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Hitler's Early Influences

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Hitler's Early Influences

Read the short account and timeline, then answer the questions. Distinguish documented events from interpretations: early experiences may help explain a person’s development, but they do not excuse later choices or prove that one event caused them.

A young man in a changing Europe

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary near the present-day German border. Braunau am Inn is in present-day Austria. His father, Alois, worked as a customs official; his mother, Klara, cared for the family. Biographers describe Alois as strict, though accounts of family life vary. Hitler’s father died in 1903 and his mother died in 1907. These losses were part of his early life, but historians cannot show that they alone determined his later politics. As a young man, Hitler hoped to become an artist. He moved to Vienna in 1907 and applied to the Academy of Fine Arts, but was not admitted. He lived in Vienna for several years, including a period of poverty. The city was politically diverse and included antisemitic movements and publications. Hitler encountered ideas in this environment; however, the timing and precise sources of his later antisemitic beliefs are debated by historians. He moved to Munich in 1913. After the First World War, Germany’s defeat and political upheaval formed a new context for his political activity. Historical caution: describing influences is not the same as claiming that poverty, rejection, family life or a city automatically produces a particular ideology. People respond to circumstances in different ways, and individuals remain responsible for their actions.

1889 — Born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary; the town is in present-day Austria

1903 — Father Alois died

1907 — Moved to Vienna; application to the Academy of Fine Arts was unsuccessful

1907 — Mother Klara died

1913 — Moved to Munich

Investigate the evidence

Answer in complete sentences where appropriate. Use details from the account and timeline.

1.In which town was Hitler born, and in which present-day country is that town located?

2.How old was Hitler when his father died in 1903?

3.Which statement best describes Hitler’s move to Vienna in 1907?

He moved there after being accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts.
He moved there hoping to pursue art, but was not admitted to the Academy.
He moved there to join the German army.
He moved there after becoming a professional artist.

4.Classify each example as primarily a family influence, an individual experience, or a wider social context: (a) accounts describe Alois as strict; (b) the Academy did not admit Hitler; (c) Vienna contained varied political movements and publications.

(a) Accounts describe Alois as strict
(b) The Academy did not admit Hitler
(c) Vienna contained varied political movements and publications

Individual experience
Family influence
Wider social context

5.True or false: The account proves that the death of Hitler’s mother caused his later political beliefs. Explain your choice in one sentence.

6.Which example from the account is most clearly a social or environmental influence (nurture), rather than an inherited biological trait?

The political ideas and movements present in Vienna
A physical feature inherited from a parent
A genetic characteristic
A person’s blood group

7.Give one detail that suggests Hitler experienced difficulty as a young man, and explain one reason that detail alone cannot explain his later actions.

8.Put these events in chronological order: moved to Munich; born in Braunau am Inn; moved to Vienna and was not admitted to the art academy.

9.A student writes: “Vienna made Hitler antisemitic.” Rewrite this as a more careful historical claim, using information from the account.

10.In two or three sentences, explain why historians study early influences while still holding people responsible for their later choices.