Hitler and Nazi Germany
Nathan Burton
Adolf Hitler as a kid
Adolf Hitler was born in the Austrian town of Braunau-am-Inn on 20th April 1889. The town was close to the Austro-German border and his father, Alois, worked as a border control clerk. His mother, Klara, was a housekeeper.
As a child he got on very well with his mother but he didn't get on well with his father, a strict authoritative disciplinarian. He attended school from the age of six years but did not do well in academic subjects. His school record showed reasonable grades for PE and some artistic talent.
Adolf Hitler attracting attenttion
In 1921, Hitler became leader of the party and soon began attracting attention, especially for his powerful speeches. Hitler stirred up Nationalist passion giving the people something to blame for Germany’s problems. Hitler’s opponents tried to disrupt the meetings so for protection Hitler set up the SA – Stormtroopers. Although the actual membership of the NAZI party remained quite low in this period, Hitler, through his meetings and speeches had given them a very high profile.
Hitler building his army
Jews being killed and put in camps
Defeat of the Nazis and Hitlers death
Defeat at the second battle of El Alamein in November 1942 was followed by defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler's refusal to allow soldiers to retreat and blind perusal of his goals led some Nazi members to question his leadership. In July 1944 an attempt was made to assassinate Hitler. The attempt failed and the perpetrators were executed.
Throughout late 1944 and early 1945 the Germans were pushed back towards Berlin by the Allies in the west and the Russians in the East. On April 29th 1945 Adolf Hitler married his long-term mistress Eva Braun and a day later the pair committed suicide.