914, he petitioned King
Ludwig III of
Bavaria for permission to serve in a Bavarian regiment. This request was granted, and Adolf Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian army.
[11]
World War I
Hitler served in
France and
Belgium as a runner for the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment (called ''Regiment List'' after its first commander), which exposed him to enemy fire.
[12] He drew
cartoons and instructional drawings for the army newspaper.
Hitler 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
Gefreiter.
[13] However, because the regimental staff thought Hitler lacked leadership skills, he was never promoted to
Unteroffizier. Other historians say that the reason he was not promoted is that he was not a German citizen. His duties at regimental headquarters, while often dangerous, gave Hitler time to pursue his artwork. In 1916, Hitler was wounded in the leg but returned to the front in March
1917. He received the
Wound Badge later that year.
Sebastian Haffner, referring to Hitler's experience at the front, suggests he did have at least some understanding of the military.
On
October 15,
1918, Hitler was admitted to a
field hospital, temporarily
blinded by a
mustard gas attack. The English psychologist
David Lewis[14] and
Bernhard Horstmann indicate the blindness may have been the result of a
conversion disorder (then known as
hysteria). Hitler said it was during this experience that he became convinced the purpose of his life was to "save Germany". Some scholars, notably Lucy Dawidowicz,
[15] argue that an intention to exterminate Europe's Jews was fully formed in Hitler's mind at this time, though he probably had not thought through how it could be done. Most historians think the decision was made in 1940 or 1941, and some think it came as late as 1942.
Two passages in ''Mein Kampf'' mention the use of
poison gas:
Hitler had long admired Germany, and during the war he had become a passionate German
patriot, although he did not become a German citizen until 1932. He was shocked by Germany's
capitulation in November 1918 even while the German army still held enemy territory.
[16] Like many other German
nationalists, Hitler believed in the ''
Dolchstoßlegende'' ("dagger-stab legend") which claimed that the army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" by civilian leaders and Marxists back on the
home front. These politicians were later dubbed the ''
November Criminals''.
The
Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of various territories,
demilitarized the
Rhineland and imposed other economically damaging sanctions. The treaty re-created Poland, which even moderate Germans regarded as an outrage. The treaty also blamed Germany for all the horrors of the war, something which major historians like
John Keegan now consider at least in part to be
victor's justice: most European nations in the run-up to World War I had become increasingly
militarised and were eager to fight. The culpability of Germany was used as a basis to impose
reparations on Germany (the amount was repeatedly revised under the
Dawes Plan, the
Young Plan, and the
Hoover Moratorium). Germany in turn perceived the treaty and especially the paragraph on the German guilt as a humiliation. For example, there was a nearly total
demilitarisation of the armed forces, allowing Germany only six
battleships, no
submarines, no
air force, an army of 100,000 without conscription and no armoured vehicles. The treaty was an important factor in both the social and political conditions encountered by Hitler and his Nazis as they sought power. Hitler and his party used the signing of the treaty by the "November Criminals" as a reason to build up Germany so that it could never happen again. He also used the "November Criminals" as scapegoats, although at the
Paris peace conference, these politicians had had very little choice in the matter.
Entry into politics
Main articles: Hitler's political beliefs
A copy of Adolf Hitler's forged
DAP membership card. His actual membership number was 555 (the 55th member of the party - the 500 was added to make the group appear larger) but later the number was reduced to create the impression that Hitler was one of the founding members (Ian Kershaw ''Hubris''). Hitler had wanted to create his own party, but was ordered by his superiors in the Reichswehr to infiltrate an existing one instead.
After World War I, Hitler remained in the army and returned to Munich, where he - in contrast to his later declarations - participated in the funeral march for the murdered Bavarian prime minister
Kurt Eisner.
[17] After the suppression of the
Bavarian Soviet Republic, he took part in "national thinking" courses organized by the ''Education and Propaganda Department'' (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian ''Reichswehr'' Group, Headquarters 4 under Captain
Karl Mayr. Scapegoats were found in "international Jewry", communists, and politicians across the party spectrum, especially the parties of the
Weimar Coalition.
In July 1919, Hitler was appointed a ''Verbindungsmann'' (police spy) of an ''Aufklärungskommando'' (Intelligence Commando) of the
Reichswehr, both to influence other soldiers and to
infiltrate a small party, the
German Workers' Party (DAP). During his
inspection of the party, Hitler was impressed with founder
Anton Drexler's anti-Semitic, nationalist,
anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist ideas, which favoured a strong active government, a "non-Jewish" version of socialism and mutual solidarity of all members of society.
Here Hitler also met
Dietrich Eckart, one of the early founders of the party and member of the occult
Thule Society.
[18] Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging ideas with him, teaching him how to dress and speak, and introducing him to a wide range of people. Hitler thanked Eckart by paying tribute to him in the second volume of ''Mein Kampf''.
Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with his former superiors' continued encouragement began participating full time in the party's activities. By early 1921, Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of large crowds. In February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in Munich. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of party supporters to drive around with
swastikas, cause a commotion and throw out
leaflets, their first use of this tactic. Hitler gained notoriety outside of the party for his rowdy,
polemic speeches against the
Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians (including
monarchists, nationalists and other non-
internationalist socialists) and especially against Marxists and Jews.
The DAP was centered in Munich, a hotbed of German nationalists who included Army officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine the Weimar republic. Gradually they noticed Hitler and his growing movement as a vehicle to hitch themselves to. Hitler traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 1921, and in his absence there was a
revolt among the DAP leadership in Munich.
The party was run by an executive
committee whose original members considered Hitler to be overbearing. They formed an with a group of socialists from
Augsburg. Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by tendering his
resignation from the party on
July 11,
1921. When they realized the loss of Hitler would effectively mean the end of the party, he seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he would be given dictatorial powers. Infuriated committee members (including Drexler) held out at first. Meanwhile an anonymous
pamphlet appeared entitled ''Adolf Hitler: Is he a
traitor?'', attacking Hitler's lust for power and criticizing the violent men around him. Hitler responded to its publication in a Munich newspaper by
suing for
libel and later won a small settlement.
The executive committee of the DAP eventually backed down and Hitler's demands were put to a vote of party members. Hitler received 543 votes for and only one against. At the next gathering on
29 July 1921, Adolf Hitler was introduced as Führer of the National Socialist Party, marking the first time this title was publicly used. Hitler changed the name of the party to the ''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' or
National Socialist German Workers Party.
