Adolf Hitler: A Tragic Hero

Adolf Hitler wasn’t always a horrible person. He wasn’t always torturing innocent victims. He was once a victim himself. Traumatic experiences in his adolescence life led him to become such a careless dictator. Hitler experienced a few losses that could have contributed to his personality. According to Kershaw, Alois Jr. (Adolf’s half-brother) left home in 1896, when Adolf was only seven years old. The reason for him leaving was supposedly because of a violent altercation between Alois Sr. and himself. Edmund was one of Adolf’s siblings who died of measles when Adolf was only eleven years old. Alois Sr. wasn’t a great father figure to his family nor Adolf. “Often drunk, Alois repeatedly beat Adolf.” (Colley). “Adolf’s older brother (Alois Jr.) got the majority of the beatings, but when he ran away from home, ‘Adolf became the target of his father’s hostility, which was more intense than ever…’.” (Thomson). Even though he was an abusive father, his mother Klara would often try to protect him from these beatings. According to Krysia Diver who quoted Dr. Ryback: "She goes up to the attic, covers Adolf who is lying on the floor, but cannot deflect the father's final blow. Without a sound she absorbs it."

“One effect of this on Adolf Hitler is that he began to bully his sister, which took the form of hitting her, just as he was hit by his father.” (Hoiser). Adolf’s sister Paula had a journal that included her childhood memories. When she was eight and Adolf was 15 she wrote, "Once again I feel my brother's loose hand across my face." which was quoted by Kryisa Diver. According to Swiss psychoanalyst, Alice Miller,” the unconscious rage they feel against their parents constantly fizzes beneath the surface looking for an outlet. This outlet takes the form of displacement (the redirecting of one’s rage onto innocent victims)”. So this may be the reason he was such a ruthless