Holocaust Timeline | Hitler and the Holocaust

Hitler and the Holocaust

Posted on January 8, 2008
Filed Under Holocaust Timeline |

Adolph Hitler is a name that almost everyone in the world recognizes.  People these days seem to know a lot about Hitler and what he was like during the Holocaust.  We know he had a deep hatred for Jewish people and other minorities, but why was he this way?  What influenced him to do the things he did over his lifetime?

Hitler’s first major influence would most certainly be his father.  His father often beat his older brother, and sometimes even Adolph and his mother.  One major source of friction in their relationship was the fact that Hitler wished to become an artist, while his father wanted him to enter the Austrian Civil Service.

Hitler was a bright child, and this most notably shined through in elementary school.  In secondary school his marks began to slip somewhat, and he was held back a year in school.  One part of school Hitler enjoyed and seemed to thrive in was a history class taught by Leopold Potsch.  It was here that we believe that Hitler was first really introduced to anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism was also a very big part of European culture.  Christian churches portrayed Jewish people as the killers of Christ.  With the backing of the church the governments of various European governments striped Jewish people of many rights.  During Hitler’s time especially, many people wondered how loyal the Jewish people were to Germany.  Radical theories also made Jewish people almost a separate race altogether rather then just another religious group.

When Hitler was sixteen he quit school and took a trip to Vienna to pursue his career in art.  He applied to art school, but they said he simply wasn’t good enough.  Shortly after this Hitler got news that his mothers cancer operation was not successful and he was forced to return to her side.  Later his mother passed away and he soon returned to Vienna.

He applied to art school again but once again was rejected.  He refused to do any physical labor and thus ended up in a hostel.  In the common room of one hostel he participated in many debates, and learned of many more anti-Semitic theories.

Many of Hitler’s influences as a youth in pre the holocaust timeline were negative, and anti-Semitic.  We then could see him having a strong dislike for Jewish people, and even hating them.  We could attribute this to simply being molded by his time, but Hitler showed that he follows the path of no one by heading many things further on in his life.

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