Adolf Hitler and His Father

Adolf Hitler and His Father

Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889 in the Austrian town of Braunau an Inn. He was the fourth out of six children. He was no child of poverty. He was clean, well dressed, middle –class with affluent surroundings who attended a fee paying school. Attending a fee paying school meant that he was getting a good education. Just because he was getting a good education did not mean he took school seriously. He had a life long dislike for hard work and was lazy, so he did not due very well in school. As a child he often changed schools due to his family moving a lot so he never had any real close friends. The friends that he was able to make in the short period of timed in each location, he would be the leader. He was popular amongst the crowd.

Hitler did not have a good relationship with his father. His father was a strict a “strict, frugal, humourless and domineering man (McDonough 23).” His father punished bad behavior with physical punishment. “[He] never loved his father. [He] therefore feared him all the more. He had a terrible temper and often whipped [him] (McDonough 24).” Hitler did not receive love and kindness, only stern and domineering orders, often issued under the threat of violence, and severely punished by violence, when not obeyed. It is possible that Hitler’s passion for absolute dominance and his love of terror can be attributed to the influence of his father.

Hitler had a good relationship with his mother. “[He] honored [his] father, but loved [his] mother.” The Hitler family doctor said that he had never seen a relationship so close. No other women compared to his mother. He carried a picture in his wallet of her all of his life. When he became the leader of Germany he made his mother’s birthday a national holiday. Hitler often referred to being “in love with his mother.” It has been often suggested that he had a dysfunctional relationship with both of his parents.

The transition from primary school to secondary education proved...

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