Adolf Hitler

Adolf’s father was born out of wedlock and Adolf did not really know whom his grandparents were. It was believed that Adolf was actually one quarter Jewish and that his grandmother Maria Schicklgruber had gotten pregnant while working in a Jewish Household in Graz. But later research suggests that this may have not been true.

Adolf was a good student in the elementary schools he attended but during 6th grade (his first year in high school) he had failed and repeated the grade. His teacher’s stated that he had “no will to work” and Adolf later explained that this was a rebellious act against his father since his father wanted Adolf to follow him in a career as a customs official. Adolf also described himself as a misunderstood artist but when his father died his grades did not improve and at 16 he left school with no qualifications.

Adolf lived as a bohemian supported by a fatherless child pension and his mother. He was rejected twice from the Academy of Art in Vienna from “lack of talent” but did not decide to switch careers. On December 21 1907 his mother Klara died painfully from breast cancer. He had given his share of the orphan’s benefits to his younger sister Paula and later worked as a struggling artist in Vienna after receiving an inheritance from his Aunt. He many times painted scenes from Post Cards to sell to Merchants and Tourists.

After Adolf’s refusal from the Academy of Arts the second time Adolf had run out of money and in 1909 he lived at a homeless shelter. By 1910 he settled in a house for poor working men. While he was there a Jew named Hanisch helped him sell post cards.

In Vienna Adolf started to adopt anti-Semitic beliefs because slowly he was influenced by writings of racist ideologies and politicians. Adolf claimed that Jews were the natural enemies of the “Aryan race” and the sole problem for Germany’s economic problems. He had a firm belief that the Jews were inferior and developed a belief against the Parliamentary system and mostly social democracy.