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Adolf Hitler

Surname Hitler Given Name Adolf Born 20 Apr 1889 Died 30 Apr 1945 Country Germany, Austria Category Government Gender Male

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIt probably would not be much of an exaggeration to say that Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, ranked high among the most evil men in the entire history of humanity. His personal ambition and a deranged vision led directly to the European War and the series of atrocities later known as the Holocaust.

ww2dbaseHitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary to Alois Hitler, a customs official, and Klara Pölzl, Alois Hitler' distant cousin. The traditional spelling of his family name was Hiedler, as in Johann Georg Hiedler, the stepfather of Alois Hitler. The spelling change was likely a mistake by the staff of the local priest responsible for birth registries. He had rebelled against his father ever since he was about the age of 10, describing him as a strict disciplinarian, even though evidence suggested that he was no stricter than the norm at that time. He had a loving relationship with his mother. Although he had already fostered an interest in art in his early teenage years, his decision to pursue art as a career might had been the result of his many arguments with his father, who had wanted him to follow his footsteps as a civil servant. At the age of 16, Hitler dropped out of school after the death of his father to pursue a career in art. The Academy of the Arts in Vienna, however, did not conclude that Hitler had worthy talent, and rejected his application twice. He continued to paint for merchants and tourists and lived the life of a poor artist. In 1907, his mother passed away from breast cancer. She was treated unsuccessfully by Dr. Edward Bloch, who was Jewish by faith. Although he was grief stricken and blamed the doctor for his failures, there was no signs pointing to any blames he might have placed in the doctor's religion; in fact, when Germany would later annex Austria, Hitler would issue orders to give the Jewish doctor protection. By 1909, he found himself in a homeless shelter and then a house for poor workers. He begged and shoveled snow for a living.

ww2dbaseHitler moved to München (English: Munich) in southern Germany in 1913, which was declared by Austria-Hungary as a draft dodger. After being arrested and returned to Vienna, he was found unfit for military service. At the onset of WW1 in Aug 1914, however, Hitler enlisted in the 16th Bavarian reserve infantry regiment of the German army as a foreigner. He was assigned to the headquarters as a messenger, occasionally seeing the trenches as he delivered orders to front line officers. He received the Iron Cross Second Class in Dec 1915 and First Class in Aug 1918 for bravery in action. As a soldier, "[H]e was aloof from comrades, zealous in his duty, and very lonely." Although born an Austrian, his German ethnicity led to his patriotism for Germany, and he was deeply disturbed at the eventual defeat of Germany in WW1. In his mind, he was convinced that disharmony within Germany caused the disgraceful defeat, but at this stage of his life he had wavering political conviction. Despite what he later claimed after becoming the leader of the Nazi movement, during the post-WW1 era, he was not a zealot of the political right. In fact, it might had been the opposite. As he remained in the military (most likely to maintain steady income since he had no other useful professional skills), several revolutions took place in Bavaria; through those actions, he continued to remain with the ever left-leaning Bavarian government forces and never expressed sympathy for the right. During the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic between 1918 and 1919, he even served as the peer-elected liaison between officers and enlisted men, thus making him the one responsible for disseminating Soviet propaganda to his fellow soldiers; there were no records of him disobeying such orders. Toward the end of the Soviet state, mass desertions from the Bavarian military took place; Hitler, however, did not do so, choosing to remain with the Moscow-aligned state. Later accounts of him being an ardent anti-Communist during this time period was most definitely an attempt to rewrite his personal history in order to make him a more fitting figure to lead Nazi Germany. Hitler did not loathe Jews at this time, either. There were several Jews in the Bavarian government at this time, and this did not drive him to quit the military after the war. There were also many Jews in uniform serving alongside him in his very unit.

