not against Jewish people but against Bolsheviks, 4 capitalists, and trade unions—words
that were jumbled together and misused in both the city and his head. He began to hate all things associated with the fin de siècle artistic vibe of men like Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt (whose art he would later try to destroy), and he told the men in the home that he planned to go to Germany soon and study
real
art.
When Hitler turned twenty-four on April 20, 1913, the money that had been left for him in his father’s will finally became available and he was able to buy a train ticket to Munich, where he found a dingy apartment and continued making and selling postcards to pay the bills. Then, the unexpected happened. The archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, was shot, and the continent began to whip itself up into the violent frenzy of war.
Hitler snuck into the German army in the chaos, no one questioning his citizenship in the rush of recruitment then taking place. The First World War was a kind of miracle for Hitler. Not only did he get to serve for his “real country,” but he also got to experience all the qualities he associated with that place. Suddenly he had a uniform; he had orders; he had a purpose, aplace for all his manic energy to flow. Now there were rules,
and a clear goal. He had never been very patient or able to study or concentrate for long, and the immediate action of war, the lack of choice in circumstances, and the regimented lifestyle taught him how to control himself, even as it further romanticized Germany and Hitler’s idea of the classical German hero. Hitler gave his all during the war, working as a messenger, a dangerous job that meant he was often making his way to the front line. He was wounded and given a medal
for his deeds. The men in his division said what others had also said: He was a strange fellow with odd ideas and unexpected determination, a manic sense of loyalty, clearly intoxicated by war’s rush; he never got letters and rarely took leave; he often sat in a corner alone. But he was exceedingly loyal to his regiment, even deferring possible promotions just so he could stay with this new group he’d found. Stories would later be told of his close calls with
death—stepping out of a command post a moment before it was blown to pieces, or moving from a trench just before it was attacked—and true or not, these stories would stir and exemplify his sincere and eventually horrific belief that he had been selected by Providence to fulfill a great task on Germany’s behalf.
Those years of fighting were among the best he’d known. But then the very thing that Hitler feared most came to pass: Germany lost, and the war came to an end. All his grand ideas of Germania were defeated. Hitler was shocked. Germany’s defeat infuriated him and made him, literally, very sick. He later wrote that he had not cried since his mother’s death, but he cried when he heard the war had been lost. Lying in a hospital bed, temporarily blind
and recovering from wounds he’d suffered, he thought of killing himself as he absorbed the news. 5
Hitler was not the only person shocked by the defeat. At the time of surrender, German industry was still pumping along normally. The entire country was untouched; there was not a single occupying foreign force in its midst. Having not witnessed the fighting from the lines, it is understandable that some German people came out of the war feeling shocked andbetrayed, not knowing how many Germans had been killed in the past few months, having no
experience of how weakened the German forces actually were. Because the defeat was not obvious to ordinary Germans, it was easy for conspiracy theories to spread:
it was the fault of the Communists, it was the fault of those who wanted democracy, it was the fault of the Jews.
These feelings were only strengthened during the summit held to decide how to punish Germany at the end of the war. Precisely because
that were jumbled together and misused in both the city and his head. He began to hate all things associated with the fin de siècle artistic vibe of men like Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt (whose art he would later try to destroy), and he told the men in the home that he planned to go to Germany soon and study
real
art.
When Hitler turned twenty-four on April 20, 1913, the money that had been left for him in his father’s will finally became available and he was able to buy a train ticket to Munich, where he found a dingy apartment and continued making and selling postcards to pay the bills. Then, the unexpected happened. The archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, was shot, and the continent began to whip itself up into the violent frenzy of war.
Hitler snuck into the German army in the chaos, no one questioning his citizenship in the rush of recruitment then taking place. The First World War was a kind of miracle for Hitler. Not only did he get to serve for his “real country,” but he also got to experience all the qualities he associated with that place. Suddenly he had a uniform; he had orders; he had a purpose, aplace for all his manic energy to flow. Now there were rules,
and a clear goal. He had never been very patient or able to study or concentrate for long, and the immediate action of war, the lack of choice in circumstances, and the regimented lifestyle taught him how to control himself, even as it further romanticized Germany and Hitler’s idea of the classical German hero. Hitler gave his all during the war, working as a messenger, a dangerous job that meant he was often making his way to the front line. He was wounded and given a medal
for his deeds. The men in his division said what others had also said: He was a strange fellow with odd ideas and unexpected determination, a manic sense of loyalty, clearly intoxicated by war’s rush; he never got letters and rarely took leave; he often sat in a corner alone. But he was exceedingly loyal to his regiment, even deferring possible promotions just so he could stay with this new group he’d found. Stories would later be told of his close calls with
death—stepping out of a command post a moment before it was blown to pieces, or moving from a trench just before it was attacked—and true or not, these stories would stir and exemplify his sincere and eventually horrific belief that he had been selected by Providence to fulfill a great task on Germany’s behalf.
Those years of fighting were among the best he’d known. But then the very thing that Hitler feared most came to pass: Germany lost, and the war came to an end. All his grand ideas of Germania were defeated. Hitler was shocked. Germany’s defeat infuriated him and made him, literally, very sick. He later wrote that he had not cried since his mother’s death, but he cried when he heard the war had been lost. Lying in a hospital bed, temporarily blind
and recovering from wounds he’d suffered, he thought of killing himself as he absorbed the news. 5
Hitler was not the only person shocked by the defeat. At the time of surrender, German industry was still pumping along normally. The entire country was untouched; there was not a single occupying foreign force in its midst. Having not witnessed the fighting from the lines, it is understandable that some German people came out of the war feeling shocked andbetrayed, not knowing how many Germans had been killed in the past few months, having no
experience of how weakened the German forces actually were. Because the defeat was not obvious to ordinary Germans, it was easy for conspiracy theories to spread:
it was the fault of the Communists, it was the fault of those who wanted democracy, it was the fault of the Jews.
These feelings were only strengthened during the summit held to decide how to punish Germany at the end of the war. Precisely because
Similar Books
