Adolf Hitler was born in the small Austrian town of Branau on the 20th of April 1889. He
came from a middle-class family that lived comfortably, although he suggested in his book
Mein Kampf that his family was poor and his childhood was filled with hardship. His father
Alois Hitler was a customs official with the Austrian Civil Service. His mother, Klara was
a former servant girl and became Alois’ third wife. The young Hitler had ability but
performed poorly at school. He reacted against discipline. One of his teachers described
Hitler as “wilful, arrogant and bad tempered. He had obvious difficulty in fitting in
at school. Moreover he was lazy…. He demanded of his fellow pupils their unqualified
subservience, fancying himself in the role of leader.”
Hitler’s School Report-1905
Adolf Hitler
Steyr Realschule 16 September 1905
Moral Conduct 3 Satisfactory
Diligence 4 Erratic
Religion 4 Adequate
Geography and History 4 Adequate
Mathematics 5 Inadequate
Chemistry 4 Adequate
Physics 3 Satisfactory
Geometry 4 Adequate
Freehand Drawing 2 Praiseworthy
Gymnastics 1 Excellent
Handwriting 5 Unpleasing
Hitler had a poor relationship with his father, who could not accept his son’s lack
of self-discipline and his interests in art, architecture and music. When his father died
in 1903, his mother Klara had very little control over her son, and in 1905 he left
school. In 1907 Hitler applied to enter the Vienna Academy of Art but his application was
rejected. In that year his mother died from cancer. Hitler had been devoted to his mother
and her death affected him deeply. He carried her portrait everywhere he went for the rest
of his life.
In 1908 Hitler moved to Vienna. Once again he sought admission to the Academy Of Art but
was rejected for a second time. For a while he had enough money to live on from his
inheritance and from an orphan’s pension but by the time he was twenty-one, Hitler
was almost penniless, and was forced to live in a shelter with homeless men. On the odd
occasion he made money from drawing sketches or painting scenes of Vienna, but he refused
to look for a settled job. But by 1910 he began to show an interest in politics and often
spent hours in Vienna’s public libraries learning more on the subject and engaging in
political conversations in the local coffee houses that he visited. Hitler’s views of
the world were shaped by his experiences on the streets of Vienna, and this is where his
violent anti-Semitism derived from.
In 1913 Hitler left Vienna and moved across the border to Munich, the capital of the
German State of Bavaria. He was in Munich at the break out of the First World War and
although not a German citizen, he served in the German Army throughout the war. For most
of the war he served as a runner, and served at the front line in Flanders (Belgium) and
in France. He displayed courage under fire and was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. He
was sent home in 1916 when he was wounded but returned to fighting in 1917. He was
promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and took part in the Lundendorff offensive of March
1918. In the last months of the war Hitler was awarded the Iron Cross First Class
“For bravery and general merit”, an honour for a corporal. Hitler’s
campaign ended when he was partly blinded in a gas attack. He was taken to recuperate in a
hospital in Germany and it was here that he heard the news that Germany had surrendered.
He describes the shock in his book, Mein Kampf- “Everything went black before my eyes
as I staggered back to my ward and buried my aching head between the blankets and
pillow…. during these nights my hatred increased, hatred for the originators of this
dastardly crime”.
Hitler’s rise to power
After the end of World War One Hitler was made a political officer for the army. One of
his jobs was to report to the army command on the small political parties that had
flourished in Bavaria. It was at this time that he attended a meeting of a small group
called the German Worker’s Party in September 1919. Hitler had found what he wanted-
a small political party that he could shape with his own ideas. Hitler quickly became the
leader of the party where his brilliant power as a public speaker attracted large
audiences and aroused the emotions of the audience through his spoken word.
The party changed its name to become the National Socialist German Workers’ Party
(Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) or NAZI for short. The party then
developed its own symbols and colours to be associated with- the swastika, colours red,
black and white and a distinct party salute. The party’s extreme right wing views to
communism and to the republic, the party attracted ex-Freikorps troops and by 1921 the
Nazi Party had its own private army, the Sturmabteilung (SA) or Storm Troopers. Wearing
brown uniforms, they became a visible strength of the Nazi Party by protecting leaders and
physically attacking any physical opponents.
