-he was the son of a border customs clerk and a housemaid
-as a teenager, he began to develop a artistic talent
-at age 14 his father died
-when he turned 16 he dropped out of high school
-at age 17 he applied for the Vienna academy of fine arts but was rejected
-when he was 18 his mother got cancer
-She was treated by a Jewish doctor, but even costly and painful treatments couldn't save her, and she died
-He returned to Vienna and quickly became broke
-slept in bars and shelters for the homeless
-His attempts at becoming a painter didnt work
-He had two Jewish friends there.
-In his poor six years in Vienna Hitler developed his strong hate to jews because of the anti-semitism that he was so used to.
-was exposed to the idea of anti_Jewish legislation
-He also discovered his remarkable talent of speech
-At age 24, still penniless hitler left Vienna and crossed the border to Germany in order to avoid military service in the austrian army. He was arrested and brought back to Austria, but was then found to be "unfit, too weak, unable to bear arms". Given his later military service abd bravery in combat, its obvious that he successfully played a false figure in order to escape a peacetime military service he wanted to avoid.
- when the fragile european balance of power exploded a year into World War One, Hitlers german patriotism was ignited, and he decided to join the military. Because of the previous incident of the Austrian army, he returned to Germany and volunteered there.
-After a short training, his unit was sent to the bloody static battlefield in the trenches of the western front, and fought mainly againest british forces. He fought bravely and narrowly escaped death several times and was decorated twice with the iron cross metal, but not promoted.
- He was wounded twice in battle, in his second injury he was temporarily blinded. during his recovery of his second injury, still blinded, in a miltary hospital he was surprized and shocked of the news that the war had ended with a German defeat.
-eventually the new german government signed the peace treaty which involved loss of territory, a severe economical burden of compensations, and severe limitations on the German's military size and equipment.
-Hitler finnaly recovered from his injury and still offically a soldier, joined a para-military militia of war veterans who clashed with communists in the streets of german cities.
-He was then given the task of closely monitoring a tiny right wing political group called 'German worker's party'