#Unknown Hitler

Hitler’s dream was to be an artist

A far cry from the life he ended up leading, but Adolf Hitler had dreamed of becoming an artist early on in life.

In both 1907 and 1908 he applied to the Vienna Academy of Art but was turned down on both occasions. Towards the end of 1908, not long after his second application had been rejected, his mother Klara died after suffering from breast cancer.

This was something which Adolf Hitler struggled to deal with, and he spent four years on the streets of Vienna, using his artistic skills to get by as he attempted to sell his artwork to passers-by.

#Unknown Hitler

He sustained serious injuries during World War I

He is so heavily associated with World War II that we don’t often stop to think about Hitler’s association with the First World War as well.

In a bid to avoid joining the Austrian military, he fled to Germany but ended up fighting there for the German army instead. In 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, he was wounded by shrapnel and spent several weeks in hospital.

Furthermore, he survived a mustard gas attack in 1918 but partially lost his sight and spent a long time trying to fully recover from both these injuries.

#Unknown Hitler

Adolf Hitler wasn’t born in Germany

Since we associate Hitler with his leadership of Germany during the Second World War and the way which he fought so adamantly for the “pure bred” German people, it’s easy to think without consideration that he himself was born in Germany.

However, he was actually born in Austria to an Austrian couple – father Alois Hitler and mother Klara Hitler. Born on April 20th, 1889, Adolf had five other siblings, although four of them died before making it to adulthood.