Adolf Hitler was born at half past six on the evening of April 20th, 1889, the son of Customs official Alois Hitler, and his third wife Klara. As a young boy Adolf attended church regularly and sang in the local choir. His father - who was illegitimate - originally carried the mother's name of Schicklgruber, and there is a strong possibility that his unacknowledged father was actually a Jew (Badsey, 1992, p. 14).
The young Adolf Hitler was a good student and received good marks in most of his classes; in his last year of school he failed German and Mathematics, and only succeeded in Gym and Drawing. He then dropped out of school at the age of 16. His childhood dream had been to become an artist or architect. He was not a bad artist, as his surviving paintings and drawings show, but he never showed any originality or creative imagination. He failed the first time he attempted to gain admission to the Academy of Arts in Vienna; he tried again in 1907 and - to his surprise - failed again. The Dean of the Academy said to him "You will never be painter." Between 1907 and 1913 he lived a bohemian life in Vienna, attempting to support himself as an artist painting postcards; he was homeless on occasion and lived in flophouses (Badsey, 1992, p. 24).
In 1914, Hitler refused to join the Austrian Army, and instead crossed into Germany, where he joined the Bavarian Army. He served throughout the First World War in the front lines, rose to the rank of Corporal, and was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for heroism - an unusual honor for an enlisted man. Ironically, he was recommended for this by his platoon leader, a Jewish officer (Bullock, 1962, p. 87).
After the war, Hitler remained in the German Army, where he was employed as a V Man; his job was to visit political organizations and assess them. He also worked in the education department of the army to lecture soldiers on the dangers of communism, socialism and pacifism....