Hitler's beer hall
oratory, attacking Jews,
social democrats,
liberals, reactionary monarchists,
capitalists and communists, began attracting adherents. Early followers included
Rudolf Hess, the former air force pilot
Hermann Göring, and the army
captain Ernst Röhm, who became head of the Nazis'
paramilitary organization, the
SA (''Sturmabteilung'', or "Storm Division"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. Hitler also assimilated independent groups, such as the
Nuremberg-based ''Deutsche Werkgemeinschaft'', led by
Julius Streicher, who became
Gauleiter of
Franconia. Hitler also attracted the attention of local business interests, was accepted into influential circles of Munich society, and became associated with wartime General
Erich Ludendorff during this time.
Beer Hall Putsch
Main articles: Beer Hall Putsch
Encouraged by this early support, Hitler decided to use Ludendorff as a front in an attempted
coup later known as the ''Beer Hall Putsch'' (sometimes as the ''Hitler Putsch'' or ''Munich Putsch''). The Nazi Party had copied
Italy's
fascists in appearance and also had adopted some programmatical points, and in 1923, Hitler wanted to emulate
Mussolini's "
March on Rome" by staging his own "Campaign in
Berlin". Hitler and Ludendorff obtained the clandestine support of
Gustav von Kahr, Bavaria's
de facto ruler, along with leading figures in the Reichswehr and the police. As political posters show, Ludendorff, Hitler and the heads of the Bavarian police and military planned on forming a new government.
On
November 8,
1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting headed by Kahr in the Bürgerbräukeller, a large beer hall outside of Munich. He declared that he had set up a new government with Ludendorff and demanded, at gunpoint, the support of Kahr and the local military establishment for the destruction of the Berlin government.
[19] Kahr withdrew his support and fled to join the opposition to Hitler at the first opportunity.
[20] The next day, when Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government as a start to their "March on Berlin", the police dispersed them.
Sixteen NSDAP members were killed.
[21]
Hitler fled to the home of
Ernst Hanfstaengl and contemplated
suicide. He was soon arrested for
high treason.
Alfred Rosenberg became temporary leader of the party. During Hitler's trial, he was given almost unlimited time to speak, and his popularity soared as he voiced nationalistic sentiments. A Munich personality became a nationally known figure. On
April 1,
1924, Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at
Landsberg Prison. Hitler received favoured treatment from the guards and had much fan mail from
admirers.
[22] He was pardoned and released from jail in December 1924, as part of a general amnesty for political prisoners. He served nine months of his sentence, or just over a year if time on
remand is included.
''Mein Kampf''
Main articles: Mein Kampf
While at Landsberg he dictated ''Mein Kampf'' (''My Struggle'', originally entitled "Four Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice") to his deputy Rudolf Hess.
The book, dedicated to Thule Society member Dietrich Eckart, was an
autobiography and an exposition of his ideology. It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, selling about 240,000 copies between 1925 and 1934. By the end of the war, about 10 million copies had been sold or distributed (newly-weds and soldiers received free copies).
Hitler spent years dodging
taxes on the
royalties of his book and had accumulated a tax debt of about 405,500
Reichsmarks (€6 million in today's money) by the time he became chancellor (at which time his debt was waived).
[23][24]
The
copyright of ''Mein Kampf'' in Europe is claimed by the Free State of Bavaria and scheduled to end on
December 31,
2015. Reproductions in Germany are authorized only for scholarly purposes and in heavily commented form. The situation is however unclear. Historian Werner Maser, in an interview with
''Bild am Sonntag'' has stated that
Peter Raubal, son of Hitler's nephew,
Leo Raubal, would have a strong legal case for winning the copyright from Bavaria if he pursued it. Raubal has stated he wants no part of the rights to the book, which could be worth millions of euros.
[25] The uncertain status has led to contested trials in Poland and
Sweden. ''Mein Kampf'', however, is published in the U.S., as well as in other countries such as
Turkey and
Israel, by publishers with various political positions.
Rebuilding of the party
At the time of Hitler's release, the political situation in Germany had calmed and the economy had improved, which hampered Hitler's opportunities for agitation. Though the ''Hitler Putsch'' had given Hitler some national prominence, his party's mainstay was still Munich.
Since Hitler was still banned from public speeches, he appointed
Gregor Strasser, who in 1924 had been elected to the
Reichstag, as ''Reichsorganisationsleiter'', authorizing him to organize the party in northern Germany. Strasser, joined by his younger brother
Otto and
Joseph Goebbels, steered an increasingly independent course, emphasizing the socialist element in the party's programme. The ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Gauleiter Nord-West'' became an internal opposition, threatening Hitler's authority, but this faction was defeated at the
Bamberg Conference in 1926, during which Goebbels joined Hitler.
After this encounter, Hitler centralized the party even more and asserted the ''
Führerprinzip'' ("Leader principle") as the basic principle of party organization. Leaders were not elected by their group but were rather appointed by their superior and were answerable to them while demanding unquestioning obedience from their inferiors. Consistent with Hitler's disdain for
democracy, all power and
authority devolved from the top down.
A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to evoke a sense of offended national pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles imposed on the defeated
German Empire by the Western Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory in Europe along with its
colonies and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge
reparations bill totaling 132 billion
marks. Most Germans bitterly resented these terms, but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly successful with the electorate. The party learned quickly, and soon a more subtle propaganda emerged, combining anti-Semitism with an attack on the failures of the "Weimar system" and the parties supporting it.
Adolf Hitler, behind
Hermann Göring, at a Nazi rally in Nuremberg in 1928.
Having failed in overthrowing the Republic by a coup, Hitler pursued the "strategy of legality": this meant formally adhering to the rules of the Weimar Republic until he had legally gained power and then transforming liberal democracy into a Nazi dictatorship. Some party members, especially in the paramilitary
SA, opposed this strategy; Röhm ridiculed Hitler as "Adolphe Legalité".
Rise to power
Main articles: Hitler's rise to power
Nazi Party Election Results
|
| Date | Votes | Percentage | Seats in Reichstag | Background |
| May 1924 | 1,918,300 | 6.5 | 32 | Hitler in prison |
| December 1924 | 907,300 | 3.0 | 14 | Hitler is released from prison |
| May 1928 | 810,100 | 2.6 | 12 | |
| September 1930 | 6,409,600 | 18.3 | 107 | After the financial crisis |
| July 1932 | 13,745,800 | 37.4 | 230 | After Hitler was candidate for presidency |
| November 1932 | 11,737,000 | 33.1 | 196 | |
| March 1933 | 17,277,000 | 43.9 | 288 | During Hitler's term as Chancellor of Germany |
Brüning Administration
The political turning point for Hitler came when the
Great Depression hit Germany in 1930. The Weimar Republic had never been firmly rooted and was openly opposed by
right-wing conservatives (including monarchists), Communists and the Nazis. As the parties loyal to the democratic,
parliamentary republic found themselves unable to agree on counter-measures, their
Grand Coalition broke up and was replaced by a minority cabinet. The new Chancellor,
Heinrich Brüning of the Roman Catholic
Centre Party, lacking a majority in parliament, had to implement his measures through the president's
emergency decrees. Tolerated by the majority of parties, the exception soon became the rule and paved the way for
authoritarian forms of government.
