ABSTRACT
It has been commonplac~ to search Hitler's early life for clues to the man as dictator. Hitler indulged in this himself when giving accounts of the formative influences upon his character and outlook, although there is as much fiction as fact in his autobiographical writing. Until his active involvement in politics in 1919 (Fig. 1.1), at the age of almost 30, two influences stand out as worthy of mention. Firstly, there were the years he spent in Vienna before the First World War - as a wanderer without permanent employment or trade. It was here that Hitler acquired the basic elements of what was to become his political ideology: nationalist, panGerman, anti-semitic, anti-marxist. They were derived from a combination of personal contacts and reading, typically devoid of any critical appraisal, and subsequently pursued with maniacal fervour. Secondly, there were the years Hitler spent in the German army during the First World War. In the view of many commentators, the discipline of war and the general order of military existence helped Hitler to translate his political ideas and dreamings into realistic, practical goals. The military model was to become the operational model for National Socialism.
