The History of WWII Podcast XX
[0] Welcome to True Spies, the podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[1] Suddenly out of the dark, it's a bit in love.
[2] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[3] What do they know?
[4] What are their skills?
[5] And what would you do in their position?
[6] Vengeance felt good seeing these.
[7] People paid for what they'd done, felt righteous.
[8] True Spies, from Spyscape Studios, wherever you get your podcasts.
[9] This episode is brought to you by Audible.
[10] As you know, Audible is the Internet's leading provider of audiobooks.
[11] You can go to my website, worldwar2podcast .net, click on the link, sign up for a free 14 -day trial, and receive a free audiobook.
[12] You can keep the membership or not.
[13] Pick one of the memberships or not, and keep the free audiobook.
[14] This time, I would like to recommend two audiobooks, but to make it easy, they're by the same author, Barbara Tuchman, T -U -C -H -M -A -N.
[15] The first one is the Pulitzer Prize -winning The Guns of August that tells the how and the why and the personalities and the events leading to World War I. The second one is, and I think you'll really enjoy it, The Zimmerman Letter.
[16] It takes place in December of 1917.
[17] The English are capturing and transmitting, translating German messages, and they get one that goes from Berlin to Mexico that basically says, if Mexico and Japan attack America, join us and attack America at the same time, we can all share the spoils of victory.
[18] Of course, the English wastes no time getting that message to America, and it's not long after that the Americans are in the war.
[19] to make sure that nothing like that happens.
[20] So she's a great writer, she's a great historian, and you would like any of her books, and she has several more on Audible.
[21] Please check them out.
[22] Hello, and thank you for listening to A History of World War II, Episode 38, The Long Dark Tunnel.
[23] Last time, Adolf, embarrassed by his being barred from even sitting for the exam again, ran away from the room he shared with his more successful and only friend.
[24] He spent the next nine months at a Felberstrasse address only a few blocks away, but it might as well have been on the other side of the world, as he rarely left his room.
[25] There are no eyewitness accounts of his doing for these nine months, but it's assumed he was alone.
[26] and enjoying not having to face his friend, and therefore his shame.
[27] It's assumed that he read or followed one of the more popular magazines called Ostara, a radical pro -German magazine.
[28] After all, in the future he would espouse very similar hate -filled views, and there was a newsstand right outside his front door.
[29] The paper Ostara was started in 1905 by a former monk known as Jörg Lanz von Liebenfeld.
[30] He later founded an order that used mysticism and symbols to draw people in.
[31] One of the more prominent symbols was the swastika, and it's almost certain Adolf would have seen it as he entered and left his door.
[32] Liebenfeld's order was obsessed with the heroic blonde race pitted against predatory dark men.
[33] The only way to win the struggle was by racial purity on their part and some form of slavery or forced sterilization for the inferior races.
[34] Touching the political dimensions of the order, they called for expunging socialism, democracy, and feminism.
[35] Or simply put, all blue -eyed blonde men should unite and subjugate their women.
[36] The rest of the world was there only to serve them.
[37] By mid -August 1909, Adolf had almost used up all of the money inherited from his mother.
[38] This forced him to settle for the more moderate address of Sexthausenstrasse 58, but even this place was more than he could afford, so he only stayed there a month.
[39] He left it behind on September 16, 1909, but unlike before, he did not give the police a forwarding address as the law demanded.
[40] And the reason was simple.
[41] He did not have an address to give them.
[42] When the weather was fair, he slept out of the open, and when it wasn't, he stayed the night in a cheap hovel.
[43] The only income he had left was the 25 cron in a month from his orphan pay.
[44] But the weather continued to turn colder, and with Christmas of 1909 still a few weeks away, he had to swallow all pride and seek shelter in a house for the homeless in Mendling.
[45] He was 20 years old.
[46] Shy and reticent though he was, it didn't take long to meet others due to proximity.
