What happened in Adolf Hitler's early life?

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunau am Inn.

His father, Alois Hitler, was a customs official who had been married twice before.

Adolf's mother, Klara Pölzl, was Alois's third wife and was twenty-four years younger than him.

Klara had two children from a previous marriage, but both had died before Adolf was born.

Adolf was Klara's fourth child, and she doted on him. Alois was a strict father, and he frequently beat Adolf.

As a result of the beatings, Adolf became withdrawn and resentful towards his father.

At the age of 3, Adolf's family moved to the village of Passau in Germany. The family then returned to Austria in 1894 and lived in Leonding.

In June of 1895 Alois retired to a farm in Hafeld, near Lambach. The young Hitler attended a primary school in the nearby town of Fischlham.

When Adolf was thirteen years old, he was enrolled in a Realschule in Steyr, Austria, which is a school that focuses on practical subjects.

He graduated from the school when he was sixteen. He did not do well in school and was often bullied by his classmates.

Adolf's father wanted him to enter the civil service, but Adolf had other plans.

He wanted to be a painter.

Adolf's father died in 1903, and his mother died of cancer four years later.

With the death of his parents, Adolf lost his primary sources of support and affection.

While Hitler was in Vienna, he discovered his love for painting and architecture.

However, he also became interested in politics. Hitler was deeply influenced by the anti-Semitic and nationalist ideologies prevalent in the city.

Hitler's first attempt at getting into art school failed. He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna but was rejected twice, both in 1907 and 1908.

This rejection had a profound effect on him and only increased his desire to become an artist.

By 1909, Hitler was homeless and living in a men's hostel. He supported himself by selling his paintings, postcards, and doing odd jobs.

When World War I broke out, Hitler saw it as an opportunity to put his artistic dreams on hold and serve his country.

Adolf's experience in World War One had a profound effect on him. He enlisted in the Bavarian army in 1914 and was sent to the front lines.

He initially served as a dispatch runner and was in the First Battle of Ypres. He was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, for his bravery. 

Hitler saw firsthand the horrors of war and the futility of trench warfare. At the Battle of the Somme in 1916, he was injured in a shell explosion and spent almost two months recovering in hospital at Beelitz.

After his return in March 1917, he served at the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.

Then, in August 1918, he received the Iron Cross, First Class.

On the 15th of October 1918, Hitler was hit by a mustard gas attack and was temporarily blinded.

He was hospitalized in Pasewalk, Germany and was diagnosed with hysterical blindness.

While he was in the hospital, Hitler learned that Germany had surrendered and that he would be going home.

Hitler was disillusioned by the Treaty of Versailles, which he viewed as unjust and humiliating for Germany.

He was angry at what he saw as a betrayal by the German government. This anger would later fuel his political career.

After the war, Hitler returned to Munich. He became involved in German politics and joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) in 1921.

Hitler's oratory skills and charismatic leadership quickly elevated him within the Nazi Party, and he became its leader in the same year.

In 1923, he attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government in what is known as the Beer Hall Putsch.

The coup failed, and Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison.

During this time in prison, he wrote his book Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In it, Hitler outlined his ideology of racial purity, anti-Semitism, and Lebensraum, which would later form the basis of Nazi policies during his regime.

On his release from prison, after only serving nine months of his sentence, Hitler rebuilt the Nazi Party and continued his political activities where he had left off.