ww2dbaseThe fall of the Soviet republic in Bavaria roughly took place when the punitive Treaty of Versailles was signed, and two events might had been the catalyst for Hitler's political radicalization. Remaining in the Bavarian military, his new superiors asked him to inform on his former comrades, and he willingly cooperated despite having been as much a propaganda officer as those he would accuse. While still in uniform, he also sought out to join political groups during his off-duty hours. In the summer of 1919, he joined the newly founded German Workers' Party (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), or DAP for short. At the time of his joining, DAP was a small local gathering of right-leaning workers and not a political party in its traditional sense. DAP leader Anton Drexler's philosophy would heavily influence that of Hitler's. After Hitler gained leadership, he would continue to credit Drexler as a visionary, although Hitler would also claim much of the credit for himself. Hitler would even claim to be the DAP's 7th member, even though DAP had roughly between 100 and 200 members by Sep 1919. He quickly gained notoriety as the DAP's rowdy and emotion-stirring propagandist. Abandoning his prior lack of political conviction, he lashed out against Communists and socialists, reserving his most brutal verbal attack against Bavarian separatists. He used his poor and lonely background to gather sympathy and support from those who listened to him, and he discovered that he enjoyed having influence, and gradually, discovered he enjoyed power. In Feb 1920, DAP was renamed National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), or NSDAP or Nazi for short. Hitler disagreed with the inclusion of the word "socialist" in the party name, but he was overruled by the party's executive committee, who had wanted to use the word to attract unionists.

ww2dbaseHitler's early DAP/Nazi days marked the first records of his anti-Semitism, although it was in anti-Communist and anti-Capitalist contexts rather than in a racial context. His philosophy at this time also did not include any prejudice against Slavs. His attitude toward the Slavs would actually make an about face turn later, as in the early 1920s Hitler imagined that the Germans and Slavs (particularly Russians) should form an alliance in order to counter British and American influence from the west.

ww2dbaseOn 31 Mar 1920, Hitler was discharged from the Bavarian Army, and now needed to pay for his own room and board. Unable to find employment, he devoted much of his energy to reading and Nazi Party matters, thus inadvertently becoming the party's first full time politician. Party associates in this period recalled a jolly Hitler, hard working during the day and merry in the evenings. Although he would reject meat and alcohol later in life, this period of his life found him enjoying a meat and potatoes scramble as his favorite meal, accompanied by dark beer.

ww2dbaseIn Jul 1921, Hitler traveled to Augsburg to meet with leaders of other nationalist groups in attempt to unify their efforts. He was actually not selected by Nazi Party executive committee to represent the party at this meeting, thus attended without a formal invitation. During the meeting, he clashed with fellow party members, leading to his quitting of the party. Whether his departure was intentional or not, the result was that the party executive committee realized Hitler had become a vital part of the party, and without him the party would likely fall into obscurity. Drexler negotiated with Hitler for his return, and Hitler was receptive, but made the demand that Hitler was to be made the sole dictatorial leader of the party. Drexler convinced the executive committee to give in, thus on 29 Jul 1921, Hitler returned to the party as its chief at the title of Führer. Several dissenting members of the former executive committee broke off to form their own party of National Socialists, that effort would meet little progress, and those members would return to the Nazi Party within the following year. In 1923, Baron Adolf Victor von Koerber published the Hitler biography Adolf Hitler: His Life and His Speeches ; Hitler might had been the real author of this book, published under Koerber's name. Hitler and Koerber had a mutual acquaintance in the famed general Erich Ludendorff, and it was possible that Ludendorff brokered the meeting in the interest of furthering right-wing nationalist causes. In this book, Hitler was portrayed as Germany's savior, without whom the German people would essentially cease to become relevant.

