Adolf Hitler

Children's Literature

It is interesting to note that Hitler, the supreme leader of Germany, was not German. He was born and raised in Austria. As a teenager in school, besides being lazy and undisciplined, he was considered ill mannered, arrogant and had a bad temper. He decided, at one point, that he was going to be an artist. He attempted to enter the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, one of Europe's finest art schools, but his art was not considered satisfactory so he was not admitted. He did, however, continue to draw and sell his artwork from door to door. At the beginning of World War I, 1914, he failed the physical examination for the Austrian army but somehow managed to get into the German army. After Germany's defeat, which he blamed on the Jews, he was devastated. He began to speak against the Jews and the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I. He found that he was able to rally people to his cause and eventually formed and led the Nazi Party. In a short time he was named Chancellor and then Dictator of Germany. Among the things that he did as Chancellor was to pressure Hindenburg, President of Germany, to pass a law to establish military tribunals, much like what the United States is doing today, to try dissents without legal representation. The author gives a clear, detailed account of the effect that world events had on Hitler and how Hitler shaped world events. For young people the book is an opportunity to study one of the most notorious villains of the 20th century. This is part of the "History's Villains" series. 2002, Blackbirch Press,
— Leila Toledo