Adolf Hitler

Although most people won't admit it, the most influential person of the 20th century was Adolf Hitler. While most know him as the man who led the Nazi party in Germany from 1934 through his death in 1945, few know his history.

His life was filled with both modest and extreme dreams and aspirations. He had strong personal opinions which he developed in both of his personal and political careers. From a modest upbringing to an outrageously unimaginable tyrant, Adolf Hitler is a figure which most should know about and that all should fear.

According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, Adolf was born on April 20, 1889 in the Austrian town of Linz. His original name was Adolf Schicklgruber, but it was later changed to Hiedler, and furthermore to Hitler (Wikipedia, 2006, 02/01/2006).

Wikipedia describes Adolf's upbringings as rebellious from an early age. He purportedly flunked out of school to rebel against his father's wishes for him to become a customs official. At the age of 21, Adolf became an active member in the anti-Semite Nazi party while working as a freelance painter in Vienna (Wikipedia, 2006, 02/01/2006).

Adolfs time in Vienna began his dislike towards the Jewish population as it was seemingly concentrated in the area. It was there that he learned of the "Aryan Race" and the discrimination from the Jewish community. He later began to blame Jewish people for the economic hardships in Germany at the time, which later led to his propaganda at the peak of his political career (Wikipedia, 2006, 02/01/2006).

From his own writings, here is a sample of the conclusions he began to draw about he Aryan Race:

"In the face of the millions of German 'bourgeois' and 'proletarians' who for the greater part, out of indolence and stupidity coupled with cowardice, trot towards their doom, he, in the fullest consciousness of his future goal, unhesitatingly pursues his way. Therefore a party that is led by him can serve no other interests but his; these, however, have nothing in common with the concerns of Aryan nations" (Mein Kampf, 673).

Adolf moved to Munich, Germany, in an attempt to evading mandatory military service in Austria. He was found unfit to be a soldier, and soon after he renounced his Austrian ties, the First World War began and he returned to Germany to become a member of the Bavarian Army. It was there, in the defeat of Germany, that he "realized" his purpose: to lead the nation of Germany to victory (Wikipedia, 2006, 02/01/2006).

To achieve this goal Adolf planned on using his political ties to the Nazi party to elevate his reputation within the community and eventually become a leading in Germany. He began to speak in front of large audiences and gained notoriety within the political community in doing so. The Nazi party began to see a heretic preacher be born and tried to restrict his powers within the party. Upon the notification of the restrictions, Adolf resigned from the party and would only return if he were made the party chairman. Facing possible dissolution, the leaders of the party had little choice but relent to Adolf's demands (Wikipedia, 2006, 02/01/2006).

In 1923, Hitler decided that it was time to over through the current German administration by marching into Berlin. This rash action caused some members to revolt against his radical philosophies and thwarted the coup. Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five-years in prison for high treason in April of 1924. During his five-year prison period, he wrote the book Mein Kampf (My Struggle), and received increasing admiration for his cause. The book was the platform of the Nazi party throughout the 1930s (Wikipedia, 2006, 02/01/2006).

After his release (in December 1924) his goal was to spread the word of his political party within Germany. Adolf formed small cells throughout all geographic areas of the country. He began to spread his word through speech and related on a personal level with many of the people struggling at the time. His new goal was to play by the rules until he reached his goal