In 1923 the Nazi Party was large enough to attempt to seize power in Bavaria and they
tried to seize power in what became known as the Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler and his
followers attempted to seize control when they detained the leaders of Bavaria at a
political rally in a Munich beer hall on the 8th of November 1923. The Putsch failed
however, when the army refused to back the attempt. In a show of defiance, the following
day the Nazis marched into the centre of Munich where their demonstration was broken up by
armed police, and Hitler and some of his followers were arrested for treason. Hitler then
used his trial in 1924 to promote his party and his views. Although he was sentenced to
five years imprisonment, he had now become a national figure and was treated well. He had
his own room and was allowed unlimited visitors, special food and he had the company of
fellow Nazis also in prison. During this time, he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle). He also
realised that the only way to get to power was through democratic elections.
The first attempt was in the 1928 elections, but the Nazi Party failed miserably, dropping
from 103 seats in 1924 to 73 seats in the Reichstag elections of 1928. Hitler’s first
real attempt was during the middle of The Great Depression. Over three million Germans
were unemployed, and the Nazi Party called an election in September 1930. In a vigorous
campaign they held hundreds of rallies across the country, attacking the weaknesses
of other parties. The Nazis grasped the idea that the system had failed and they promised
a revitalisation of will and a new beginning.
The Nazis were pleased with the result of the election. Even though they had not come to
power, they had increased their representation in the Reichstag to 107 seats. Over
thirty-five million Germans had voted for the Nazis, which had now made them the second
largest party in parliament.
In 1932 Hindenburg’s seven year term as President came to a close. The then
Chancellor Bruning tried to have Hindenburg’s presidency continued for another two
years, but the Nazis and the Nationalists opposed the idea. So Hindenburg, who was now
eighty-four, once again stood for President. Hitler had also announced his intention to
run for the presidency. The Nazi Party membership now stood at 450 000 and a vigorous
election campaign was started by Dr Joseph Goebbels. In an unwavering three-week campaign,
the party organised 300 meetings a day across Germany. Hindenburg, however, did not
personally attend his meetings; Bruning did so on his behalf. The voting which took place
on the 14th of March was so close that no party received an absolute majority. Because of
this a second round of voting was conducted on the
10th of April. This second round increased the Nazi vote but it was not enough for
victory. Hindenburg received a 53% vote and was re-elected for another seven years.
By the end of 1932 three chancellors- Bruning, Papen and Schleicher had all failed to
achieve any kind of stability in government. A group of men close to the president,
including former chancellor Papen, and some powerful industrialists, now believed that
Hitler and the Nazis would have to be brought into the government. Hindenburg finally
appointed Hitler chancellor on the 30th of January 1933, after refusing him in August
1932. In the cabinet only three of the eleven posts were given to Nazis, and Papen was
appointed vice cancellor.
Hitler’s New Germany
Hitler’s first step of being chancellor was to call for elections to be held in the
March of 1933. Before the elections were held, however, on the 27th of February a week
before the election the Reichstag burnt down. A Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe,
was caught inside the burning building with firelighters and matches on him. Hitler used
this event to arrest many communists and to request Hindenburg to issue an emergency
decree, For the Protection of the People and State.
The Nazis won 288 seats
Hitler now persuaded the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act, which would alter the
constitution and give him the ability to pass laws without the consent of the Reichstag.
By a vote of 441 to 94, the Enabling Act was passed. He was now the legal dictator of
Germany.
Hitler’s plans for Germany were three points:
*Rearmament
*Employment
*Expansion
Almost as soon as the Nazis came to power, Germany began to rearm. In October 1934 Hitler
authorised an increase in the size of the German Army, and in two months it had grown to
280 000 soldiers. In March 1935 he announced the reintroduction of conscription, with
plans to build up the army to thirty-six divisions or 500 000 soldiers. The existence of
the new German Air Force known as the Luftwaffe was made public. Hitler intended to ignore
the military clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. The navy was not overlooked. The
Kriegsmarine was given the task of making the construction of submarines, which had proven
to be an effective weapon in World War I. Submarines construction began in 1934 and the
number of Unterseeboots or U-Boats grew to fifty-seven. In 1935 the pocket battleship
Admiral Graf Spee was launched, followed by the Scharnhorst and the Gneisau. The new
German Air Force, called the Luftwaffe, took the task of rebuilding Germany’s air
power with enthusiasm. By 1939 it boasted 4200 front-line aircraft.
In September 1936 Hitler introduced the Four Year Plan that aimed to make Germany totally
self-sufficient in essential commodities such as oil, iron ore, textiles and food.
When the Nazis came to power there were six million Germans unemployed, which equated to
one-third of the workforce.
The Nazis regarded unemployment as an urgent issue. Unemployment in Germany dropped due to
a number of issues. The number of women in the workforce dropped as Hitler wanted each
family to have many children. The Nazis also forced people to work. Many public works
programs began, the most significant was the plan to construct over three thousand
kilometres of four-lane highways, called autobahns, linking the country from east to west.
