dsubrahmanyam's blog

Hi all again!!
Adolf Hitler is a well known personality to all of us for is heinous acts on humanity. He is the man behind the genocide of 11 million people including about 6 million Jews. This part of the history is well known to many and is documented in many of the books. What less known of Hitler is the reason for this blog.

The German origin of Adolf Hitler it self is a debatable issue. Hitler was born on 20th April 1889 in a small town in Upper Austria close to Germany border. He is claimed to be one quarter Jewish (!!) as his grandmother got pregnant while working as a servant in a Jewish family.

During the childhood Hitler did fairly well in his elementary studies but in 6th grade during his first year high school studies he failed completely and had to repeat the grade again. The reason for this failure was explained by Hitler as a kind of rebellion against his father. He wanted to be a painter instead of a customs official as desired by his father. At the age of 16 he left the school without any educational qualifications.

He was rejected twice by Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna due to unfitness for painting. and was told that his abilities more in the field of architecture than painting. Hitler himself wrote about his  fascination with the subject in his memoirs

“The purpose of my trip was to study the picture gallery in the Court Museum, but I had eyes for scarcely anything but the Museum itself. From morning until late at night, I ran from one object of interest to another, but it was always the buildings which held my primary interest.” (Mein Kampf, Chapter II)

He decided to pursue architecture as his profession but due to lack of required qualification to join the institution he could not fulfill his ambition.

“In a few days I myself knew that I should some day become an architect. To be sure, it was an incredibly hard road; for the studies I had neglected out of spite at the Realschule were sorely needed. One could not attend the Academy’s architectural school without having attended the building school at the Technic, and the latter required a high-school degree. I had none of all this. The fulfillment of my artistic dream seemed physically impossible.”“(Mein Kampf, Chapter II)

When he was 21 he started his career as a struggling painter in Vienna by copying the scenes from post cards and selling them to merchants and tourists. (See picture. This one of the water color paintings done by Hitler during this time) It is said that he produced more than 2000 paintings and drawings before World War I.

He was declared unfit for working in army by Austrian army after his physical examination (he was around 173 cm or 5ft 8 in) and deemed unfit for service in army !!

Most of Hitler’s biographers have characterized him as a vegetarian who abstained from eating meat though he did consume dairy products and eggs. Hitler was also a fervent non-smoker and promoted aggressive anti-smoking campaigns throughout Germany. He reportedly promised a gold watch to any of his close associates who quit (and actually gave a few away). Several witness accounts relate that, immediately after his suicide was confirmed, many officers, aides, and secretaries in the F�hrerbunker lit cigarettes. Contrary to popular accounts, there seems to be some evidence that Hitler did not abstain entirely from alcohol. Evidence indicate that he used to consume champagne with his longtime mistress  Eva Braun whom he married one day before their suicide.

From struggling painter to the Great Dictator a long journey! His life is really an interesting reading for everyone interested in history.

During his reign he appeared in and involved films to varying degrees. He was central figure in 3 films which were documentaries and in another film Olympia he featured prominently.
His memoirs Mein Kempf is reflection of his many unknown characteristics and evolution of his thinking and is worth a reading.

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