ww2dbaseIn Oct 1923, the Soviet Politburo in Moscow, Russia decided that Germany's political condition was suitable for a Communist uprising, and directed German Communists to do so by early Nov 1923. Several attempts at revolution were made in late Oct 1923, but all of them failed. The Communist attempts at revolution created a sense of urgency for Hitler, who by now began to show signs of megalomania. To preempt a successful Communist revolution, he thought a revolution by those on the right must succeed first. He attached himself with the movement championed by Ludendorff, which by his estimation had the support of not only with those on the political right, but also Bavarian monarchists. Hitler also thought that he could generate national support for Ludendorff's cause. When Ludendorff marched through München with the intention of triggering a nationwide revolution, Hitler marched with him, hoping to be made a low level minister when Ludendorff would succeed. Ludendorff's coup failed to gain popular support, and resulted in many arrests, including that of Hitler's. During the subsequent trials, Ludendorff's lieutenants made Hitler a scapegoat, blaming him for much of the responsibility for the organization of the uprising even though Hitler only played a small role. Inadvertently, it raised Hitler's political profile. Before long, the failed Ludendorffputsch would be known as the Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, giving Hitler legitimacy. Found guilty, Hitler was imprisoned. In captivity, he dictated the book Mein Kampf to his new acquaintance Rudolf Hess, who acted as his personal secretary and deputy (and would remain in his role for many years to come). The putsch that put him in prison, for example, became Hitler's putsch, almost brushing aside Ludendorff who was the actual champion of that coup attempt. Mein Kampf jumbled truth and fiction, revising his personal history for a narrative suitable for a career politician and expressing a twisted vision for the future of Germany. While his previous writings mainly attacked Jews as a proxy for capitalism and communism, his anti-Semitism by this time took on a racial context. Mein Kampf blamed Jews for all German problems, and stressed a nationalist ideal with ethnic Germans at the top of the racial pyramid. When he was released from prison in 1925, he regained party leadership and spent the coming years establishing support for the Nazi Party. In 1930, an economic depression hit Germany, and Hitler seized the opportunity to sell his party ideals to the public. The German people, unemployed and hungry, placed their trust in the Nazi party to return Germany to the position of a world power again. As a result, the Sep 1930 elections placed 107 Nazi members in the Reichstag. With the Nazi Party suddenly becoming the second most powerful political party in Germany, the dangerous militarization of the German government began. In 1932, the Nazi Party became the ruling party in the Reichstag, paving way for Hitler to become the Chancellor in Jan 1933. In the next months, Hitler engaged in a series of schemes to rid his potential political rivals with the aid of the para-military organizations of SA and the SS, and later the Gestapo as well. On 1 Aug 1934, Hitler declared himself the absolute ruler of the German Third Reich in an act that was completely illegal according to the German constitution, which stated that "if a president should die while in office, his title and powers should pass, not to the chancellor, but to the president of the supreme court" until election could be held. So, under the cover of popularist propaganda and construction projects such as the autobahns, the felony of the German constitution Hitler began the systematic persecution of the German Jews. In 1935, Hitler publicly promoted the Nuremberg Laws, depriving German Jews of their citizenship; by 1938, the Nazi Party openly urged hooligans to destroy Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues.

ww2dbaseAmong one of the first items Hitler engaged upon was Germany's participation in the League of Nations; specifically, his dislike of German participation. Beginning in Mar 1933, the League of Nations took up the question of firebombing, noting that it should be banned because the resulting fires was as uncontrollable as poison gas that the League of Nations had already outlawed. As the new resolution was about to be passed, Hitler announced Germany's exit from the League of Nations, throwing global politics upside down. The topic of firebombing was never passed into law, and even if it was, it would mean nothing without Germany's backing. Hitler walked away with pride that his Germany held so much power, but little did he know, his decision "ensured the death of hundreds of thousands of his own countrymen" as British and American aircraft would, ten years later, firebomb his cities.

ww2dbaseAs absolute ruler, Hitler also began to employ the foreign policy he had in mind to avenge the shame of the Versailles Treaty. He aligned himself with several ambitious rulers such as Benito Mussolini of Italy and Francisco Franco of Spain. His vision was to acquire Lebensraum, living space, for the German people in Eastern Europe. It began with the annexation of Austria then Czechoslovakia. During this time, he displayed utmost mastery in manipulating leaders of the western Allies; "his intuitive grasp of how far he could go with Allied leaders was uncanny", commented William Manchester. It was not until after the invasion of Poland in Sep 1939 that Britain and France finally declared war on Germany.

ww2dbaseWhile Hitler played an active role in international diplomacy and war planning, he exhibited a general lack of interest in German domestic politics. After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg, he rarely held cabinet meetings; in fact, he rarely visited the Chancellory in Berlin. When facing issues he did not care of resolve, he either forced different sides of an issue to resolve the issue before presenting it to him, or simply agreed with whoever presented the issue to rid himself of the work. Intentional or not, the latter created a system of government that could be described as institutional Darwinism. It was so labyrinthine and redundant that Nazi Germany resembled more like a collection of Medieval fiefdoms rather than the highly organized machine that it presented itself as.

ww2dbaseIn 1938, German fighter ace Adolf Galland met Adolf Hitler for the first time. Galland's first impression of Hitler was that Hitler was "short, gray faced and not very strong, a weak handshake, and he spoke with a crisp language. On 8 or 9 May 1940, his bodyguard Rochus Misch met him for the first time; Hitler left this impression on Misch:

I had seen neither a monster nor superman.... The private individual Hitler was a normal, simple man, the simplest man I have ever knew. Only outside did he slip into his Führer role; only then did everything have to go according to protocol.

