Adolf Hitler arrived in this word on 20 April, 1889 in a small Austrian town named ‘Braunau’. The newborn was sired by Ellis Hitler, an ordinary individual of the working class. The surname of his family was originally ‘Hidler’ but for some reason he changed it to ‘Hitler’.
Martin Hidler was the grandfather of Ellis who was born in 1762 in Walter Schlagg. Later, he migrated to Speetel and settled down. He died in 1829 at the age of 68 years. He had sired a son named Johanan George.
Johanan George Hidler was a footloose person. He never stayed at a place for long. Going places was his way of life. He liked travelling and sight seeing. One day Johanan stumbled into a girl named Maria Anna. They fell in love and got romancing. Johanan was in no hurry to marry which meant getting tied down. But the love proved a stronger force that brought him back to Maria again and again. Meanwhile, Maria became unwed mother of a son who was christened Ellis. Johanan did not abandon her. At last he married her to make himself the legitimate father of Ellis who was born in 1837.
Maria Hidler died when Ellis was 10 years old. It was a traumatic experience for the young boy. He went to Speetel to live with an uncle who ran a shoe making workshop. Ellis learnt shoe making but it did not interest him. He wanted to get away from the smell of the leather. So, he managed to get a civilian job at the age of 23. For 33 years he served there and retired at the age of 56. He bought a farm outside ‘Leembaunch’ town of Austria and became a farmer.
Incidentally, Ellis Hidler (or Hitler) had married thrice during the course of his life as a civil servant. The first was in 1864 when he was four years into the service. The girl was Anna Glaus Hokar. She mostly remained bed ridden as sick. Anna bore no child. After being the wife of Ellis for 18 years she died in 1882. In the same year he married Fanzisca Mezilberger who gave birth to a son and daughter.
One year after bearing the daughter she died.
Ellis married for the third time. The third wife was Clara Paulzie, 23 year younger to Ellis Hitler. It was Clara who gave birth to Adolf Hitler, her third child. She had born two more babies before Adolf but they did not survive. Seven years after bearing Adolf Clara became the mother of a girl child who was christened Paula.
Adolf did not get healthy domestic environment. His father suffered from breathing problems due to damaged lungs. It made him irritable and bad tempered. Ellis had grown a habit of taking out his own frustrations on his wife mostly and sometimes on the children.
So, being at home was no pleasant experience for young Adolf. His dear mother was burdened with taking care of all the children by herself in addition to bearing with the difficult husband. It pained Adolf because he really adored her.
There was also the fact that his elder step brother was no good to him. He would try to bully him. But the step sister Angela was sweet on him which was a big relief. Adolf also loved Angela.
Clara had great hopes in her son Adolf. She would tell him stories of the great men of the past, especially the warriors and the conquerors. From the very childhood Adolf had a special gift of influencing others. This quality later catapulated him to the pinnacle of power.
Schooling of Adolf
In his sixth year of age Adolf was enrolled in the local school. Adolf proved a good student. His memory was sharp and he had a receptive mind. He also was fierce in sports, one who would not easily accept defeat. He would not mind a bit of quarreling with bullies. Accepting unwarranted domination of others was not in his nature. It does not mean that Adolf was quarrelsome. Infact, he was a popular boy who had made quite a band of friends. He loved going out to open spaces to play with other boys.
At home he used to play with his little sister Paula whom he adored. And there was Angela who made him feel wanted and at home.
Even at that early age Adolf had begun setting goals of his life. One thing was clear in his mind that he would not follow in the footsteps of his father. He did not want to waste his life as a government servant, a nine to five beast of burden. Even a thought of it made him shudder.
In school itself his leadership qualities became evident as his natural talent of influencing others fructified. Other boys and girls listened to his small speeches with great interest.
It was not merely a childish banter.
Young Adolf had something serious to convey. One day, he was going through the pile of books his father had gathered over the years. Adolf was looking for something worth reading. He was a little academic boy. In the primary classes he stood first in exams. And his interest was not limited too the fairy tales. He found a book related to 1870-71 French-German rivalries and battles.
Adolf studied the book with great interest. He had noticed that Germans existed as people who lived aimlessly having no racial or nationalist pride. The German identity did not count. They were like a lost tribe. It pained Adolf.
The book raised several questions in his mind. Why in the French-German wars all the Saxon (Germanic) people did not take part? Why his father and other Germans of Austria did not go to the aid of their brethren? What apathy kept them back? Why Germans did not stand by one another? What was ailing the German society?
He read the details of the wars and he wanted to know more to find the answers to his questions. Infact at that time the German Empire was divided in two. The first was Austria and the other was Hungary. Hebzburg dynasty ruled the floating blocks of the German empire it had little control over.
Young Adolf wanted to know the reason of this drift of the Germans and their sullen nature. What was making them so despondent? He asked several people about it. He discussed the matter even with some of his teachers but the replies he got could not satisfy him or convince him. But nevertheless he had to accept those views because that had the official and academic approval of being the correct answers.
Adolf decided to find the real reasons for his own satisfaction.
In his spare time Adolf used to go to the church of Lumbanch to take part in singing in church choir. Abbot was his human ideal. The interest in singing revealed his artistic bend of mind.
