I soon realized that Austria, the capital of western classical music, had also given Hitler to the world. A memorial stone for the victims of the Nazi regime is located in front of Salzburger Vorstadt 15, Braunau am Inn, Upper Austria. This was where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 and spent his first three years.
The charming town, about 60 km north of Salzburg, is on the south bank of the Inn river which marks international boundary of Austria with Germany. The inscription translated into English is: "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn (us)". Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million.
Hitler’s first name "Adolf", meaning "noble wolf", was from Old High German. As a boy he was often whipped by his father. He was a good student in elementary school, but failed in the sixth grade and had to repeat it.
His teachers noticed that he had no desire to work. At age 16, he dropped out of high school. From 1905 on, he lived a bohemian life in Vienna on an orphan's pension and some support from his mother.
Hitler wanted to be a painter by profession, but was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts. He struggled in Vienna, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to tourists and merchants. When he ran out of money, he sought refuge in a homeless shelter and settled into a house for poor workers.
During First World War, he served in France and Belgium as a runner for the Bavarian Reserve Regiment. This exposed him to enemy fire. He drew cartoons and instructional drawings for the army newspaper. In 1914, he was decorated for bravery and awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, followed by the First Class four years later.
Having been a long admirer of Germany, he had become a passionate German patriot during the war, even though he did not become a German citizen until 1932.
After the Nazi Party seized power in 1933, Hitler pressured Austria into unification with Germany. In 1938 his troops invaded Austria and he made a triumphal entry into Vienna with a cheering crowd of several thousands.
The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany was proclaimed by Hitler from the balcony of the city hall in Linz. This was in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the terms of which had been drawn up by the victorious Allies without the participation of Germans.
Hitler’s first act of aggression against an independent sovereign nation was the start of the events that ultimately led to World War II, a global tragedy. His rapid rise from almost total deprivation to the zenith of power in a few years ultimately ended in losing it all, including his own life and those of sixty million, after becoming so ruthless and oppressive.
The memorial tablet was not attached to the building as the owner successfully fought against it in court, because of her fear of unwelcome attention.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sad tale. You have to wonder if he had been accepted rather than rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts, would that have changed history? I wonder how sujbective that rejection may have been. And then, how power corrupts! Thanks for your perspective Taja.
ReplyDeleteComment: Has it ever occurred to you that today our wars, though much more limited in scope, last many more years, so do our ‘dictators’ (thankfully, also more limited in their area and sway). The war in Afghanistan has now lasted for more than eight years (the latest one) Both WWI lasted about four and WWII about five years. Hitler was in power twelve years and Stalin almost thirty. Of course, the average life span at the beginning of the twentieth century was less than fifty even in the most developed country and now has crept up to more than eighty (think Japan). Time has a different meaning. We have not come to grips with that yet.
ReplyDeleteResponse: Extended life span is a definite advantage, it provide us greater opportunity to examine world events as these occur during our lifetime. We become personal witnesses, directly or indirectly. As for wars, these were of shorter duration in the beginning, but now usually much longer. However, there are some exceptions also, such as the Hundred Years War (1338 to 1453) between England and France.