Another factor that reduced employment was the creation of the German Labour Service in
1935. All males over the age of 18 were required to do six months of labour service. In
the same year conscription was introduced which also brought the unemployment number down
significantly.
Hitler’s obsession with race caused his desire creation of a pure racial state for
the Aryan race. He wanted the Reich to dominate Europe. The German people had to acquire
territory or living space, which Germany would conquer which he called Leibanstrawn, or
German living space in the east. If the German people were to survive and preserve their
racial identity, they would have to acquire new territory, and this could only be done by
force. Hitler’s expansion campaign began in March 1936, when the German troops
re-entered the Rhineland. Then in the March of 1938, Austria was taken into the Reich.
Sudetenland returns to Germany. Once again in March, but in 1939, Slovakia became a
separate state and becomes allied to Germany. In the September of 1939, Germany attacks
and takes Poland, but Britain, France and their allies declare war on Germany. World War
II had begun.
Hitler and World War II
The Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was first flown in 1935. It was extremely unpopular but it
quickly became the number one multirole fighter of the Luftwaffe. It was tricky and
unpleasant to fly but in the hands of a German pilot it was deadly. The top-scoring
Luftwaffe pilots, who had 250 to 350 kills each, their aircraft was only the Bf 109. It
was a single-seat fighter, but many were bombers.
Designed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (later Messerschmitt) in 1933, designed mainly
around the most powerful engine of that time, the 610hp Junkers Jumo 210A. It made its
first flight in early September 1935, but with the 695hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel V. Many
versions appeared but the finest of all of the versions was the Bf 109F. Powered by either
a 1200hp DB601N engine or a 1350hp DB601E engine. The Bf 109F represented a considerable
advance over earlier series in terms of both performance and cleanliness, but most
importantly, Messerschmitt gave the Luftwaffe a fighter that could out-manoeuvre the
British enemy, the Supermarine Spitfire V. The entire fuselage was smoother and cleaner
aerodynamically, a more rounded rudder and a retractable tail wheel. The wings were
rounded off at the tips and performance at all altitudes was better than all previous
models. Production ran from the initial F-1 to the F-6. It weighed 4330 lbs. empty and
6054 fully armed. The performance of the Bf109F was astounding; its top speed was 390mph.
Many German fighter pilots felt that he 109F carried the basic design to its peak. More
than 2000 Bf109Fs were built, but it was replaced by the Gustav or Bf109G less than a year
later.
Plane Messerschmitt Bf109F Messerschmitt Bf109G
Engine 1300hp DB601E 1475hp DB605A-1
Dimensions Length: 9m Length:9.04m
Weights 4330lb empty, 6045lb full 5893lb empty, 6940lb full
Performance Max. speed 390mph Max. speed 428mph
Armament 2 15mm machine-guns
1 20mm cannon 2 13mm machine-guns plus 2 20mm cannons or
1 30mm cannon
History First flight: 1939 First flight: 1940
The 109f and Spitfire V were fairly closely matched, but when the Spitfire IX was
introduced to combat the Focke Wulf 190, the 109F was outclassed. Fighter pilots always
wanted to fly faster and higher, and Messerschmitt came to the rescue with the Bf109G,
with the more powerful Daimler Benz 605A. The introduction of the Gustav was not greeted
with enthusiasm by the German fighter pilots. Its tremendous speed and good high altitude
performance were welcomed, as was the powerful armament.
The Bf109G or Gustav had particularly good high-altitude performance, so a new high
pressure cabin had to be fitted. The aircraft was very heavy. It was fast but it did not
handle well. Engineers then fitted a nitrous oxide injection system, which resulted in
406mph at 28 500ft. The Gustav, which had started to come off production lines in 1942,
was perhaps the first aircraft to be designed as a platform for a variety of weapons
systems. A well-flown Gustav presented the RAF’s Spitfire pilots with a formidable
foe- they could out-turn the Spitfire, yet the Gustav was out-gunned. During 1942 a total
of 2664 Messerschmitt Bf109s were produced. The Gustav was camouflaged by a three-tone
grey colour scheme proved effective over the low countries and the North Sea. The Bf109F
and G as well as earlier variants served in the all of the major campaigns in Europe and
Africa, but the most significant was the Battle of Britain.
Bibliography
*“The Guide to Axis Fighters of WWII” by Bill Gunston, 1980
*“German Aircraft of WWII” by Kenneth Munson, 1978
