What We Did Not Know About Hitler

Hitler was not an anti-jew until after WW1 (1918) and up until then he was indifferent about them. Hitler's book, Mein Kampf (1925), notes how he was twice decorated in WW1 for being a messenger runner through machine gun fire and was blinded for a time by poison gas.  This put him in hospital until the end of the war and when heard the war had ended, he cried. In his book, he blamed the defeat on the Jews and Commies. With the war gone, Hitler stayed in the army and was stationed in Bavaria where he had to contain left-wingers, even though, for a short time he was a member of the Bavarian Soviet Republic! His superiors soon used this and him to attend meetings and inform the army's propaganda unit. He also did the same for the German Worker's Party, which ironically, would be renamed the National Socialist German Worker's Party. As time went on, he greatly liked their spin on hypernationalism and anti-Jew. It was during this time he first realized just how good of an orator he could be. The year was 1922.

Most of Hitler's war buddies from WW1 did not like him. Hitler served most of WW1 as a lowly corporal and never was promoted, odd for someone who had received two Iron crosses for bravery. Research shows that Hitler actually did not get messages through in dangerous situations but he lived much farther from the front being a regimental runner. The soldiers along the front called those like Hitler, "rear pigs" because their gig was cushy and fairly safe. Hitler did receive two medals for bravery because, well, German officers had to hand them out on a quota basis and unless you pissed off your commanding officer, you were put on the list.

Hitler received his medals from a Jewish officer in WW1, Hugo Gutmann. Hitler did not seem to care when he came to power in the 30's. Hugo saw the writing on the wall and emigrated to the USA. Hitler was far more just an opportunist than most think. He made up things, like some of his past, as it came up. Hitler did sell his art as an aspiring painter before WW1 on the corner of Siebensterstrasse in Vienna, but was not the famous "Van Gogh" as he had hoped to be. When it rained, he would gather his material and dash into a nearby shop owned by some Jews and be given a free cup of tea. Yet, 20 years later, Hitler, no doubt sent them to their death.

Hitler, it seems, failed at something he longed to do, to be a famous artist. The war came and was forced to serve and luckily survived. After it, he got mixed up in some commie groups and reported back to his superiors, while being mesmerized by what they offered. When it was his time to address the small group, he only then became aware how, as an orator, he was quite successful. This was perhaps his first taste of real success at something in life. He, no doubt, felt like a movie star or celebrity within the small movement in 1921-22. So, for the next 10 years, he honed in his skill, just like great actors, until he mastered it and the German people bought into him and what they felt Germany needed. He received his "oscar" when he became Germany's leader in the early 30's.

The rest is history.