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The Life and Rise of
Adolf Hitler
Hitler’s Childhood
• Born April 20, 1889 near Linz, Austria on
the German border
• Hitler dreamed of becoming an artist
• Became interested in German nationalism
as a teen
• Father died when he was 13 - Hitler
became head of household
• Eventually dropped out of school at age 16
• Self-taught from then on
Loss and Disappointment
• At age 18, he went to Vienna to attend an art
academy but failed to get in because his
drawings were judged unsatisfactory
• Mother died of breast cancer in 1907
• Hitler devastated
• Failed to get into art academy a second time
• Ended up homeless on the streets of Vienna
Soldier and Spy
• August 1914, volunteered for German Army
• Injured twice in the war
– Leg injury and temporary blindness from gas
• Very upset with how WWI ended
– Believed Jews & politicians stabbed German Army
in the back - sold them out to end war
– Hitler called them the November Criminals
• After Kaiser abdicates, Germany a republic
– Country had no experience with democracy
– Political and social chaos results
Soldier and Spy
• Becomes undercover agent for German
army
– Supposed to root out Marxists
• Spies on German Workers' Party in 1919
• Agrees with their nationalist, pro-military,
anti-Semitic beliefs and joins them at age
30
The Nazi Party
• Hitler soon becomes part of leadership
• A strong speaker who convinced many to join
group
• In 1920, develops the Twenty Five Points, the
platform of the party
• Includes rejection of Versailles, demands for
additional territories for German people
(Lebensraum), and exclusion of Jews as
citizens of Germany
• Also adopts the swastika for the party flag
• Changed the party name (1920) to National
Socialist German Workers' Party
(Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
or NSDAP) called Nazi for short
The Führer
• In July of 1921, Hitler named Führer
(leader) of the Nazi Party
• Told executive committee he would resign
if they didn't make him sole leader
• They knew party would die without him
Hitler’s Political Ammunition
• In April of 1921, Britain & France demanded
Germany pay damages from war - badly
damaged German economy
• Germany asked to postpone but France
refused
• France used failure of Germany to fulfill an
order of telephone poles as an excuse to
occupy the industrial Ruhr region of Germany
(1923)
• Economy virtually collapses - money worthless
• Govt. decides to pay - causes unrest among
opposition groups
The Beer Hall Putsch
• Nazis (55,000 followers in 1923) decide to
attempt to take over govt.
• On Nov. 8, 1923, Hitler stages the Beer Hall
Putsch (revolt)
• Revolt fails - Hitler is jailed for 8 months
• Writes Mein Kampf (My Struggle) while in
prison
• Reveals his political & racial ideas in detail
• Heavy focus on Jews as problem for
Germany
A renewed push for power
• 1924 - Released from jail - Decides to try to get
elected rather than overthrow govt.
– Reorganizes party
– Forms Hitler Youth
• Creates the SS (Schutzstaffel), his personal
body guards (1926)
• Econ. conditions improved in Ger. (1926-29)
– Made Nazis less appealing
• Worked on getting Nazis elected into govt.
• Arrival of Great Depression the turning point
Revival of the Nazi Party
• Bad economy makes Nazis popular again
• Nazis run for office in 1930 w/ carefully staged
campaign events
– Music, banners, uniforms, theatrical lighting
• Hitler's speeches promised greatness for
Germany
• The Nazis - Hitler down to the bottom worked tirelessly to get their message out
Nazis on the Rise
• Sept. 1930 - Nazis win 107 seats in German
Reichstag (Parliament)
• Overnight, party goes from smallest to 2nd
largest in Germany
• Gave Hitler international prestige
• Storm Troopers celebrated by smashing Jewish
businesses
• Nazis had no intention of helping the govt. get
stronger
• Was to their advantage to let things get worse
Hitler’s Base of Support
• Hitler had support of army General Staff and
German industrialists
• Industrialists funded Nazis
• General Staff wanted Hitler to break Treaty of
Versailles
• Hoped to rebuild and modernize army
• Nazis in Reichstag worked hard to disrupt
govt.
– People saw a govt. in chaos
• Many looked to Hitler for leadership because
he was decisive and promised a better future
The 1932 Elections
• Hitler decides to run for president in 1932
• Runs against president & WWI hero Paul von
Hindenburg
• Massive Nazi campaign effort w/ propaganda
& rallies
• Hitler lost (36% to Hindenburg's 53%)
• But… elections revealed massive popularity of
Nazi Party
• Nazis become the largest party in Reichstag
• A sign of things to come
Nazi Party Membership by Year
1000000
900000
800000
700000
600000
500000
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
1,000,000
Members
210,000
120,000
25
1919
3,000 55,000 17,000
1920
1923
1926
1929
1930
1931
Hitler Becomes Chancellor
• January 1933 – President Hindenburg
appointed Hitler to be his Chancellor
• Most hoped that Hitler would be less radical
once he was part of the govt.
• Many believed that Hitler could be controlled
• Hitler was second only to Hindenburg in power
– If the elderly Hindenburg died, Hitler would assume
power
– Hindenburg died in 1934
• August 19, 1934 – plebiscite confirms Hitler as
total leader of Germany