The Reichstag's initial opposition to Brüning's measures led to premature elections in September 1930. The republican parties lost their majority and their ability to resume the Grand Coalition, while the Nazis suddenly rose from relative obscurity to win 18.3% of the vote along with 107 seats in the
Reichstag, becoming the second largest party in Germany.
Brüning's measure of budget consolidation and financial
austerity brought little economic improvement and was extremely unpopular. Under these circumstances, Hitler appealed to the bulk of German
farmers,
war veterans and the
middle class, who had been hard-hit by both the
inflation of the 1920s and the
unemployment of the Depression. Hitler received little response from the
urban working classes and traditionally Catholic regions.
Hitler's
niece Geli Raubal was found dead in her bedroom in his Munich apartment (his half-sister
Angela and her daughter Geli had been with him in Munich since 1929), an apparent suicide. Geli, who was believed to be in some sort of romantic relationship with Hitler, was 19 years younger than he was and had used his gun. His niece's death is viewed as a source of deep, lasting pain for him.
[26]
In 1932, Hitler intended to run against the aging
President Paul von Hindenburg in the scheduled
presidential elections. Though Hitler had left Austria in 1913, he still had not acquired German citizenship and hence could not run for public office. In February, however, the state government of
Brunswick, in which the Nazi Party participated, appointed Hitler to some minor administrative post and also gave him
citizenship on
February 25,
1932.
[27]
The new German citizen ran against Hindenburg, who was supported by a broad range of
reactionary nationalist, monarchist, Catholic,
republican and even
social democratic parties, and against the Communist presidential candidate. His campaign was called "Hitler über Deutschland" (Hitler over Germany).
[28] The name had a double meaning; besides an obvious reference to Hitler's dictatorial intentions, it also referred to the fact that Hitler was campaigning by aircraft.
This was a brand new political tactic that allowed Hitler to speak in two cities in one day, which was practically unheard of at the time. Hitler came in second on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one in April. Although he lost to Hindenburg, the election established Hitler as a realistic alternative in German politics.
Cabinets of Papen and Schleicher
Hindenburg, influenced by the
Camarilla, became increasingly estranged from Brüning and pushed his Chancellor to move the government in a decidedly authoritarian and right-wing direction. This culminated, in May 1932, with the resignation of the Brüning cabinet.
Hindenburg appointed the nobleman
Franz von Papen as chancellor, heading a "Cabinet of Barons". Papen was bent on authoritarian rule and, since in the Reichstag only the conservative
DNVP supported his administration, he immediately called for new elections in July. In these elections, the Nazis achieved their biggest success yet and won 230 seats.
The Nazis had become the largest party in the Reichstag without which no stable government could be formed. Papen tried to convince Hitler to become Vice-Chancellor and enter a new government with a parliamentary basis. Hitler, however, rejected this offer and put further pressure on Papen by entertaining parallel negotiations with the
Centre Party, Papen's former party, which was bent on bringing down the renegade Papen. In both negotiations, Hitler demanded that he, as leader of the strongest party, must be Chancellor, but Hindenburg consistently refused to appoint the "Bohemian private" to the Chancellorship.
After a
vote of no-confidence in the Papen government, supported by 84% of the deputies, the new Reichstag was dissolved, and new elections were called in November. This time, the Nazis lost some seats but still remained the largest party in the Reichstag.
After Papen failed to secure a majority, he proposed to dissolve the parliament again along with an indefinite postponement of elections. Hindenburg at first accepted this, but after General
Kurt von Schleicher and the military withdrew their support, Hindenburg instead dismissed Papen and appointed Schleicher, who promised he could secure a majority government by negotiations with both the Social Democrats, the
trade unions, and dissidents from the Nazi Party under Gregor Strasser. In January 1933, however, Schleicher had to admit failure in these efforts and asked Hindenburg for emergency powers along with the same postponement of elections that he had opposed earlier, to which the president reacted by dismissing Schleicher.
Appointment as Chancellor
Meanwhile, Papen tried to get his revenge on Schleicher by working toward the General's downfall, through forming an intrigue with the camarilla and
Alfred Hugenberg, media mogul and chairman of the
DNVP. Also involved were
Hjalmar Schacht,
Fritz Thyssen and other leading German businessmen. They financially supported the Nazi Party, which had been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by the cost of heavy campaigning. The businessmen also wrote letters to Hindenburg, urging him to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties" which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people."
[29]
Finally, the president reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler Chancellor of a coalition government formed by the NSDAP and DNVP. Hitler and two other Nazi ministers (
Frick, Göring) were to be contained by a framework of conservative cabinet ministers, most notably by Papen as
Vice-Chancellor and by Hugenberg as Minister of the Economy. Papen wanted to use Hitler as a figure-head, but the Nazis had gained key positions, most notably the Ministry of the Interior. On the morning of
30 January 1933, in Hindenburg's office, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor during what some observers later described as a brief and simple ceremony. The Nazis' seizure of power subsequently became known as the ''
Machtergreifung''. Hitler established the
Reichssicherheitsdienst as his personal bodyguards.
Reichstag fire and the March elections
Having become Chancellor, Hitler foiled all attempts to gain a majority in parliament and on that basis persuaded President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag again. Elections were scheduled for early March, but on
27 February 1933, the
Reichstag building was set on fire.
[30] Since a
Dutch independent communist was found in the building, the fire was blamed on a Communist plot to which the government reacted with the
Reichstag Fire Decree of
28 February which suspended basic rights, including ''
habeas corpus''. Under the provisions of this decree, the
German Communist Party and other groups were suppressed, and communist functionaries and deputies were arrested, put to flight, or murdered.
Campaigning continued, with the Nazis making use of paramilitary violence, anti-Communist hysteria, and the government's resources for propaganda. On election day,
6 March, the NSDAP increased its result to 43.9% of the vote, remaining the largest party, but its victory was marred by its failure to secure an absolute majority, necessitating maintaining a
coalition with the DNVP.
[31]
Parade of SA troops past Hitler. Nuremberg, November 1935.
"Day of Potsdam" and the Enabling Act
On
21 March the new Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony held at Potsdam's garrison church. This "Day of Potsdam" was staged to demonstrate reconciliation and union between the revolutionary Nazi movement and "Old Prussia" with its elites and virtues. Hitler appeared in a tail coat and humbly greeted the aged President Hindenburg.
