Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 at Braunau am Inn, Austria, a small town in Upper Austria, on the border with Germany. He was the third son and the fourth of six children of Alois Hitler (born Schicklgruber) (1837–1903), a minor customs official, and Klara Pölzl (1860–1907), his second cousin, and third wife.*
Because of his father's profession, Hitler's family moved frequently, from Braunau to Passau, Lambach, Leonding, and Linz. As a young child, Hitler was reportedly a good student at the various elementary schools he attended; however, in sixth grade (1900–1), his first year of high school (Realschule) in Linz, he failed completely and had to repeat the grade. His teachers reported that he had "no desire to work."
Hitler later explained this educational slump as a kind of rebellion against his father Alois, who wanted the boy to follow him in a career as a customs official, although Adolf wanted to become a painter. This explanation is further supported by Hitler's later description of himself as a misunderstood artist. However, after Alois died on January 3, 1903, when Adolf was 13, Hitler's schoolwork did not improve. At the age of 16, Hitler left school with no qualifications.
From 1905 onward, Hitler was able to live the life of a Bohemian on a fatherless child's pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (1907 – 1908) due to "unfitness for painting", and was told his abilities lay rather in the field of architecture. His own memoirs reflect a fascination with the subject.
Hitler saw active service in France and Belgium as a messenger for the regimental headquarters of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment (also called Regiment List after its first commander), which exposed him to enemy fire. Unlike his fellow soldiers, Hitler reportedly never complained about the food or hard conditions, preferring to talk about art or history. He also drew some cartoons and instructional drawings for the army newspaper. His behaviour as a soldier was considered somewhat sloppy, but his regular duties required taking dispatches to and from fighting areas and he was twice decorated for his performance of these duties. He received the Iron Cross, Second Class in December 1914 and the Iron Cross, First Class in August 1918. Hitler was considered a "correct" soldier but was reportedly unpopular with his comrades because of an uncritical attitude toward officers. "Respect the superior, don't contradict anybody, obey blindly," he said, describing his attitude while on trial in 1924.
But none of this matters, because Hitler is dead. He probably died at some point in 1933 or 1934, or maybe earlier. I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. He's dead. And dead people don't rule anything. At least not very easily.
Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-AAR
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From Wikipedia. I don't care if it's accurate or not!
Adenauer consolidates the Federal Republic of Germany
By 1936, Konrad Adenauer, the Grand Old Man of the Centre Party, had risen to the fore of German politics. With Germany mired in a deep depression, and much of Europe succumbing to the power of reactionary dictatorships or wild-eyed socialist demagogues, Adenauer instead argued that if Germany was to recover economically and morally, the best path for it to take would be to limit government interference in the economy, to eschew political radicalism, and to seek a peaceful re-unification with Austria and the other German lands denied to it by the vengeful Treaty of Versailles. He vowed to lead Germany into a brighter future, and in so doing, provide an inspiration for the rest of the planet to follow.
Yes, Germany had been defeated in The Great War, but that defeat came not on the battlefield. It came instead from the heart of the nation and of its people. The nation had been corrupted, seduced, by the madness of war and the demands of a military clique that had seized power, destroyed any fabric of democracy that may have existed in Germany at the time.
Dead Hitler perk #237
However, he cautioned his supporters not to be willing to drop their guard, for the world was still a very dangerous place, potentially more dangerous than at any previous period in human history. Dictators ruled much of Eastern Europe, whole races were kept in brutal subjugation by the British, French, and other so-called "democracies". And worst of all, a true human nightmare was taking place in the lands former known as Russia. To even speak of the Soviet dystopia would be to make liberty herself weep. The Soviet "experiment" represented the culmination of socialism, and the starkest warning of its ultimate unfeasibility. Germany, he warned, would have to remain vigilant and strong if it was to preserve itself and the well-being of its people from the dangers still lurking in this troubled world.
To that end, Adenauer sought to turn the German nation - the Greater German nation - into a model for all the world's peoples to aspire to. A land where its citizens were free to live, act, communicate, and conduct business however they desired, with no government interfering with their God-given free will. He was aware that if he was ever to unify Germany and safeguard its future, he would need to ensure that any potential threats were eliminated. Preferably peacefully. Though he was not so naive.
Germany would need a military if she was to protect herself and others, and Adenauer himself would have to bear responsibility for seeing to it that Germany's efforts to protect her people would not end up costing it its very soul, as it had done two decade previously, and as it was threatening to do so for most of the nations on Earth.
Adenauer's plans for the future of the German Navy
His first priority was to see to it that Germany's military be kept reasonably efficient. The economy was still struggling, even though it was on the right path, so a small, modern military was best. Mindful of the Kaiser's ludicrously expensive naval arms race, the one that led merely to a single pointless battle and to a fleet of ships surrendered or scuttled once the nation had collapsed, he sought to abandon any pretentions of building a great blue-water surface fleet to rival Britain's.
Adenauer was greatly intrigued at the arguments put forth by a young U-Boot captain, Karl Dönitz, for a large fleet of submarines that could, in times of war, be used to cripple the war efforts of any future enemies without requiring the construction of those ghastly behemoth dreadnoughts. Dönitz' plan relied instead on small, efficient, and, above all, cheap ships. Quickly, Adenauer granted Dönitz his blessing to investigate the future of such technology.