Impassioned
Hitler left Vienna in May 1913, crossing the German border to Munich. He sold a few drawings and earned enough money to rent a room at a tailor�s family house. Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in June, sparking off World War I. Hitler rejoiced with an elated crowd in Munich�s Odeonplatz, realizing a chance for Germany to fight for her own existence. He volunteered for the German army and after ten weeks, was on the battle lines in France. He was wounded twice and awarded two medals, one of which he wore for the rest of his life: the Iron Cross First Class, awarded often to officers. A month before the war ended in November 1918, Hitler was nearly blinded in a gas attack. While recuperating in a hospital near Berlin, an army chaplain told him Germany had signed an armistice with the Allies. Anguished, Hitler felt Germany had not been defeated but betrayed by the generals and politicians � namely the Jews, and vowed to enter politics. |