Because of the Nazis' failure to obtain a majority on their own, Hitler's government confronted the newly elected Reichstag with the
Enabling Act that would have vested the cabinet with
legislative powers for a period of four years. Though such a bill was not unprecedented, this act was different since it allowed for deviations from the constitution. Since the bill required a two-thirds majority in order to pass, the government needed the support of other parties. The position of the Catholic
Centre Party, the third largest party in the Reichstag, turned out to be decisive: under the leadership of
Ludwig Kaas, the party decided to vote for the Enabling Act. It did so in return for the government's oral guarantees regarding the
Church's liberty, the concordats signed by German states and the continued existence of the Centre Party.
On
23 March the Reichstag assembled in a replacement building under extremely turbulent circumstances. Some
SA men served as guards within while large groups outside the building shouted slogans and threats toward the arriving deputies. Kaas announced that the Centre would support the bill amid "concerns put aside.", while Social Democrat
Otto Wels denounced the act in his speech. At the end of the day, all parties except the Social Democrats voted in favour of the bill. The Enabling Act was dutifully renewed by the Reichstag every four years, even through World War II.
Removal of remaining limits
With this combination of legislative and
executive power, Hitler's government further suppressed the remaining political
opposition. The
KPD and the SPD were banned, while all other political parties dissolved themselves.
Labour unions were merged with employers' federations into an organisation under Nazi control, and the autonomy of German state governments was abolished.
Hitler also used the SA paramilitary to push Hugenberg into resigning and proceeded to politically isolate Vice Chancellor Papen. Because the SA's demands for political and military power caused much anxiety among military leaders, Hitler used allegations of a plot by the SA leader
Ernst Röhm to purge the SA's leadership during the
Night of the Long Knives. Opponents unconnected with the SA were also
murdered, notably
Gregor Strasser and former Chancellor
Kurt von Schleicher.
[32]
President
Paul von Hindenburg died on
2 August 1934. Rather than holding new presidential elections, Hitler's cabinet passed a law proclaiming the presidency dormant and transferred the role and powers of the head of state to Hitler as ''Führer und Reichskanzler'' (leader and chancellor).
[33] Thereby Hitler also became supreme commander of the military, whose officers then swore an
oath not to the state or the constitution but to Hitler personally.
In a mid-August
plebiscite, these acts found the approval of 84.6%
[34] of the electorate. Combining the highest offices in state, military and party in his hand, Hitler had attained supreme rule that could no longer be legally challenged.
Third Reich
Main articles: Nazi Germany
Having secured supreme political power, Hitler went on to gain their support by
convincing most Germans he was their saviour from the economic Depression, communism, the "
Judeo-Bolsheviks," and the Versailles Treaty, along with other "undesirable"
minorities. The Nazis eliminated opposition through a process known as
Gleichschaltung.
Economy and culture
Hitler oversaw one of the greatest expansions of industrial production and civil improvement Germany had ever seen, mostly based on debt flotation and expansion of the military. Nazi policies toward women strongly encouraged them to stay at home to bear children and keep house. In a September 1934 speech to the National Socialist Women's Organization, Adolf Hitler argued that for the German woman her “world is her husband, her family, her children, and her home.” This policy was reinforced by bestowing the Cross of Honor of the German Mother on women bearing four or more babies. The
unemployment rate was cut substantially, mostly through arms production and sending women home so that men could take their jobs. Given this, claims that the
German economy achieved near
full employment are at least partly artifacts of propaganda from the era. Much of the financing for Hitler's reconstruction and rearmament came from currency manipulation by
Hjalmar Schacht, including the clouded credits through the
Mefo bills. The negative effects of this
inflation were offset in later years by the acquisition of foreign
gold from the treasuries of conquered nations.
Hitler also oversaw one of the largest infrastructure-improvement campaigns in German history, with the construction of dozens of
dams,
autobahns,
railroads, and other civil works. Hitler's
policies emphasised the importance of family life: men were the "breadwinners", while women's priorities were to lie in bringing up children and in household work. This revitalising of industry and infrastructure came at the expense of the overall standard of living, at least for those not affected by the chronic unemployment of the later Weimar Republic, since wages were slightly reduced in pre-World-War-II years, despite a 25% increase in the cost of living.
[35] Labourers and farmers, the traditional voters of the NSDAP, however, saw an increase in their standard of living.
Hitler's government
sponsored architecture on an immense scale, with
Albert Speer becoming famous as the first architect of the Reich. While important as an architect in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, Speer proved much more effective as armaments minister during the last years of World War II. In 1936, Berlin hosted the
summer Olympic games, which were opened by Hitler and
choreographed to demonstrate Aryan superiority over all other races, achieving mixed results.
''Olympia'', the movie about the games and other documentary propaganda films for the German Nazi Party were directed by Hitler's personal filmmaker
Leni Riefenstahl.
Although Hitler made plans for a ''
Breitspurbahn'' (
broad gauge railroad network), they were preempted by World War II. Had the railroad been built, its gauge would have been three metres, even wider than the old
Great Western Railway of Britain.
Hitler contributed slightly to the design of the car that later became the
Volkswagen Beetle and charged
Ferdinand Porsche with its design and construction.
[36] Production was also deferred because of the war.
Adolf Hitler, considered
Sparta to be the first
National Socialist state, and praised its early
eugenics treatment of deformed children.
[37]
He awarded the
Order of the German Eagle, the Third Reich's highest distinction, to the industrialist
Emil Kirdorf in April 1937, in reward for his financial support during his rise to power. The next year, he organized state funerals for him.
Rearmament and new alliances
Main articles: Axis Powers,
Tripartite Treaty,
In March 1935, Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by reintroducing conscription, building a
massive military machine, including a new Navy (''
Kriegsmarine'') and an Air Force (''
Luftwaffe''). The enlistment of vast numbers of men and women in the new military seemed to solve unemployment problems but seriously distorted the economy. For the first time in 20 years, Germany's armed forces were as strong as
France's.
In March 1936, Hitler again violated the treaty by
reoccupying the
demilitarized zone in the
Rhineland. When
Britain and France did nothing, he grew bolder. In July 1936, the
Spanish Civil War began when the military, led by General
Francisco Franco, rebelled against the elected
Popular Front government. After receiving an appeal for help from General Franco in July 1936, Hitler sent troops to support Franco, and Spain served as a testing ground for Germany's new forces and their methods, including the bombing of undefended towns such as
Guernica in April 1937, prompting
Pablo Picasso's famous
eponymous
Guernica painting.
An Axis was declared between Germany and Italy by Count
Galeazzo Ciano,
foreign minister of Fascist
dictator Benito Mussolini on
25 October 1936. The
Tripartite Treaty was then signed by
Saburo Kurusu of
Imperial Japan, Hitler, and Ciano on
27 September 1940. It was later expanded to include
Hungary,
Romania and
Bulgaria. They were collectively known as the
Axis Powers. Then on
5 November 1937, at the
Reich Chancellory, Adolf Hitler held a secret meeting with the War and Foreign Ministers plus the three service chiefs, recorded in the
Hossbach Memorandum and stated his plans for acquiring "living space" (
Lebensraum) for the German people.
The Holocaust
Main articles: The Holocaust
One of the foundations of Hitler's and the NSDAP's social policies was the concept of
racial hygiene. It was based on the ideas of
Arthur de Gobineau,
eugenics, and
social Darwinism. Applied to human beings, "
survival of the fittest" was interpreted as requiring racial purity and killing off "life unworthy of life." The first victims were crippled and retarded children in a program dubbed
Action T4.
[38] After a public outcry, Hitler made a show of ending this program, but the killings in fact continued.
Between 1939 and 1945, the
SS, assisted by
collaborationist governments and recruits from
occupied countries, systematically killed somewhere between 11 and 14 million people, including about 6 million Jews,
[39] in
concentration camps,
ghettos and mass
executions, or through less systematic methods elsewhere. Besides being gassed to death, many also died as a result of
starvation and
disease while working as
slave labourers (sometimes benefiting private German companies in the process, because of the low cost of such labour). Along with Jews, non-Jewish
Poles (over 3 million casualties), alleged communists or political opposition, members of resistance groups, Catholic and
Protestant opponents,
homosexuals,
Roma, the physically
handicapped and mentally
retarded,
Soviet prisoners of war (possibly as many as 3 million),
Jehovah's Witnesses, anti-Nazi
clergy, trade unionists, and
psychiatric patients were killed. One of the biggest centres of mass-killing was the
extermination camp complex of
Auschwitz-Birkenau. Hitler never visited the concentration camps and did not speak publicly about the killing in precise terms.
The massacres that led to the coining of the word "
genocide" (the ''
Endlösung der jüdischen Frage'' or "Final Solution of the Jewish Question") were planned and ordered by leading Nazis, with
Himmler playing a key role. While no specific order from Hitler authorizing the mass killing of the Jews has surfaced, there is documentation showing that he approved the ''
Einsatzgruppen'', killing squads that followed the German army through Poland and Russia and that he was kept well informed about their activities. The evidence also suggests that in the fall of 1941 Himmler and Hitler decided upon mass extermination by gassing. During
interrogations by Soviet
intelligence officers declassified over fifty years later, Hitler's
valet Heinz Linge and his military
aide Otto Gunsche said Hitler had "pored over the first
blueprints of
gas chambers."
To make for smoother
cooperation in the implementation of this "Final Solution", the
Wannsee conference was held near Berlin on
20 January 1942, with fifteen senior officials participating, led by
Reinhard Heydrich and
Adolf Eichmann. The records of this meeting provide the clearest evidence of planning for the Holocaust. On
22 February, Hitler was recorded saying to his associates, "we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews".
World War II
Main articles: World War II
Opening moves
On
12 March 1938, Hitler pressured Austria into unification with Germany (
the Anschluss) and made a triumphal entry into
Vienna on
14 March.
.
[40][41] Next, he intensified a crisis over the German-speaking
Sudetenland districts of
Czechoslovakia.
[42] This led to the
Munich Agreement of September 1938, which authorized the annexation and immediate military occupation of these districts by Germany.
[43] As a result of the summit, Hitler was ''
TIME'' magazine's
Man of the Year for 1938.
[44] British prime minister Neville Chamberlain hailed this agreement as "Peace in our time", but by giving way to Hitler's military demands Britain and France also left Czechoslovakia to Hitler's mercy.
Hitler ordered Germany's army to enter
Prague on
15 March 1939, and from
Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German
protectorate.
After that, Hitler claimed German grievances relating to the
Free City of Danzig and the
Polish Corridor, that Germany had ceded under the Versailles Treaty. Britain had not been able to reach an agreement with the
Soviet Union for an alliance against Germany, and, on
23 August 1939, Hitler concluded a secret
non-aggression pact (the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) with
Stalin on which it was likely agreed that the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany would partition Poland. On
1 September Germany invaded the western portion of Poland. Having guaranteed assistance to Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany on
3 September but did not immediately act. Not long after this, on
17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.
During this ''
Phoney War'', Hitler built up his forces. In April 1940, he ordered German forces to march into
Denmark and
Norway. In May 1940, Hitler ordered his forces to attack France, conquering the
Netherlands,
Luxembourg and
Belgium in the process. France
surrendered on
22 June,
1940. This series of victories convinced his main ally, Benito Mussolini of Italy, to join the war on Hitler's side in May 1940.
Adolf Hitler in Paris, 1940.
Britain, whose defeated forces had evacuated France from the coastal town of
Dunkirk, continued to fight alongside Canadian forces in the
Battle of the Atlantic. After having his overtures for peace systematically rejected by the British Government, now led by
Winston Churchill, Hitler ordered
bombing raids on the British Isles, leading to the
Battle of Britain, a prelude of the planned German invasion. The attacks began by pounding the
Royal Air Force airbases and the
radar stations protecting South-East England. However, the
Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force by the end of October 1940. Air superiority for the invasion, code-named
Operation Sealion, could not be assured, and Hitler ordered bombing raids to be carried out on British cities, including
London and
Coventry, mostly at night.
Path to defeat
On
22 June 1941, three million German troops attacked the Soviet Union, breaking the non-aggression pact Hitler had concluded with Stalin two years earlier. This invasion,
Operation Barbarossa, seized huge amounts of territory, including the
Baltic states,
Belarus, and
Ukraine. It also encircled and destroyed many Soviet forces. But the Germans were stopped short of
Moscow in December 1941 by the Russian
winter and
fierce Soviet resistance. The invasion failed to achieve the quick triumph Hitler wanted.
Hitler's declaration of war against the
United States on
11 December 1941, four days after the
Empire of Japan's
attack on Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, set him against a coalition that included the world's largest empire (the
British Empire), the world's greatest industrial and financial power (the United States), and the world's largest army (the Soviet Union).
In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the
second battle of El Alamein, thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the
Suez Canal and the
Middle East. In February 1943, the
Battle of Stalingrad ended with the encirclement and destruction of the German
6th Army. Shortly thereafter came the gigantic Battle of Kursk (1,300,000 Russians, 3,600 tanks, 20,000 artillery pieces and 2,400 aircraft, versus 900,000 Germans, 2,700 tanks, and 2,000 aircraft). From Stalingrad on, Hitler's military judgment became increasingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated. Hitler's health was also deteriorating. His left hand trembled. The biographer
Ian Kershaw and others believe that he may have suffered from
Parkinson's disease.