ww2dbaseAfter WW2 broke out in Europe, Hitler's racial persecutions intensified. Between 1939 and 1945, an estimated minimum of 11 million people were systematically brought to concentration camps, where they languished and, especially at the camps designated as extermination camps, murdered en masse. No one could ever be sure of how many innocent Jews, Slavs, homosexuals, political enemies, and members of various other groups were killed in these concentration camps; some estimates ran as high as 25 million. The Holocaust was a part of the Final Solution carried out by the Nazi Party to establish a racially pure German nation. "[W]e shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews", as Hitler said casually and heartlessly. To convince his followers, he justified this by claiming he was doing the work of god. "I believe today I am acting in the sense of the Almighty Creator", he claimed in Mein Kampf, "by warding off the Jews I am fighting for the Lord's work." While he openly expressed himself as a leader of a crusade, his actual attitude toward religion was rather unfavorable. Although originally baptized Catholic, he actually did not abide by any doctrines of Christianity. He picked and chose elements of Christianity as he saw fit to aid him in his persecution of Jews and to establish his political position.

ww2dbaseAnti-Semitism was not an uncommon thing in Europe at this time, for that the Christian majority had always looked down upon those of Jewish faith. It was especially prevalent in rural Catholic communities. However, the prejudice had never taken on a severe racial context until now. By this time, Hitler and the Nazi Party looked at the Jews, along with Slavs and other European minorities, as sub-human creatures. Hitler felt that for Germany to attain greater powers, Jews must be eliminated from its spheres of influence, as if the Jews were a disease to German society. To achieve this, Hitler obsessed with maintaining pure blood in German people. Like most of Hitler's artwork, this was not an original concept by him; rather, it was plagiarized by earlier writers such as Houston Stewart Chamberlain. He eventually became so obsessive with this concept that he had ordered to set up facilities where the supposedly superior Aryans were sent to mate and reproduce. While he believed that it would maintain the pure blood of a superior race, ironically this practice also treated the blond-haired and blue-eyed Aryans like animals being bred on a farm.

ww2dbaseHitler's complete disregard for humanity made his complete lack of integrity rather expected. The Sep 1939 invasion of Poland was committed while a peace treaty between Germany and Poland was still in place. Then in Jun 1941, Hitler tore up the non-aggression pact that his government had sign with the Soviet Union only a few years before, and launched Operation Barbarossa into the Soviet Union. Throughout his career as the leader of Germany, he again and again turned on those who helped him to the top, purging them out of positions of power to prevent them from challenging his position.

ww2dbaseThere were many rumors about Hitler's person. Some claimed he had a Jewish grandfather. Some also say he was a closeted homosexual during a time when homosexuality was sinful in both Nazi and Christian ideals; early Nazi leader Ernst Röhm was said to be one of his lovers. There was also an accusation of Hitler having a sexual relationship with his niece Geli, and that she was either killed (purposefully or otherwise) by Hitler in the heat of passion, or was sexually abused so harshly that she committed suicide. None of these theories could be substantiated, and had equal chance of being politically-driven attacks by his rivals.

ww2dbaseAn interesting observation of Hitler was his hatred for the city of Berlin. He disliked this German capital the first time he stepped on its grounds. In 1928, he denounced the city as "a melting pot of everything that is evil - prostitutes, drinking houses, cinemas, Marxism, Jews, strippers, dancing, and all the vile offshoots of so-called 'modern-art'." This was not difficult to understand. Where Paris in France used to be known as the sin city, Berlin had now taken over the title. Prostitution was rampant, some even featured young teenage girls; gay bars opened up one after another, visited by financial executives and ordinary citizens alike; with the influx of Hollywood films, gangsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano became role models. It was not hard to see why Hitler, who believed in his interpretation of the purity of the German people and culture, hated Berlin. Throughout his entire reign, he never stayed in Berlin longer than what he had to, preferring to remain in his remote headquarters such as Wolfsschanze (the Wolf's Lair) in Rastenburg, Ostpreußen (English: East Prussia) or aboard special armored trains such as Amerika. Berliners had, despite the Nazi regime, a strong liberal mentality that could never be taken away.

ww2dbaseIn 1943, Mussolini's government fell in Italy and he was imprisoned. To save his long time friend and ally, Hitler ordered commandos under Otto Skorzeny to rescue him; largely by luck, the operation was to become a success. During the planning process, Skorzeny attended several meetings with Hitler; Skorzeny observed: "All I heard was the Führer's deep voice as he put his curt questions... What struck me at the time was the unmistakeable soft Austrian accent, even when he was emphatic." In a later meeting, Skorzeny observed how much Hitler valued his friendship with Mussolini. "There was such a warm, human inflection in his voice when he spoke of his loyalty to his Italian friend that I was deeply moved", recalled Skorzeny.

ww2dbaseIn Sep 1944, Skorzeny met with Hitler again at Wolfsschanze, and noted that the war had placed apparent strain on Hitler. Skorzeny wrote:

I was deeply shocked at the appearance of the Supreme Commander, remembering how he looked when I last saw him only the previous autumn. He stooped and seemed years older, and there was a weary tone in his deep base voice. I wondered whether he had been smitten by some insidious disease. His left hand trembled so violently that he had to steady himself with his right when he got up.

ww2dbaseMilitarily, despite having no military leadership training nor experience, Hitler enjoyed micro-managing operations. While this practice frequently disadvantaged the German military, the biggest negative consequence from this lack of delegation came from Hitler's indecisiveness during moments of need. For example, Hitler's delay in responding to the Normandie, France invasion in 1944 gave the Allies the time necessary to secure the weak beachhead. During the Ardennes Offensive (The Battle of the Bulge as it was known to the western Allies), Hitler's insistence that the 6th SS Panzer Army report back to Berlin, instead of reporting to the field generals, caused the group to sit idle for the first crucial days of the offensive. This was at times attributed by German commanders as the foremost reason for the German failure at the Ardennes. A major reason for the micro-managing behavior was Hitler's distrustful nature toward others, especially after the 20 Jul 1944 assassination attempt on his life. German General Heinz Guderian made an observation of the post-20 Jul Hitler:

After the July 20th attempt, Hitler was a sick man. Even before the assassination attempt, he had been very nervous, and not in complete possession of his faculties. His left side trembled. His mind was not clear enough to appreciate the real situation of Germany. He was a man of energy and will; his will outweighed his sense. He hypnotized his entourage. He had a special picture of the world, and every fact had to fit in with that fancied pictured. As he believed, so the world must be. But, in fact, it was a picture of another world.

ww2dbaseAnother trait of Hitler's that made it difficult for military commanders to work with him was his stubbornness. Once an idea got into his head, it was nearly impossible for anyone to change his mind, even if his most trusted advisors recommended against it. "He always had his way," recalled Wilhelm Keitel. Whenever Hitler was at fault, he found a scapegoat so that he remained blameless. First-class officers were often sacrificed with dismissal so that he could remain the perfect leader atop the German military hierarchy.

ww2dbaseThe assassination attempt took place at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's command quarters in Ostpreußen. While meeting with his commanders, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg placed a bomb under the table which Hitler stood next to, reviewing maps. The sturdy construction of the table and the design of the room saved Hitler from serious injuries. Hitler purged many military leaders and placed Nazi Party members in the positions left vacant by the purge. Many inept leaders, characterized by men like Josef Dietrich, rose to power; it was under Dietrich's command that the 6th SS Panzer Army sat un-utilized during the Battle of the Bulge.

ww2dbaseMany researchers attributed part of Hitler's psychotic behavior to a possible dependency on various substances, including methamphetamine. He was known to have received various shots, some nutritional and some narcotic, on a regular basis. One must take in this fact with a critical eye, however, as some substances we know today as narcotic were not considered so and were widely accepted in upper social circles. Hitler, however, had most likely grown dependent on methamphetamine. During his last days in Berlin he was known to be lifeless and struggled even to stand from a seated position when his personal physician Dr. Theodore Morell did not provide him with his daily regiment of needles. Eventually, Hitler dismissed Morell for fear that the doctor might be convinced by other top Nazi officials to drug him and forcibly transport him away from Berlin as Soviet troops closed in on the city. Aside from the use of drugs, Hitler lived a rather healthy lifestyle, restraining from alcohol and tobacco, though he often indulged himself on desserts and sweets.

