EARLY LIFE
Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889, in the small Austrian town of Braunau Am Inn. He was the son of Alois and Klara Hitler. He grew up in a big family with three sisters- Paula, Angela, and Ida Hitler- along with four brothers- Edmund, Alois Jr., Otto, and Gustav Hitler. He had a rather humble upbringing, because his family was moderately poor and they went through a lot of tragedy as well. His family lost four of their eight children. Gustav Hitler died at the age of two in 1887 Diphtheria, Ida Hitler died as well at the age of two in 1888 from Diphtheria, Otto Hitler died within a year of his birth in 1887 from Hydrocephalus, and Edmund Hitler died at the age of six in 1900 from Measles.

January, 1894, in Passau, Germany,  Hitler nearly drowned. He was playing tag and the game Cowboys and Indians with some other children and fell into a icy river. The current was very strong and the water ice cold. Luckily for Hitler, the owner of a house nearby, a priest, saw the drowning child and pulled him to safety. When he grew, he never mentioned this incident.

During the time of February 1908 and May 1913, Hitler and his family lived in Vienna, Austria. Throughout his childhood Hitler rarely had any contact with Jews. It was here, in Vienna, that the hatred for Jews was most “supported”. Anti-semitism was “very prevalent and highly advocated” (Why Did Hitler Hate Jews) in Vienna, and many historians believe that this may be a factor in Hitler’s hatred for jews and that it helped shape the Nazi’s ideology.

Young Adolf Hitler strived to be a modern artist. He loved art in almost every form. His ambition to be an artist was one that overwhelmed him all the time. He, unfortunately wasn’t accepted into the Academy Of Fine Arts Vienna.  He was devastated when he was rejected, but his unique aesthetic later molded Nazism into the movement that it was. He created many paintings in his spare time, the most recognizable included: “The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich”, “Ruins of a Cloister in Messines,” “Shelter in Fournes,” “House with a White Fence,” “House with a White Fence,”“Haubourdin,” and “Ardoye in Flanders.”

This painting is titled “The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich,” it was created in 1914.

FACTORS IN HITLER’S ANTI-SEMITISM

Many historians believe that they may have found some key factors to why Hitler may have hated Jews. Some believe that religious conflicts may have been a factor. During this time there was a lot of conflict between the religions of Christianity and Judaism, and throughout Europe the dominant religion was Christianity, so in turn, this helped set the the tone for anti-semitism in Europe. However, Hitler did not like Christians either, but he used Christianity to help increase his population vote. He would say things like "In this hour I would ask of the Lord God only this: that He would give His blessing to our work, and that He may ever give us the courage to do the right. I am convinced that men who are created by God should live in accordance with the will of the Almighty. No man can fashion world history unless upon his purpose and his powers there rests the blessings of this Providence,” so it would only look natural for him to stick to the religion he used. Another factor may have been the anti-semitism in Vienna, Austria. Here, in Vienna anti-semitism was about the most extreme, it was also here that little Adolf Hitler was raised as an impressionable child.

As well, Hitler blamed the loss of WWI on Jews because most of the financial institutions, large companies, and banks were owned by them. He blamed the “economic downfall and the bad decisions of the Weimar Republic on jewish capitalism,”(Why Did Hitler Hate Jews). Another reason that historians believe Hitler hated Jews was that Hitler was suspicious that they were plotting to take over the world and that they would betray Germans whenever it suited them...you could say he was a little paranoid. Last, Hitler had believed he concocted the perfect race- Arians. He felt that anyone who was not German, with blonde hair and blue eyes, were inferior to them. Obviously, most Jews were not blonde and did not have blue eyes, so Hitler took it so far as that in his eyes they were not human...and unfortunately he treated them as such. There are clearly many more factors into Hitler’s hatred for, but these are just some main points.