[45] Syphilis has also been suspected as a cause of at least some of his symptoms, although the evidence is slight.
[46]
Following the allied invasion of Italy (
Operation Husky) in 1943 Hitlers ally,
Mussolini, was deposed by
Pietro Badoglio who surrendered to the Allies. Throughout 1943 and 1944, the Soviet Union steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the
Eastern Front. On
6 June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France in what was the largest
amphibious operation ever conducted,
Operation Overlord. Realists in the German army knew defeat was inevitable, and some officers plotted to remove Hitler from power. In July 1944, one of them,
Claus von Stauffenberg,
planted a bomb at Hitler's military headquarters in
Rastenburg, but Hitler narrowly escaped death. He ordered savage reprisals, resulting in the executions of more than 4,900 people
[47] (sometimes by
starvation in
solitary confinement followed by slow
strangulation). The main resistance movement was destroyed, although smaller isolated groups such as
Red Orchestra continued to operate.
Defeat and death
Main articles: Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler, accompanied by other German officials, grimly inspects bomb damage in a German city in 1944.
By late 1944, the Red Army had driven the Germans from Soviet territory and entered Central Europe. The
Western Allies were also advancing into Germany. Germany had lost the war, but Hitler allowed no retreat or regrouping for his forces while hoping to negotiate a separate peace with America and Britain, hopes buoyed by the death of
Franklin D. Roosevelt on
12 April 1945.
[48][49] Hitler's stubbornness and defiance of military realities also allowed the holocaust to continue. He also ordered the complete destruction of all German industrial infrastructure before it could fall into the hands of the Allies, saying that Germany's failure to win the war forfeited its right to survive.
[50] Execution of the plan was entrusted to arms minister
Albert Speer, who disobeyed the order.
In April 1945, Soviet forces were attacking the outskirts of Berlin. Hitler's followers urged him to flee to the mountains of
Bavaria to make a last stand in the
National Redoubt. But Hitler was determined to either live or die in the capital.
On
20 April Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday in the "Führer's shelter" (''
Führerbunker'') below the
Reich Chancellery (''Reichskanzlei''). The garrison commander of the besieged "fortress Breslau" (''
Festung Breslau''), General
Hermann Niehoff, had chocolates distributed to his troops, where possible, in honor of Hitler's birthday.
[51]
By
21 April,
Georgi Zhukov's
1st Belorussian Front had broken through the defenses of German General
Gotthard Heinrici's
Army Group Vistula during the
Battle of the Seelow Heights. The Soviets were now advancing towards Hitler's bunker with little to stop them. Ignoring the facts, Hitler saw salvation in the ragtag units commanded by one of his favorite generals,
Felix Steiner. For Hitler's purposes, Steiner's command became known as "
Army Detachment Steiner" (''Armeeabteilung Steiner''). However, the "Army Detachment Steiner" existed primarily on paper. It was something more than a corps but less than an army. Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the huge
salient created by the break through of Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front. Meanwhile, the German
Ninth Army, which had just been pushed south of the salient, was ordered to attack north in a
pincer attack.
Late on
21 April, Heinrici called
Hans Krebs Chief German General Staff of the Supreme Army Command (''
Oberkommando des Heeres'' or
OKH) and told him that Hitler's plan could not be implemented. Heinrici asked to speak to Hitler but was told by Krebs that Hitler was too busy to take his call.
On
22 April, during one of his last military conferences, Hitler interrupted the report to ask what had happened to General Steiner's offensive. There was a long silence. Then Hitler was told that the attack had never been launched, and that the withdrawal from Berlin of several units for Steiner's army, on Hitler's orders, had so weakened the front that the Russians had broken through into Berlin. This was too much for Hitler. he asked everyone except
Wilhelm Keitel,
Hans Krebs,
Alfred Jodl,
Wilhelm Burgdorf, and
Martin Bormann to leave the room,
[52] and launched a tirade against the perceived treachery and incompetence of his commanders. This culminated in an oath to stay in Berlin, head up the defense of the city, and shoot himself at the end.
[53]
Before the day ended, Hitler again found salvation in a new plan that included General
Walther Wenck's
Twelfth Army.
[54] This new plan had Wenck turn his army—currently facing the Americans to the west—and attack towards the east to relieve Berlin.
Twelfth Army was to link up with Ninth Army and break through to the city. Wenck did attack and, in the confusion, managed to make temporary contact with the Potsdam garrison. But the link with the Ninth Army, like the plan in general, was ultimately unsuccessful.
[55]
On
23 April, after committing to stay in Berlin with Hitler,
Joseph Goebbels made the following proclamation to the people of Berlin:
Also on
23 April, second in command of the Third Reich and commander of the Luftwaffe
Hermann Göring sent a telegram from
Berchtesgaden in Bavaria. In his telegram, Göring argued that, since Hitler was cut off in Berlin, he should assume leadership of Germany as Hitler's designated successor. Göring' telegram mentioned a time limit after which he would consider Hitler incapacitated.
[56] Hitler responded, in anger, by having Göring arrested, and when he wrote his will on
April 29, Göring was removed from all his positions in the government.
By the end of the day on
27 April, the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, found the city to be completely cut off from the rest of Germany.
On
28 April, Hitler discovered that SS leader
Heinrich Himmler was trying to inform the Allies (through the
Swedish diplomat Count
Folke Bernadotte) that Germany was prepared to discuss surrender terms.
[59] Hitler responded as he did with Göring, ordering his arrest and removing him from office, while having his representative in Berlin
Hermann Fegelein shot.
[60]
During the night of
28 April, General Wenck reported to the German Supreme Army Command (''
Oberkommando des Heeres'' or OKH) in Fuerstenberg that his Twelfth Army had been forced back along the entire front. Wenck noted that no further attacks towards Berlin were possible. General Alfred Jodl (Supreme Army Command) did not provide this information to Hans Krebs in Berlin until early in the morning of
30 April.
On
29 April, Hans Krebs, Wilhelm Burgdorf, Joseph Goebbels, and
Martin Bormann witnessed and signed the
last will and testament of Adolf Hitler.
Hitler dictated the document to his private secretary,
Traudl Junge.
[61] Hitler was also that day informed of the violent death of Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini on
28 April, which is presumed to have increased his determination to avoid capture.
[62]
On
30 April 1945, after intense
street-to-street combat, when Soviet troops were spotted within a block or two of the Reich Chancellory, Hitler committed suicide, shooting himself while simultaneously biting into a
cyanide capsule.
[63][64] Hitler's body and that of
Eva Braun (his mistress whom he had married the day before) were put in a bomb crater,
[65] doused in
gasoline by
Otto Günsche and other Führerbunker aides, and set alight as the Red Army advanced and shelling continued.
