Adolf Hitler 1889-1945

Adolf Hitler 1889-1945

Adolf Hitler, a charismatic, Austrian-born demagogue, rose to power in Germany during the 1920s and early 1930s at a time of social, political, and economic unrest. Failing to take power by force in 1923, he eventually won power by democratic means. Though once in power, he eliminated all opposition and launched a program of world domination and elimination of the Jews, spreading his ideas through his book, Mein Kampf. His “1,000 Year Reich” barely lasted 12 years and he died a broken and defeated man.

Klara Polzl, the mother of Adolf Hitler, was born in Spital, Austria, in 1860. She married Alois Hitler, a senior customs official, in 1885. The couple had five children but only Adolf and a younger sister, Paula, survived to become adults. Two of his siblings died from diphtheria when they were children, and one died shortly after birth. Young Adolf was showered with love and affection by his mother. Alois Hitler, the illegitimate son of a housemaid, was born in Strones, Austria in 1837. He left home at the age of thirteen to serve as a cobbler's in Vienna. He did not enjoy the work and five years later joined the Imperial Customs Service.