Man and Monster: The Life of Adolf Hitler Essay (Biography)

The birthplace of Hitler was Braunau. This was an insignificant town found in Austria. He was born to Alois Hitler, his father and Klara Hitler, his mother who was a third wife to Alois Hitler. Adolf Hitler was a very bright student. He did very well at primary school and seemed to have secured a strong foundation for a bright academic future as he grew.

At school, he had fame and pupils envied the qualities of leadership that they saw in him. Adolf was also religious to the extent that he thought and considered the possibility of him becoming a monk (Toland, 16).

In the secondary school, academic competition was tough for him. When he discovered that he could not excel in classwork, he stopped trying. Adolf Hitler became stubborn. He never listened to the counsel of his seniors who encouraged him to continue with education. His father, Alois was disturbed and disappointed by his son. He had thought that Hitler would emulate him and become a member of the Austrian military once he finished school (Nicholls, 23).

Everything about Hitler started changing. His fame with other students started to fade away as they started dismissing him as one of their leaders. He became bossy because he gave orders and spent most time with small pupils. He was into games that involved fighting, bullying, and harassing.

He only liked Leopold Potsch among other teachers. Potsch was Hitler’s history master. His teacher liked many people who lived in Upper Austria because he was a German nationalist. The teacher taught his students about the wars won by German in early 1870s. The chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, was one of Adolf Hitler’s early historical heroes. The other main interest he had in school was art. His father was shocked when Hitler told him that he wanted to pursue a course in art (Waters, 135).

At the age of fifteen, he was incompetent in academics, and his performance in exams was pathetic. He did not like the idea when he was told to repeat. He successfully persuaded his mother to drop out of school without a secondary education certificate. He had no vision because instead of feeling bad, he celebrated by drinking. Nonetheless, this experience was not satisfying, and he swore to refrain from drinking (Waters, 136).

On receiving the inheritance from his father’s will, he relocated to Vienna. He had dreams of studying art, but the dreams were shuttered down when the Vienna Academy of Art rejected his application for not having a school leaving certificate. He regretted the fact that he was unfocused (Jones, 24).

Adolf Hitler was unwilling to serve Austria. He instead volunteered for the German Army during the outbreak of the First World War. He regarded the German Army as the most superior to other European countries. Adolf Hitler could offer himself in dire situations and lead from the front. This character of Adolf captivated his seniors in the military ranks. During the First World War, he won five medals. However, despite the fact that he was decorated in the war, he only reached the rank of corporal (Weber, 323).

The war ended, and Hitler was posted in Munich, the capital of Bavaria. He opposed the leader of the Independent Socialist Party when he declared Bavaria a Socialist Republic. The German soldiers entered Munich and overthrew the BSR. Hitler was promoted to become a political officer after convincing the soldiers that he was against the party. He made political speeches and taught soldiers on matters concerning politics. This was a great start for Adolf Hitler to venture into politics (Weber, 325).

After a long involvement in politics, Hitler realized that he had skills as an orator, and this gave him confidence to challenge Anton Drexler, a leader of the Nazi Party. He swiftly managed to become the new leader. Hitler was capable of instigating hatred and anger amongst his followers.

In this case, he was could influence them to engage in violence. He was imprisoned for beating a rival politician. Hitler was selfish and greedy. This is portrayed when he promised to occupy Russian land if he won. In his mission to overthrow the government, he took three top commandants into a separate room and forcefully made them to collaborate with him. This happened because he was to be the next new leader of Germany. He used force to get what he wanted without caring for others (Weber, 325).

He was arrested for another year, and upon his release, he pretended not to be committed to politics. He took most of his time travelling and touring different places in Germany. His party Nazi gradually grew through the efforts he put into a campaign for power. He looked determined to take over the leadership of Germany. Hitler avoided being asked to explain how he would improve the German economy (Nicholls, 80).

After being elected as the chancellor of Germany, Hitler developed a dictatorial character. He also ordered all media that supported the other parties to be closed during the general elections in 1933. In spite of all those means to shutter the other parties, his party still did not win (Nicholls, 80).

When Hitler took control of power in Germany, he used a divide and rule method due to the fear of being overthrown. He knew he was a dictator. He did so much for German, but this did not outdo the damage he had caused. He was a racist and did not mince his words of hatred towards other races. For instance, in Mein Kampf, he made it clear that he hated the Jewish race. Being an opportunist, Hitler tried to fight the nations that surrounded it.

He expanded the size of Germany and tried to take control of Europe. There is a time when he felt ill, but this could not stop his army. He was so inhuman that he used to laugh whenever he was told about the deaths of his soldiers at war. His reign came to an end when the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Britain combined forces to fight back leading to his overthrow. When he heard that the Soviet troops had entered Germany, he decided to commit suicide to prevent them from humiliating him (Nicholls, 82).

Adolf Hitler could have overcome this humiliation if he had good qualities of leadership. A good leader should know how to communicate. Despite the fact that Hitler was a good orator, he was not a good listener. He never listened to any advice especially when his army was at war. Even when things were hard for them, he commanded them to fight to the death. This shows that he never recognized the value of others. Being an opportunist, he used them as a bridge to his success (Iorg, 28).

A good leader should also be truthful and honest. Adolf lied to his mother that he had joined an art school. At one time while at war, Hitler was shot and ran into hiding. However, he lied that he had rushed a shot boy to the hospital. If he had a focused mind, Adolf would not have dropped from school.

This made him appear as an incompetent leader. Hitler escaped from responsibilities. For example, he avoided explaining how he would raise the economy of Germany. A good leader should have a vision. With a positive attitude towards his nation, he would have realized the harm he had caused the people he led (Iorg, 30).

If Hitler was a respectable leader, he would not have had an affair with his niece. Being a family man would have helped him from possessing bad characters such as dictatorship and being disrespectful. By being approachable, accessible and accountable to all, he would not have hate given speech against the Jews.

The Jews were of great importance to Germany. An intelligent leader always makes wise decisions and thinks deeply before judging or acting. Adolf killed one of his allies after being fed with false propaganda by other “supportive friends” who were against the victim. He should have used tactics to know whether they were lying. Adolf Hitler failed because he did not possess the qualities of a good leader (Iorg, 32). A leader of the people by the people and with the people should have strong and good characteristics.

Works Cited

Iorg, Jeff. The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities That Define Great Leaders. Nashville, Tenn: B&H Pub. Group, 2007. Print.

Jones, J S. Hitler in Vienna, 1907-1913. New York: Stein and Day, 1983. Print.