Hitler also had his dog
Blondi poisoned before his suicide to test the poison he and Eva Braun were going to take.
On
2 May, General Weidling surrendered Berlin unconditionally to the Russians. When Russian forces reached the Chancellory, they found his body and an autopsy was performed using dental records to confirm the identification. The remains of Hitler and Braun were secretly buried by
SMERSH at their headquarters in
Magdeburg.
[66] In 1970, when the facility was about to be turned over to the
East German government, the remains were reportedly exhumed and thoroughly
cremated.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service, a fragment of human skull stored in its archives and displayed to the public in a 2000 exhibition came from the remains of Hitler's body and is all that remains of Hitler. However, the authenticity of the skull has been challenged by many historians and researchers.
Legacy
Hitler, the Nazi Party and the results of Nazism have been regarded in most of the world as
evil. Historical and
cultural portrayals of Hitler in the west are, almost by consensus, condemnatory. The display of
swastikas or other
Nazi symbols is prohibited in Germany and Austria. Holocaust denial is prohibited in both countries.
However some people have referred to Hitler's legacy in neutral or favourable terms. Former
Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat wrote favourably of Hitler in 1953.
[67] Louis Farrakhan has referred to him as a "very great man".
[68] Bal Thackeray, leader of the right-wing Hindu
Shiv Sena party in the
Indian state of the
Maharashtra, declared in 1995 that he was an admirer of Hitler.
[69]
Outside of Hitler's birthplace in Braunau am Inn, Austria is a stone marker engraved with the following message:
:
'FÜR FRIEDEN FREIHEIT'
:'UND DEMOKRATIE'
:'NIE WIEDER FASCHISMUS'
:'MILLIONEN TOTE MAHNEN'
Loosely translated, it reads: "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy - Never Again Fascism - Remember the Millions Dead"
Religious beliefs
Main articles: Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs,
Nazi Mysticism
Hitler was raised by
Roman Catholic parents, but as a boy he rejected Catholicism. Apparently, after Hitler left home, he never attended
Mass or received the
sacraments.
[70]
In later life, Hitler often praised the
Christian heritage, German culture, and a belief in
Christ. But his private statements, as reported by his intimates, are more mixed, showing Hitler as a religious man but critical of Christianity.
[71] However, in contrast to other Nazi leaders, Hitler did not adhere to
esoteric ideas,
occultism, or
neo-paganism,
and ridiculed such beliefs in ''Mein Kampf''.
[72] Rather, Hitler advocated a "
Positive Christianity",
[73] a belief system purged from what he objected to in traditional Christianity, and which reinvented Jesus as a fighter against the Jews.
Hitler spoke of his Christianity as a motivation for his anti-Semitism. In a speech Hitler gave in Munich on April 12, 1922, and later published in "My New Order", he stated:
Hitler believed in
Arthur de Gobineau's ideas of struggle for survival between the different races, among which the "Aryan race"—guided by "Providence"—was supposed to be the torchbearers of civilization and the Jews as enemies of all civilization. Whether his anti-semitism was influenced by older Christian ideas remains disputed.
Among Christian denominations, Hitler favored
Protestantism, which was more open to such reinterpretations. At the same time, he adopted some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organization, liturgy and phraseology in his politics.
[74][75]
Health and sexuality
Health
Main articles: Adolf Hitler's medical health,
Vegetarianism of Adolf Hitler
Hitler's health has long been the subject of debate. He has variously been said to have suffered from
irritable bowel syndrome,
skin lesions,
irregular heartbeat,
Parkinson's disease,
,
and a strongly suggested addiction to
methamphetamine. One film exists that shows his left hand trembling, which might suggest Parkinson's.
[76] Beyond that, the evidence is sparse.
After the early 1930s, Hitler generally followed a
vegetarian diet, although he ate meat on occasion. There are reports of him disgusting his guests by giving them graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make them shun meat.
[77] A fear of
cancer (from which his mother died) is the most widely cited reason, though many authors also assert Hitler had a profound and deep love of animals. He did consume dairy products and eggs, however.
Martin Bormann had a greenhouse constructed for him near the
Berghof (near
Berchtesgaden) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables for Hitler throughout the war. Photographs of Bormann's children tending the greenhouse survive and, by 2005, its foundations were among the only ruins visible in the area which were associated with Nazi leaders.
Hitler was also a non-smoker and promoted aggressive anti-smoking campaigns throughout Germany. He reportedly promised a gold watch to any of his close associates who quit (and gave a few away). Several witness accounts relate that, immediately after his suicide was confirmed, many officers, aides, and secretaries in the Führerbunker lit cigarettes.
[78]
Sexuality
Main articles: Hitler's sexuality
Hitler presented himself publicly as a man without an intimate domestic life, dedicated to his political "mission", and to help in winning support from the women of Germany. He had a fiancée,
Mimi Reiter in the 1920s, and later had a mistress,
Eva Braun. He had a close bond with his half-niece
Geli Raubal, which many commentators have claimed was sexual, although there is no evidence that proves this.
[79] All three women attempted suicide during their relationship with him, a fact which has led to speculation that Hitler may have had unusual sexual fetishes, such as
urolagnia, as was claimed by
Otto Strasser. Reiter, the only one to survive the Nazi regime, denies this.
[80] During the war and afterwards
psychoanalysts offered numerous inconsistent psycho-sexual explanations of his pathology.
[81] More recently
Lothar Machtan has argued in his book ''
The Hidden Hitler'' that Hitler was homosexual, while others argue that he was largely
asexual.
Family
Main articles: Hitler (disambiguation)
Paula Hitler, the last living member of Adolf Hitler's immediate family, died in 1960.
The most prominent and longest-living direct descendants of Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was Adolf's nephew
William Patrick Hitler. With his wife Phyllis, he eventually moved to
Long Island, New York, and had four sons. None of William Hitler's children have yet had any children of their own.
Over the years various investigative reporters have attempted to track down other distant relatives of the Führer; many are now alleged to be living inconspicuous lives and have long since changed their last name.
