Adolf Hitler was born to Alois and Klara Hitler on April 20, 1889 in Braunau, Austria. Hitler had shown his intellectual potential, his leadership qualities and his ability to become popular with his students in elementary school. High school was much more difficult for Adolf and he began to lose interest in participating in school. Adolf was then asked to repeat a year, but he decided to abandon his studies at the age of 15. At the age of 18, Adolf moved to Vienna with the money he had inherited after the death of his father, who died in 1903, in order to pursue a career in art, his best subject at school. His applications to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and the School of Architecture were rejected. After Adolf's rejection at both schools, he became interested in politics and was impressed by the Christian Socialist party. Adolf had volunteered to fight for the German army in World War I, where he began his military career. Hitler began his military career by joining the German army, where he received the rank of corporal due to his distinctions as a dispatcher. Hitler had won several awards for his bravery, including the Iron Cross First Class. In October 1918, Hitler was blinded by a mustard gas attack and was hospitalized to recover from his injuries. During Hitler's stay in the hospital, Germany had surrendered and he had fallen into a state of depression. In 1919, Hitler attended his first meeting of the German Workers' Party as a spy for the German army, but found that he was constrained by their ideas. Hitler found that he agreed with Anton Drexler's views on German nationalism and anti-Semitism. However, Hitler disagreed with the way the party was organized, leading him to deliver an impassioned speech. Hitler won...... middle of paper ...... port/hitler-becomes-chancellor/#.U2MghhBdWSo>."Liberation of the Nazi camps." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. June 10, 2013. United States Holocaust Memorial Council. April 30, 2014. “Nazi Rule.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council. April 30, 2014. Sheffield, Gary. “The fall of France”. BBC News. BBC. April 30, 2014. Weber, Mark. “Historical Review Institute”. How Hitler Fought Unemployment. 01 May 2014. "Why Germany Really Lost World War II | EUTimes.net." The RSS of the European Union. EU Times. May 2 2014 .