Adolf Hitler: Evil’s greatest Emissary

Presentation by:Pattan Imran KhanNIIT University

Age of extremes Few names from history inspire such immediate

and emphatic revulsion as that of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler 

His hands are stained with the blood of millions killed in the devastation of the Second World War and the horror of the Holocaust

But Hitler was not born a brutal tyrant, he became one.

Birth and childhoodApr 1889

Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April in the small Austrian town of Braunau am Inn, in Upper Austria on the Austrian-German border

His father, Alois, was a customs official while his mother, Klara, came from a poor peasant family

At primary school Hitler was a clever, popular child

At secondary school he withdrew psychologically, preferring to re-enact battles from wars than study

He left school with no qualifications at 16.

Adolf Hitler, pictured as a child circa 1889

Feb 1908

Down and out in Vienna Hitler dreamt of a career as an artist. His father

had rejected the idea but after he died in 1903 Hitler tried to make his dream a reality

He applied to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts but was promptly rejected in October 1907

Shortly after, Hitler's beloved mother died. He moved to Vienna and graved out a precarious existence sleeping in hostels and painting postcards.

Here he began to develop many of the views which would later characterize his ideology and desire to unite Germany and Austria

Adolf Hitler's drawing of the Austrian Parliament Building, Vienna

Aug 1914

Fighting for the Fatherland Hitler hated the multi-ethnic composition of

Austria's ruling Habsburg Empire. Determined to avoid military service, he moved to Munich in 1913.

Hitler was keen to prove his loyalty to Germany. In August 1914 the world plunged into a war unlike any seen before. Hitler quickly enlisted.

Serving in both France and Belgium, he was twice decorated for bravery.

In 1916, Hitler was wounded at the Somme, one of the bloodiest

battles of the war. Recovering in Germany, he affected a distinctive

toothbrush moustache.

Hitler and his distinctive toothbrush moustache

Nov 1918

'Stabbed in the back' Hitler was wounded for a second time following a

British gas attack. While his recovering, the unthinkable happened – Germany surrendered.

Before the surrender, facing serious discontent at home and the prospect of defeat at the front, Germany's High Command sought to shift the blame.

The majority parties in the Reichstag were handed a poisoned chalice. They were given more power but implicated in the impending defeat.

Hitler was enraged by what he saw as the betrayal of an undefeated German Army by Jews and socialists at home. He resolved to go into politics.

Jun 1919

Treaty of Versailles

Protests in Germany against the Treaty of Versailles

When the Treaty of Versailles was signed in summer 1919, Germany was forced to accept sole responsibility for the war.

Just as damaging, the peace obliged Germany to pay large amounts in reparations. The huge loss of territory it also dictated came as a devastating blow. Hitler bitterly resented it.

Defeat and then humiliation at Versailles challenged his whole sense of worth

Still in the army, Hitler was sent to report on an emerging far-right group, the German Workers' Party (later renamed the Nazi Party). Finding he agreed with their nationalist, anti-Semitic beliefs, he joined.

Jul 1921

Der Fuhrer Hitler’s oratory skills helped him rise quickly through the ranks

of his new party. In February he spoke before a crowd of nearly

6,000 in Munich.

Hitler giving a speech during his election campaign

Nov 1923

Beer Hall Putsch Germany’s government was on the brink of

collapse. Hyperinflation saw the price of a loaf of bread rise from 250 marks to 200 billion by November.

Hitler sought to start a revolution Hitler led 3,000 men onto the streets. But the

police were waiting. In the ensuing violence, 16 Nazis and 3 policemen died. Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for treason.

Jul 1925

Mein Kampf Hitler served just nine months of his sentence in

the Bavarian fortress of Landsberg am Lech. Here he wrote Mein Kampf, defining his political vision.

The 1938 edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf

For him, the state was not an economic entity but racial

He declared the superiority of a white Aryan race, with particular vitriol reserved for the Jews he viewed as "parasites"

Their elimination, he said, "must necessarily be a bloody process“

Mein Kampf outlined the central tenets of Germany under Nazi control – military expansion, elimination of "impure" races and dictatorial authoritarianism

After its publication in July 1925, the book saw more exposure for Hitler’s views.

Oct 1929

Wall Street Crash After the failure of his revolution Hitler looked to

the ballot box. But despite his own rising profile, in 1928 the Nazis won just 2.6% of the vote.

When the American stock exchange collapsed, the foreign loans on which Germany's economic recovery relied were called in

Unemployment rose to six million and parties on both the extreme left and right saw support skyrocket

At the same time, Hitler first met a 17-year-old German Catholic girl called Eva Braun.

Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun

Oct 1929

Leader of Germany Now a German citizen, Hitler led the Nazis to

become the largest party in Germany with over 37% of the popular vote in the elections of July 1932

German President von Hindenburg's concern at growing Communist support persuaded him to give Hitler the post of Chancellor in January

Political parties, organizations and unions unassociated with the Nazis were soon disbanded. But Hitler still needed the support of the army to fulfill the vision he had outlined in Mein Kampf.

Jun 1934

The Night of the Long Knives Army leaders were wary of the paramilitaries who

had helped Hitler to power. He allayed those concerns ruthlessly, tightening his own grip on power.