★
Eva Braun, mistress and then wife
★
Alois Hitler, father
★
Klara Hitler, mother
★
Paula Hitler, sister
★
Alois Hitler, Jr., half-brother
★
Bridget Dowling, sister-in-law
★
William Patrick Hitler, nephew
★
Heinz Hitler, nephew
★
Angela Hitler Raubal, half-sister
★
Maria Schicklgruber, grandmother
★
Johann Georg Hiedler, presumed grandfather
★
Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, maternal great-grandfather, presumed great uncle and possibly Hitler's true paternal grandfather
★
Geli Raubal, niece
★
Hermann Fegelein, cousin through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun
Hitler in various media
Movie clip
Oratory and rallies
Main articles: List of Adolf Hitler speeches
Hitler was a gifted
orator who captivated many with his beating of the lectern and growling, emotional speech. He honed his skills by giving speeches to soldiers during 1919 and 1920. He had an ability to tell people what they wanted to hear (the stab-in-the-back, the Jewish-Marxists, Versailles). Over time Hitler perfected his delivery by rehearsing in front of mirrors and carefully choreographing his display of emotions with the message he was trying to convey. Munitions minister and architect Albert Speer, who may have known Hitler as well as anyone, said that Hitler was above all else an actor.
[82][83]
Massive Nazi rallies were carefully staged by Albert Speer, which were designed to spark a process of self-persuasion for the participants. This process can be appreciated by watching
Leni Riefenstahl's ''Triumph of the Will'' which chillingly presents the 1934
Nuremberg Rally
Hitler and Goebbels toned down their racism as Hitler gained electoral strength. In areas where antisemitism was strong they used code words (railing against "Bolshevists" with most people understanding that he meant "Jews"), and they ignored antisemitism in areas where it was not already strong. Many Germans were, as they said, "Nazi, but. . ." meaning that they thought Hitler had abandoned his shrill racism.
Recorded in private conversation
Hitler visited Finnish
Field Marshal Mannerheim on
4 June 1942. During the visit an engineer of the Finnish broadcasting company
YLE, Thor Damen, recorded Hitler and Mannerheim in conversation, something which had to be done secretly since Hitler never allowed recordings of him off-guard.
[1] Today the recording is the only known recording of Hitler not speaking in an official tone. The recording captures 11 and a half minutes of the two leaders in private conversation.
376 Hitler speaks in a slightly excited, but still intellectually detached manner during this talk (the speech has been compared to that of the working class). The majority of the recording is a monologue by Hitler. In the recording, Hitler admits to underestimating the Soviet Union's ability to conduct war (some English transcripts exist
[2] [3]).
376 Recording on the YLE Internet Archive
Documentaries during the Third Reich
Hitler appeared in and was involved to varying degrees with a series of films by the pioneering filmmaker
Leni Riefenstahl via
Universum Film AG (UFA):
★ ''
Der Sieg des Glaubens'' (''The Victory of Faith'', 1933).
★ ''
Triumph des Willens'' (''Triumph of the Will'', 1934), co-produced by Hitler.
★ ''
Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht'' (''Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces'', 1935).
★ ''
Olympia'' (1938).
Hitler was the central figure of the first three films; they focused on the
party rallies of the respective years and are considered propaganda films. Hitler also featured prominently in the ''Olympia'' film. Whether the latter is a propaganda film or a true documentary is still a subject of controversy, but it nonetheless perpetuated and spread the propagandistic message of the 1936
Olympic Games depicting Nazi Germany as a prosperous and peaceful country.
[84] As a prominent politician, Hitler was also featured in many
newsreels.
Television
Hitler's attendance at various public functions including the 1936 Olympic games, and
Nuremberg Rallies appeared in live television broadcasts made between 1935 and 1939. These events along with other programming highlighting activity by public officials were often repeated in public viewing rooms.
[85]
Documentaries post Third Reich
★ ''
The World at War'' (1974) is a
Thames Television series which contains much information about Hitler and Nazi Germany, including an interview with his secretary,
Traudl Junge.
★ ''Adolf Hitler's Last Days'', from the BBC series "Secrets of World War II" tells the story about Hitler's last days during World War II.
★ ''The Nazis: A Warning From History'' (1997), a 6-part BBC TV series on how the cultured and educated Germans accepted Hitler and the Nazis up to its downfall. Historical consultant is
Ian Kershaw.
★ ''
Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary'' (2002) is an exclusive 90 minute interview with Traudl Junge, Hitler's final trusted secretary. Made by Austrian Jewish director André Heller shortly before Junge's death from lung cancer, Junge recalls the last days in the Berlin bunker. Clips used in ''Downfall''.
★ ''
Undergångens arkitektur'' (Architecture of Doom) (1989) documentary about the National Socialist aesthetic as envisioned by Hitler.
Dramatizations
★ '' (1973) is a movie depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's death, starring Sir Alec Guinness.
★ ''
The Bunker'' (1978) by James O'Donnell, describing the last days in the Führerbunker from
17 January 1945 to
2 March 1945. Made into the TV movie ''
The Bunker'' (1981), starring Anthony Hopkins.
★ '' (2003) is a two-part TV series about the early years of Adolf Hitler and his rise to power (up to 1933). Stars
Robert Carlyle.
★ ''
Der Untergang'' ''(Downfall)'' (2004) is a German movie about the last days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, starring
Bruno Ganz. This film is partly based on the autobiography of Traudl Junge, a favorite secretary of Hitler's. In 2002, Junge said she felt great guilt for "...liking the greatest criminal ever to have lived."
★
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's
''Hitler - Ein Film aus Deutschland'' ''(Hitler, A Film From Germany)'', 1977. Originally presented on German television, this is a 7-hour work in 4 parts: The Grail; A German Dream; The End Of Winter's Tale; We, Children Of Hell. The director uses documentary clips, photographic backgrounds, puppets, theatrical stages, and other elements from almost all the visual arts, with the "actors" addressing directly the audience/camera, in order to approach and expand on this most taboo subject of European history of the 20th century.
★
''Max'' is a 2002
Drama movie, that depicts a friendship between art dealer Max Rothman (who is Jewish) and a young Adolf Hitler as a failed painter in
Vienna.
See also
★
List of coupled cousins
★
Führermuseum
★
List of Nazi Party leaders and officials
★
List of former Nazis influential after 1945
References
1. Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (Penguin Books 1962), 23.
2. Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 25.
3. Origin and Popularity of the Name "Adolph", thinkbabynames.com
4. Walter C. Langer, The Mind of Adolf Hitler, p. 246 (Basic Books: New York, 1972)
5. John Toland, ''Adolph Hitler'', pp. 12-13.
6. ''The Jew of Linz: Hitler, Wittgenstein and their secret battle for the mind'' (1999)
7. Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 30-31.
8. ''Hitler's Vienna. A dictator's apprenticeship'' by Brigitte Hamann and Thomas Thornton, Oxford University Press, USA (1 July 1999)
9. Hitler, Adolf, ''Mein Kampf'', Volume 1, Chapter VII
Among them must be counted the great warriors in this world who, though not understood by the present, are nevertheless prepared to carry the fight for their ideas and ideals to their end. They are the men who some day will be closest to the heart of the people; it almost seems as though every individual feels the duty of compensating in the pas 
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