German Army Into The Soviet Union example essay topic

Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany, he was the instigator of World War II and attempted to exterminate European Jews, also known as the Holocaust. Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, in Austria, on April 20, 1889, he was the third son of Alois and Klara Hitler. The family moved around a lot, including to Linz, Lending and other places. Hitler did good in school at the beginning, but his marks got worse as time went on. His father died when he was 14, his mother when he was 18. He tried twice to enter the Academy for Art in Vienna, but was rejected both times.

Between 1909 and 1913, he lived in Vienna. There is controversy as to whether he was poor there. He moved to Munich in 1913, and was still there when World War I broke out in August 1914. Hitler enlisted in the German army and awarded for bravery twice. During this time, he served as an intelligence agent for the military authorities, in the course of which he attended a meeting of the tiny German Workers Party in 1919. He later joined the party, became its leader and changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party, later called the Nazi Party.

In 1920, the 25 Points of the Nazi Party were proclaimed, one of which called for the removal of the Jews from German society. The Nazis tried to seize power by force in November 1923 but were thwarted by the Munich police. Hitler was convicted of high treason and sentenced to prison, where he served about a year. During that time, he began to write "My Struggle', which later became the second Bible in Nazi Germany. Hitler resolved to achieve power legally, and after a series of events, was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President von Hindenburg on January 30, 1933. In My Struggle, he had written of the need for this "living space' which he said could only be acquired at the expense of countries to the east, highly Russia.

In 1938, by a series of intrigues, Germany annexed Austria and the Sudeten portion of Czechoslovakia, and in 1939, occupied the remainder of Czechoslovakia. During this time, Hitler equipped a series of measures designed to eliminate the Jews from German life. Among these were rules as to where they could live, prohibition of marriage and other relations between Germans and Jews, economic restriction and many others. Jews were harassed, attacked, beaten and also persecuted. Many were jailed in concentration camps under "protective custody' orders. There they were beaten, abused and frequently murdered.

World War II began in September 1939 with the German attack on Poland. By mid-1940, Germany had conquered Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France, and had Britain at its mercy. At this time, Hitler began to think about attacking the Soviet Union, with which he had concluded a non-aggression pact just before the outbreak of the war. His motivation was both to acquire the "living space' he had talked about in "My Struggle' and to exterminate Communism. The attack took place in June 1941. It was roughly at this time that Hitler ordered the killing of the Jews, which the Nazis called "the Final Solution'.

There is some debate as to exactly when the order was given, but most experts it was in 1941. In any event, at the same time as the invasion of the Soviet Union, Einsatzgruppen followed the German Army into the Soviet Union and began to shoot Jews, men, women and children. Starting in late 1941, stationary killing centers were set up in various locations, where Jews were gassed with hydrogen cyanide or carbon monoxide. By the end of the war, approximately 6 million Jews had been shot, gassed, or worked to death. The fortunes of war turned against Germany at the end of 1942 and it was all downhill from then until the end of the war in 1945. Nonetheless, the killing of the Jews continued right up to the final days.

With Soviet forces approaching the underground bunker in Berlin where he had been holed up since early 1945, Hitler committed suicide.