Hitler's past

[war_dog2]

I suspect that Hitler like many politicians of the day reached a certain position where his past need not be mentioned, He did however celebrate the 1923 Munich Beer Hall putsch with great pride. However history records him acting cowardly on this occasion.

Regards/ Eddie

[Mike K.]

He did scramble to safety when the police fired a volley of shots, but Ludendorff was the only one not to hit the ground (walking straight towards them instead).

[Dan]

That's good info. I think I remember reading that, but do you have a source handy? If not, later will be fine.

Regards

[Mike K.]

To reach the War Ministry and free Roehm, Hitler and Ludendorff now led their column through the narrow Residenzstrasse, which, just beyond the Feldherrnhalle, opens out into spacious Odeonsplatz. At the end of the gullylike street a detachment of police about one hundred strong, armed with carbines, blocked the way. They were in a strategic spot and this time they did not give way.

But once again the Nazis tried to talk their way through. One of them, the faithful bodyguard Ulrich Graf, stepped forward and cried out to the police officer in charge, "Don't shoot! His Excellency Ludendorff is coming!" Even at his crucial, perilous moment, a German revolutionary, even an old amateur wrestler and professional bouncer, remembered to give a gentleman his proper title. Hitler added another cry, "Surrender! Surrender!" he called out. But the unknown police officer did not surrender. Apparently Ludendorff's name had no magic sound for him; this was the police, not the Army.

Which side fired first was never established. Each put the blame on the other. One onlooker later testified that Hitler fired the first shot with his revolver. Another thought Streicher did, and more than one Nazi later told this author that it was a deed which, more than any other, endeared him so long to Hitler.

At any rate a shot was fired and in the next instant a volley of shots rang from both sides, spelling in an instant the doom of Hitler's hopes. Sheubner-Richter fell, mortally wounded. Goering went down with a serious wound in his thigh. Within sixty seconds the firing stopped, but the street had already been littered with fallen bodies--sixteen Nazis and three police dead or dying, many more wounded and the rest, including Hitler, clutching the pavement to save their lives.

There was one exception, and had his example been followed, the day might have had a different ending. Ludendorff did not fling himself to the ground. Standing erect and proud in the best soldierly tradition, with his adjutant, Major Streck, at his side, he marched calmly on between the muzzles of the police rifles until he reached Odeonsplatz. He must have seemed a lonely and bizzare figure. Not one Nazi followed him. Not even the supreme leader, Adolf Hitler.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William L. Shirer

[Atlee Brigade]

I read in a Sunday newspaper a few weeks ago that they are about to make a movie about Hitler early life, from when he was a child up until he becomes Chancellor of Germany.
Apparently Robert Carlyle is to play the man himself.
Although Jewish groups are complaining about the production.

[Eightball]

Siege40
I believe Hitler's father is unknown

Adolf Hitlers father was named Alois Schicklgruber-Hitler and worked in the Imperial Customs Service.


World at War - 1 : Münich to Pearl Harbor

[White Leopard]

Here is an item I found being offered for sale on E-Bay. It is a picture card purporting to show Hitler as a soldier during World War One. The artist clearly does not know what Hitler looked like during 1914-1918 because he paints him as he appeared when he was Fuehrer. I don't know if this is a contempory painting, or a Third Reich propaganda piece. Either way, it is the only artistic effort I have seen attempting to portray Hitler as a common soldier: