Hitler's Youth
So, just in case you didn't know.
I've been learning German, so that I can read Mein Kampf in it's native language. I don't really trust translations due to the amount of interpretation of the translator involved. I don't really care too much about the actual war Hitler, more what drives a man to behave and believe as he did.
My initial thoughts - He had a pretty poor relationship with his father. Dad was an alcoholic who would beat him at a whim. He did, however, have a close relationship with his mother, despite her lack of protection. This was at the turn of the century, so it is probably more understandable in that context. There have been many studies of when the young Adolf became anti-Semitic, I'm not entirely sure it's been convincingly proven though. It is said that during his late childhood in Austria (He moved to Linz with his mother, after the death of his father and on to Vienna shortly after to go to some for of classical art college) there was a strong anti Jew feeling, and it was thought that he developed his pathological leanings at this point. This is somewhat disproved by the discovery in his own documents that describe a relationship with a girl at this time. It is a strange relationship in that there was no contact between Adolf and a young lady who was some society persons daughter. He did, however, fall completely and totally in love with this girl and continued his infatuation for a number of years prior to moving to Vienna. At this point he sent her a note declaring his love and asking her to wait for him to return so he could marry her. (Slight sidenote - she is on record as saying she had no idea who the note was from when she received it - unrequited love indeed.). The pertinent point of this is that the girl was clearly, through bloodline and obvious name, Jewish. So, perhaps elsewhere needs to be looked at for the beginnings of his sentiments.
The young Hitler was brought up in schools which had a relatively strong German connection, and he developed an obsession with the history, both real and fable, of the Germanic culture. He was pictured at the rallies after the assassination of the Austrian bloke with a look of demonic excitement at the prospect of war. He was accepted into the German army shortly after, which gave him great pride. He has described his role during the first world war as being a 'frontline fighter, involved in hand-to-hand combat with his fellow man'. This is far from the truth. He was actually a dispatch rider, delivering notes behind the front lines. Still a dangerous job of course, but not one that would be respected by actual infantry veterans if made public during his political career.
He was injured in a gas attack at one point, where he was sent to a hospital in Berlin for treatment. While here, he was disgusted by the defeatist attitude of everyday Germans, and the lengths people, especially Jews, would go to in order to avoid being sent back to the front. There is some belief that this is the seed of his anti-semantic feelings.
So, was he a poof then?
There isn't actually any evidence to prove this, although there are some (boring) pointers which suggest this might be the case. Hearing evidence from housekeepers that there was never any evidence of sexual relations with Eva Braun, even though they spent a lot of time together at Hitler's retreat, it would appear that he may actual have been completely celibate.
I'll knock this on the head now.