West European Studies

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in a small village, Braunau Am Inn, in Austria. He was reared under strict supervision from his father and the teachers at school. During the First World War, Hitler had compassion for foreign forces this made him enroll for training in the Bravian army camp. His bravely saw him rise to the rank of a corporal. Hitler took part in the First World War in the forces against the British. He developed hatred for the Jews as well as the communists when they led revolutions that shook Germany.

The consequences of the First World War were disastrous for Germany. Poverty and diseases were the main causes of death for many Germans. Germany was made to confess that it was the one that started the war. Its empire was reduced by one tenth. The government was restricted from raising an army consisting of more than one hundred thousand men or construct heavy weapons. Germany was also forced to pay compensations for the suffering it had caused. The weakened government faced a lot of opposition from the diverse political parties that sprang up.

Hitler joined the German workers party in 1919. He became one of the committee members of the party. Hitler sought to create a course for change for the party and also for the country. He organized meetings to try and woo people to give him their support and also test his leadership qualities. He was set to organize his new political party and in 1920, the partys name was changed to National Socialist German Workers Party (NAZI). The party won massive votes in 1928. Hitler started incorporating military force into his leadership. Hitler and the NAZI troops won the support of many German leaders. Together with his storm troopers, Hitler encircled a group of government officials and informed them of his decision to turn the government into a military type. After forcing them to swear loyalty to him, he released them.  He was later arrested and jailed for five years, a period in which he wrote a book. This was the turning point for his superiority.

After being released from prison, he dedicated his work to re-establishing and expanding his party. His party became the largest political party in Germany and won a lot of seats in parliament in the 1930 elections. In the 1930s, Hitler was an eloquent speaker who attracted the attention of thousands. Hitler ran for president in 1932 and won, but after a run off election, he lost the presidential bid and decided to form a coalition government with the First World War veteran Hindenburg he became the chancellor. Hitler became the successor of Hindenburg after his death in 1934. He forced the armed forces of NAZI to swear allegiance to him. With that, he took control of all the German forces.

Hitler with the support of improving economy adopted dictatorial system in order to eliminate challenge from other political parties and government organizations. He summoned his top aides for a conference to disclose his revenge mission towards other European nations and the Jews. Hitler and his NAZI party garnered a lot of support from the Catholics and peasants. The NAZI troops under the leadership of Hitler increased their aggression towards the Jews and killed many of them. The invasion of Poland by Hitlers forces compelled France and England to declare war on Germany in 1939. Germany had its support from Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Hitler and his ally lost in the war and he ended up committing suicide.