Question

How did Hitler go from wanting to be an artist to commanding the Holocaust?

Answer 1

It's a long story, but the short answer is that he wasn't a very successful artist prior to WW1 and was actually homeless for a time, doing odd jobs to make ends meet. After the war, he remained in the army and became part of their intelligence operations.

The military asked him to spy on the German Worker's Party (the DAP, which would eventually become the NSDAP, or the Nazi Party) to keep tabs on their activities, but eventually Hitler liked what they were saying and began participating more and more, voicing his own views and eventually taking control. He (and a number of other like-minded Germans at the time) had also spread anti-Semitism around as a convenient scapegoat.

At first, he thought that only through violence could the Nazis achieve power. That was the so-called "Beer Hall Putsch" in which he tried to incite an overthrow of the current government. It failed. He was brought to trial and he used it as a pulpit which swayed the judges into sentencing him to a prison term instead of a firing squad. Reporters also reprinted his speech which garnered sympathetic ears from beyond the court room.

In prison, and with help from Rudolph Hess, he wrote his book "Mein Kampf" which wasn't a huge seller. But he also changed his tactics when he was released. Instead of violent revolt, he instead decided to use politics to get his way. After awhile, the Nazis garnered enough votes to get into government, elect him Chancellor, and through more political maneuvering (and hidden threats thanks to a personal army of brownshirts), eventually became Fuhrer. The people were desperate, they wanted answers, and Hitler with his party mates seemed to offer everything they wanted.

As for his anti-Semitism, a large number of historians believe that the seeds were sown early on as he struggled to make a living. They note that Hitler gravitated towards writers and speakers who mixed extreme anti-Semitic views in with their politics prior to the war. Others believe that it became hardened within him after the war, buying into the blame of its loss on Jewish financiers and their cohorts which only became worse in the following years.

And Mein Kampf would go on to become a huge bestseller in Germany shortly afterward.

That's pretty much the super-summarized, 10,000 foot view. You can find the details elsewhere on the 'net with a little searching, but that's the stuff off the top of my head. The rest, as they say, is history.

It's interesting to think of how things might have turned out if Hitler became the successful artist/architect that he wanted to be, that if Vienna had accepted him before WW1 how things might have turned out differently. There's even a 2002 film called "Max" (starring John Cusack as Max) asks this question in a fictional story.

Answer 2

I've always been curious, thanks, this explains a lot! You know, I've always wondered what things would have turned out like if he hadn't been abused by his drunkard father as a kid. Even if he had been a successful artist, he would have still had the rage inside of him. Just how would he have expressed it through art instead of getting into politics?

Answer 3

Glad to help!

It's a great question to ask as it's also been something that many others have been wondering, including me.

It's entirely possible that he could have found some success in art if he found a way to channel his rage into that instead of against people, particularly the Jews. Even today, lots of artists draw their inspiration from things in their own lives and deal with it through their work. As one recent example, there's a PS3 game called Papo Y Yo whose designer based on his childhood memories of an abusive and alcoholic father as seen through imaginary animals and fiction. Or in music. I'm sure lots of people can probably point to musical artists whose lives growing up weren't all roses until they were discovered and hit the big time.

The same question could also be asked about Stalin: he also had an abusive father and rough childhood growing up. How much influence did it play into his role as dictator of the Soviet Union which led to the deaths of millions of countrymen purged on his orders?