Adolf Hitler is acknowledged as one of the worst figures in history in the 20th century. However, it is possible and necessary to understand why he behaved as he did and to make allowances for such things as social forces, upbringing, family background, and mental illness in determining his fate.
Hitler's views began with an analysis of history and took their lead from the economic and social conditions he saw around him. After World War I, Germany felt punished by the victors, who placed conditions on Germany and who took away much of Germany's power in order to protect themselves from retaliation and perhaps out of a sense of retribution as well. By the end of the 1920s, poor economic conditions created great resentment in Germany, and Hitler was affected by these force as were many of his countrymen. He made use of this as he sought to promote German interests against all others in the world. He saw certain groups as Germany's enemies, and the list of enemies included the Jewish capitalists he blamed for all Germany's woes.
One of the forces of concern to Hitler was the rise of Bolshevism, triumphant in Russia with the Revolution in 1917. Hitler analyzes Marxism in Mein Kampf and shows that he has a different conception of the structure of society. He says that he has studied those who founded Marxism, and one of the reasons he opposes Marxism is because Marx was Jewish. He also opposes Marx's ideology, though much of what he says is clearly centered on Marx's Jewishness rather than on the elements of Marxism as a philosophy, as can be seen when he writes.
Hitler was a product of a poor home life. His father was a customs official and was very strict, and the father was especially hard on the boy. When the father died when the boy was about fourteen, Adolf was relieved. However, three years later his mother died, and this left a hole i his life. he had idealized his mother, so her death had a traumatic eff...