Hitler's Birth and Childhood
20 April 1889
Adolf Hitler as an infantAdolf Hitler is born on April 20th in Braunau am Inn in the empire of Austria-Hungary.
His parents' families are both of poor peasant backgrounds. His father, Alois, regarded as strict and distant, becomes a customs official and expects Adolf to follow a career into the civil service. Hitler’s mother, Klara, is of a more compassionate nature, adoring and indulging her son.
At the age of six Adolf attends school and, while clearly intelligent, he is uninterested in formal education, eventually leaving with a poor educational record of achievement.
The death of his father when Adolf was 13, releases the pressure on him to get a job working for the civil service, Adolf is able to pursue his preferred choice of study, that of art. He attends art school and regards himself as an artist, absorbing diverse cultural influences, the opera, theatre, reading and drawing.
1907
Hitler moves to Vienna with the aim of attending the Vienna Academy of Art, but his application is rejected. His disappointment is compounded by his failure to also get into the Vienna School of Architecture due to his inability to provide a school leaving certificate.
1909—1913
Without any means of money, Hitler struggles to survive in Vienna, living in a men’s hostel. He sells postcards which he’s drawn, of famous sights, and undertakes a series of menial jobs, to earn money.
During this period of poverty, Hitler engages in much political activity, attending meetings, absorbing political newspapers and literature.
1913
Faced with military service for the Habsburg Empire, Hitler takes action to evade this by moving to Munich in Southern Germany. This move is possible in part due to his inheritance of a small legacy from his father’s estate. Here his life continues much as before, until world events changed the course of Hitler’s life.
Suzanne Smitha 4 years, 7 months ago
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