The leader of the Sturmabteilung(SA), Ernst Rohm, was among hundreds assassinated in one night as Hitler purged his party

He could not tolerate opposition to his plans to suppress workers' rights and make Germany ready for war

The army, however, approved and after President Hindenburg died in August, they supported Hitler's elevation to Führer. Hitler was now in total control.

Adolf Hitler greets SA leader Ernst Rohm shortly before the latter's assassination

Sep1935

Nuremberg Laws Since 1933 the Nazis had tried to exclude Jews

and other 'undesirables' from public life. In 1935 a new phase began – enforced biological segregation.

At the annual Nuremberg rally Hitler announced laws denying Jewish people citizenship and prohibiting marriage with people of "German or related blood".

Sep1938

Appeasement and expansion With his vision under way domestically, Hitler set

his sights beyond Germany's borders. Lebensraum – territorial expansion – was next on his agenda.

In March Hitler triumphantly led Nazi troops into Austria, achieving his goal of unifying the country of his birth and the country he ruled

His next target was the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Nazi troops marched into Czechoslovakia and took the Sudetenland.

Sep1939

The gambler Spurred by his success at Munich, Hitler looked east

to Poland. But first he had to make a deal with Stalin's USSR.

Hitler was willing to set aside his hatred of Communism for strategic gain. The two powers agreed the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact in late August.

Hitler believed his path was clear and on 1 September the invasion of Poland began. It was a gamble – the German Army was not yet at full strength.

But Hitler was confident Britain and France would not go Poland's aid any more than they had for Austria or Czechoslovakia.

He was wrong. Britain and France declared war on 3 September, which lead to World War II.

Jun 1940

Hitler's revenge Though he'd lost the gamble, Hitler was winning the

war. Poland fell quickly. When France surrendered on 17 June, Hitler took

revenge for the German defeat more than two decades before

Hitler ensured the French submission should take place at Compiegne, in the same train carriage Germany had been forced to sign the Armistice ending the First World War

At the scene of Germany's greatest humiliation, Hitler now stood in triumph.

Armistice agreement in the forest of Compiegne

1941

New enemies Despite the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Hitler retained a

staunch hatred of Communism Extension of Lebensraum in the east was always his

ultimate aim Hitler was extremely suspicious of Stalin. He'd

initially planned to complete the subjugation of Western Europe before turning to the Soviet Union

When Soviet troops occupied the Baltic States, he decided to invade. Hitler was convinced the Red Army could be defeated in a matter of months.

He was wrong. He compounded his error by declaring war on another powerful enemy, the US.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and American President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1943

Feb 1943

A wrong turn As the German invasion of the USSR foundered,

Hitler assumed day-to-day operational command of the army, convinced only he could succeed

Hitler was now directing the entire army from his headquarters, thousands of miles away. In spring 1942 he was convinced the Soviets would be defeated if his army followed his plan to the letter.

He was proven wrong at Stalingrad. Freezing, starving and hopelessly outnumbered, German forces could not hold the city.

"Surrender is forbidden," Hitler said His commanders on the ground chose to ignore

the order. For the first time Hitler faced sustained personal criticism because of the defeat.

Adolf Hitler planning the offensive on Stalingrad

Jun 1944

Asleep at the wheel Hitler's intransigence had left German forces in

retreat in the east. Now, his mistrust and refusal to delegate cost them dearly in the west.

When Allied troops landed on French soil on D-Day, Hitler was asleep in his Eagle's Nest retreat

No significant decisions could be taken without his authorization. Crucial German panzer divisions which may have delayed the Allied invasion could not be moved until Hitler woke up.

The landings were a success. Germany was now fighting and losing a war on

two fronts. Yet Hitler had met the news with enthusiasm,

believing his forces could finally take the US and Britain out of the war.

Jul 1944

A weakening grip As Germany's military situation deteriorated,

opposition to Hitler grew among the army elite. Many of his previously loyal commanders wanted him dead.

But on 20 July an opportunity came at last. Hitler was meeting with top military aides at the Wolf's Lair field headquarters.

A senior army officer, Lt Col Claus von Stauffenberg, left a bomb in a briefcase in the conference room.

At 12.42 pm it went off. A stenographer and three officers died.

Hitler was lucky to escape with only minor injuries, shielded from the full force of the blast by an oak table.

The conference room where Hitler had been sitting was destroyed by Stauffenberg's bomb

Apr 1945

Defeat and death As Soviet troops closed in on his bunker in Berlin,

Hitler accepted the inevitability of his defeat. He set into action his plan to take his own life.

Hours beforehand, he married Eva Braun, who had remained by his side for 11 years. They were wed early on the morning of 29 April.

The next day, at a little after 3.30 pm, they bit into thin glass vials of cyanide. Hitler then shot himself through the head.

The man responsible for untold suffering, who had almost single-handedly brought the world to the very brink of destruction, was dead.

Red Army soldiers raise the Soviet flag over the Reichstag in Berlin on 30 April

Front page of the U.S. Armed Forces newspaper, Stars and Stripes, 2 may 1945

Impact of war started by Hitler Estimates for the total casualties of the war vary,

because many deaths went unrecorded Most suggest that some 60 million people died in

the war, including about 20 million soldiers and 40 million civilians

Many civilians died because of disease, starvation, massacres, bombing and deliberate genocide

The Axis Powers

References http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zsmm6sg http://history1900s.about.com/cs/hitleradolf/p/hitle

r.htm Google Images

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