Hitler: The Rise of Evil

Adolf Hitler has been regarded throughout history to many as the monstrosity of evil.  He tried to control the world; to carry out the prophecy of the Third Reich there must be control for one-thousand years.  He has said to have been an extremely prolific and hypnotic speaker, yet his everyday communication skills faltered.  There have been many theories proposed as to why he became the way he was.  The main reason was the way he was raised.

            Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Austria.  He was the son of Alois Schickelgruber and Klara.  His father was a customs official, illegimate by birth and was described as a very strict man.  His mother was extremely loving and devoting towards him; the complete opposite of Hitler’s father.

            Beginning at the age of three Hitler moved around quit a few times.  Along the way his sister, Paula, and brother, Edmond, were born, to make six children total in the family.  With a family of six children it became difficult to provide for all of them, especially to give them the proper attention, as one could imagine.  It is there that his mother spoiled him, most likely to lessen the feeling of being left out.  The family’s next move is what next inspired Hitler to move in a new direction.

            The family moved into a home across from a large Benedictine monastery.  The monastery’s coat of arms most interesting feature was that it was a swastika, which later would come into play for Hitler’s career as a fascist dictator.  Hitler’s dream at that time was to enter priesthood; presumably to escape from the problems he had at home with his father, who was known to beat him regularly.  This possibly led to his next newfound talent.

            Around the turn of the century Hitler’s artistic talents rose to the surface.  HE did so well in school that he became eligible to either attend the university preparatory “gymnasium” or the technical/scientific Realschule.  Because the Realschule had courses in drawing, Hit respected his father’s decision to place him in the Realschule.  This school ended up not going well for him and he failed terribly.

            Hitler’s father died in 1906 due to suffering a pleural hemorrhage.  Hitler also suffered from lung infections, which were the reason for him to quit school at the age of sixteen, also along with the fact that he had poor school work.  From there he went to Vienna to apply to a prestigious art school there, from which he was turned away.  The family’s health took a turn for the worst when his mother developed terminal breast cancer.  She was operated upon and went through extremely painful treatments with no avail; she died on December 21, 1907.  The doctor who tried to save her was of Jewish descent.

            After his mother died, Hitler became somewhat of a transient, wandering penniless around Vienna by 1909.  He slept anywhere with a roof, be it a bar, flophouse, or homeless shelter, which were financed by Jewish philanthropists.  This is the period in which his prejudices about Jews, interests in politics, and debating skill were developed. 

            As one may now see, Hitler had a very black and dangerously failing life while he was growing up.  His actions that came later could possibly be blamed upon this bleak childhood.  His anger and aggression could have been developed from his father’s abusive personality, his need for love from his doting mother, and his need for power could be blamed upon the fact that he was such a failure at most everything he did.  That possibility gave him the strength to overcome and feel a sense of control in his life.  The most interesting thing is that he turned his back on the Jews, just because they had something he could never have, which was self-confidence.  The only thing he had in common with the Jews was the drive to succeed.  Hitler just took that drive in a different direction, into his rise of a brooding malovent dictator.

Works Cited:

Grobman, Gary. “Adolf Hitler.” The Holocaust: A guide for Teachers.  2001. 

Remember.org.  20 May 2003. <http://www.remember.org/guide/Facts.root.hitler.html>.

McKenna, Stephanie. “Hitler’s Youth.” Hitler’s Women and Youth.  2002.

Dickenson.edu. 21 May 2003. <http://www.dickinson.edu/~history/dictators/hitler_womenyouth.html>.

Arendt, Hannah. Origins of Totalitarianism. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1968.

Hitler: The Rise of Evil.  Dir. Cornelius Schnauber. Alliance Atlantis, 2003.