Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in Austria.

He went to school but left in 1905 without any

qualifications.

Hitler as a Hitler at school.

Baby.

As a boy Hitler had few friends and spent much of his time reading books on German history.
These books said that the German people were superior to others and the Jews were inferior.

Hitler dreamt of becoming an artist and in 1907 moved to Vienna where he applied to the Vienna
art academy. He failed to get a place even though he applied twice.

In 1908 Hitler took to the streets and became a tramp, earning his living from selling painted
postcards. He lived in dosshouses and drifted aimlessly for the next six years. During this time he
blamed the Jews for his own problems and Germany’s problems. He was jealous of the wealthy
Viennese Jews he saw around him and frightened of the poor ones. He believed that Germans were
a superior race.

At the outbreak of war in 1914, Hitler joined the army and fought for Germany, winning two iron
crosses for bravery, one for capturing some French soldiers, the other for helping a wounded
officer.

Hitler recovering from a gas attack, 1917. Iron cross

When Germany was defeated in 1918 he was furious. He felt that the Jews and communists were
responsible for Germany’s defeat.

After the war Hitler returned to Munich. He was angry because he felt Germany could have won
the war had it not been for the Jews and communists.
In 1919 he joined a small political party called the German workers’ party. He soon became its
leader and re-named it the NAZI party and made the swastika its symbol. In 1921 Hitler set up
his own private army called the ‘SA’ – which means ‘storm-troopers’. Their job was to bully the
Nazi party’s opponents.

The Nazis made a list of proposals called the ‘25 points’ which were anti-Jewish and promised jobs
to ‘proper’ German people (see below).

We demand the state provide a livelihood

and food for its citizens

No Jews can be citizens

Foreigners must be deported

Rejection of the treaty of Versailles

The Swastika
Some extracts from the Nazis 25
point programme

At this time, the government in Germany was very unpopular and was blamed for signing the
Treaty of Versailles and for a rise in prices. In 1923 Hitler took control of a meeting in a Munich
beer house with the help of 3000 Storm-troopers. He tried to persuade people to overthrow the
government. This became known as the ‘Munich Putsch’.

Hitler was tried and imprisoned in 1923. During his time there he wrote a book called Mein Kampf
(My Struggle) which detailed his life and views. The Munich Putsch made Hitler well known and
people started to listen to his points of view.

Front cover of Hitler’s book

Exercise sheet

Activity 1

Using the information from the text construct your own vertical timeline
showing the main events of Hitler’s early life.

Activity 2

1) How do you think Hitler’s experience in Vienna contributed towards his

anti-semitism? (2)

2) The picture below shows Hitler celebrating the outbreak of WWI.

Using the information from the text, explain why you think Hitler was so
glad to go to war? (3)

(clue; think about what Hitler had been doing up until the start of the
war and what his views on the Jews were…)

3) a) Why was Hitler angry when the war ended in 1918? (2)
b) Who did he blame for the fact that Germany had lost the war? (1)