What did Adolf Hitler do BEFORE and DURING the World War 1?
Adolf Hitler was born on 20th April, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunau near the German border. Both Hitler’s parents had come from poor peasant families. His father Alois Hitler, the illegitimate son of a housemaid, was an intelligent and ambitious man and later became a senior customs official. Klara Hitler was Alois’ third wife. Alois was twenty-three years older than Klara and already had two children from his previous marriages. Klara and Alois had five children but only Adolf and a younger sister, Paula, survived to become adults. Alois, who was fifty-one when Adolf was born, was extremely keen for his son to do well in life. Alois did have another son by an earlier marriage but he had been a big disappointment to him and eventually ended up in prison for theft. Alois was a strict father and savagely beat his son if he did not do as he was told. Hitler did extremely well at primary school and it appeared he had a bright academic future in front of him. He was also popula
Hitler served in France and Belgium in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment (called Regiment List after its first commander). He was a runner, the most dangerous job on the Western Front, and was often exposed to enemy fire.[18] Hitler was twice decorated for bravery. He received the Iron Cross, Second Class, in 1914 and Iron Cross, First Class, in 1918, an honour rarely given to a Gefreiter.[19] However, because the regimental staff thought Hitler lacked leadership skills, he was never promoted to Unteroffizier. Other historians say that the reason he was not promoted is that he was not a German citizen. His duties at regimental headquarters, while often dangerous, gave Hitler time to pursue his artwork. He drew cartoons and instructional drawings for an army newspaper. In 1916, he was wounded in the leg but returned to the front in March 1917. He received the Wound Badge later that year. Sebastian Haffner, referring to Hitler’s experience at the front, suggests he did have at least som