ww2dbaseWith the Soviet military overrunning Berlin, Hitler committed suicide alongside of his companion Eva Braun beneath the Berlin Chancellery on 30 Apr 1945. Earlier that morning, Hitler wed Braun in a small ceremony. That afternoon, at about 1530, Hitler pulled the trigger of a pistol against his right temple, while Braun swallowed cyanide. SS Oberscharfuehrer Rochus Misch, who was Hitler's bodyguard, courier, and telephone operator, was in Hitler's bunker during his final days, as he noted during a 2009 interview with BBC journalist Steven Rosenberg. He was working as a telephone and teletype machine operator when others in the bunker realized Hitler had pulled the trigger. He recalled:

Suddenly I heard somebody shouting to Hitler's attendant: 'Linge, Linge, I think it's happened.' They'd heard a gunshot, but I hadn't. At that moment Martin Bormann, Hitler's private secretary, ordered everyone to be silent. Everyone began whispering. I was speaking on the telephone and I made sure I talked louder on purpose because I wanted to hear something. I didn't want it to feel like we were in a death bunker.... Then Bormann ordered Hitler's door to be opened. I saw Hitler slumped with his head on the table. Eva Braun was lying on the sofa, with her head towards him. Her knees were drawn tightly up to her chest. She was wearing a dark blue dress with white frills. I will never forget it.... I watched as they wrapped Hitler up. His legs were sticking out as they carried him past me. Someone shouted to me: 'Hurry upstairs, they're burning the boss!' I decided not to go because I had noticed that Mueller from the Gestapo was there - and he was never usually around. I said to my comrade Hentschel, the mechanic: 'Maybe we will be killed for being the last witnesses.'

ww2dbaseHitler left behind a battered Europe and countless millions of broken families. However, he did contribute to the growth of the future Germany as well. Among his few positive contributions was the beginning of the German superhighways infrastructure.

ww2dbaseSources:

Walter Görlitz, In the Service of the Reich

Colin Heaton, The German Aces Speak

Keith Lowe, Inferno

William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp

William Manchester, The Last Lion

Rochus Misch, Hitler's Last Witness

Anthony Read and David Fisher, The Fall of Berlin

Otto Skorzeny, Skorzeny's Special Missions

Thomas Weber, Becoming Hitler

Wikipedia



Last Major Revision: May 2019

Famous Quote(s)

"I speak in the name of the entire German people when I assure the world that we all share the honest wish to eliminate the enmity that brings far more costs than any possible benefits... It would be a wonderful thing for all of humanity if both peoples would renounce force against each other forever. The German people are ready to make such a pledge."

» 14 Oct 1933

» 14 Oct 1933 "The assertion that it is the intention of the German Reich to coerce the Austrian State is absurd."

» 30 Jan 1934

» 30 Jan 1934 "Germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the internal affairs of Austria, to annex Austria, or to conclude an Anschluss."

» 21 May 1935

» 21 May 1935 "Germany has concluded a Non-Aggression Pact with Poland... We shall adhere to it unconditionally... we recognize Poland as the home of a great and nationally conscious people."

» 21 May 1935

» 21 May 1935 "National Socialist Germany wants peace because of its fundamental convictions. And it wants peace also owing to the realization of the simple primitive fact that no war would be likely essentially to alter the distress in Europe... The principal effect of every war is to destroy the flower of the nation... Germany needs peace and desires peace!"

» 21 May 1935

» 21 May 1935 "Germany has solemnly recognized and guaranteed France her frontiers as determined after the Saar plebiscite... We thereby finally renounced all claims to Alsace-Lorraine, a land for which we have fought two great wars."

» 21 May 1935

» 21 May 1935 "Germany neither intends nor wishes to interfere in the internal affairs of Austria, to annex Austria, or to conclude an Anschluss."

» 21 May 1935

» 21 May 1935 "I have no further interest in the Czecho-Slovakian State, that is guaranteed."

» 26 Sep 1938

» 26 Sep 1938 "In the course of my life I have very often been a prophet, and have usually been ridiculed for it. During the time of my struggle for power, it was in the first instance only the Jewish race that received my prophecies with laughter when I said that I would one day take over the leadership of the state and with it that of the whole nation and that I would then among other things settle the Jewish problem...but I think that for some time now they have been laughing on the other side of their face. Today I will once more be a prophet: if the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevising of the earth and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!"

» 30 Jan 1939

» 30 Jan 1939 "Dunkirk has fallen... with it has ended the greatest battle of world history. Soldiers! My confidence in you knew no bounds. You have not disappointed me."

» 5 Jun 1940

Adolf Hitler Timeline

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