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Was born in Braunau am Inn, a small village near Linz in the province of Upper Austria. -
Alois Hitler, Adolf's dad, dies. -
Hitler was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, once in 1907 and again in 1908. -
Hitler moves to Vienna. He lived in poverty and resided in homeless shelters.
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Hitler uses his father's money to move to Munich
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Hitler joins the German Army in WW1. -
In December 1914, Hitler received the Iron Cross, second class, for his bravery. In a letter to his old landlord, he wrote: ‘It was the happiest day of my life.’ -
Hitler is partially blinded in a mustard gas attack near Ypres in Belgium. He learnt that Germany lost the war while he was in the hospital. The news of the German surrender plunged him into a deep crisis, and in the aftermath of the war, he became radicalised and went into politics.
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Hitler was outraged with the harshness of the Treaty. He did not agree with the punishments put on Germany -
Was trialled for treason and was found guilty and sentenced to 5 years, but was released on parole at the end of 1924. While in prison, he writes Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which explains Nazism and its racial ideology.
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Reparations did the greatest economic damage to Germany. Germany had to pay for all the damage of the war – a sum eventually set at £6,600 million – in instalments, until 1984. This ruined Germany's economy, damaged by the war, and led to the hyperinflation of 1923.
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Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party lead a group in an attempt to overthrow the government of Bavaria and initiate a “national revolution.” Hitler and others are arrested for treason. -
A group within the Nazi party, elite, hand-picked members that swore a personal oath to protect Hitler with their lives. Put under the command of Heinrich Himmler in 1929, they grew rapidly from this point
Himmler: The best political weapon is the weapon of terror. Cruelty commands respect. Men may hate us. But, we don't ask for their love; only for their fear. -
On 27 February 1925 he made his first public speech – he said that if his next attempt to win power failed he would be left dead, he threatened violence against Jews and left-wing political opponents. He was then banned from speaking publicly for two years
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Middle and Lower class Germans supported the anticommunist Nazi Party. They were provided with jobs, food and housing during the Depression which drastically increased the number of members in the party. -
Hitler looses to Paul von Hindenburg for the role of President.
“A presidential cabinet led by Hitler would develop into a party dictatorship, with all its consequences for an extreme aggravation of the conflicts within the German people.” - President Paul von Hindenburg, November 1932 -
Hindenburg not impressed with Hitler, but Hindenburg had to pick a chancellor. He picked Hitler, thinking that he could manipulate him.
“Gentlemen, I hope you will not hold me capable of appointing this Austrian corporal to be Reich Chancellor.” - President Paul von Hindenburg, January 1933