[47] He was soon acquainted with a Reinhold Hanisch, who fascinated the German -loving Adolf with tales of Berlin.
[48] Hanisch loved to talk, and Adolf certainly was willing to hear the stories of the great German city.
[49] This way, they passed the long, cold nights at the home.
[50] For good or ill, Hanisch, who went by the name Fritz Walter and had a police record of misdemeanors, is the only source of information about Adolf during this period.
[51] The particular hostel they met in only offered a shower, disinfectant of clothes, and a bed, but only for the night.
[52] During the day, all occupants had to leave and, hopefully, look for a job.
[53] When they were turned out in the morning, Adolf and Hanisch would first go to a nearby convent, where nuns gave out soup.
[54] Then they would go look for work.
[55] Hanisch, who was in better physical condition, would shovel snow and sew.
[56] got steady work.
[57] Adolf, who was much weaker and looked wrung out, would offer to carry bags for people walking along the streets.
[58] But with his appearance, it's doubtful he had many takers.
[59] And it wasn't long before Hanisch could see that even keeping up this kind of work was beyond Adolf's ability.
[60] But during their conversations, Hanisch found out enough about Adolf's family to know that this lazy young man had connections.
[61] He had him write home and ask for assistance.
[62] Soon, 50 kronen came to Adolf.
[63] First things first, 9 kronen were spent to buy Adolf a large second -hand coat to help him survive the Austrian winters.
[64] Next, the balance of the money was spent on an idea by Hanisch.
[65] Adolf had told his new friend of his painting abilities and added on that he had even once attended the academy.
[66] This was enough for the more worldly Hanisch.
[67] They bought the needed supplies, and Adolf started painting famous scenes of Vienna.
[68] Hanisch, the smooth talker, would then sell them.
[69] So, with a glimmer of hope in his heart, and a bit of family money in his pocket, Adolf moved again on February 9, 1910, to a slightly better accommodation at the Mannerheim men's home.
[70] As he started painting, he hoped the worst was behind him.
[71] Finally, the isolationist had his own cubicle at night, but he was still required to leave during the day.
[72] When he came back that evening, he had access to a kitchen where the men could prepare themselves meals, lockers for possessions, and other amenities needed for the maintaining of their appearance.
[73] There was also a small library, and next to it was a small room called the workroom.
[74] This is where the self -styled intelligentsia gathered or worked on odd jobs like copying text, painting, or writing ads.
[75] Adolf and his new partner set up here as well.
[76] Adolf went to work and soon produced postcard -sized paintings, and Hanisch would snatch them up and sell them to stores, who would then put them in frames to help sell them.
[77] That most of the shop owners were Jewish seemed to mean nothing to Adolf at this time, and he even regarded them as the better businessmen, and certainly more reliable.
[78] Soon things improved for the two men, but maybe a little too well.
[79] Once Adolf had money in his pockets, his efforts slackened.
[80] It seems that Hanisch could sell them faster than Adolf can paint them, and he didn't like being rushed.
[81] The compromise seemed to be that Adolf would simply start copying works of art from the many museums he'd been to.
[82] Back in the reading room, where the men were allowed to stay during the day, it wouldn't take long before the discussions turned to politics, and then to become heated.
[83] Adolf, well -read and assumed he was parceling out superior opinions to those around him, would be unable to help himself and jumped into the fray.
[84] Soon he would lose himself in his thoughts and his ideas, and no one was able to stop him.
[85] It wasn't as if those around him agreed, but they were unable to out -talk or out -shout him.
[86] He tore into the Social Democrats, supported the founders of the radical German party, and praised Karl Luger.
[87] the troublemaking anti -Semitic mayor of Vienna.
[88] He would then bore his listeners about the beauty and perfection of Wagner's music.
[89] These heated debates thrilled Adolf, and he spent less time painting and producing an income for himself and his friend.
[90] In fact, in the spring of 1910, after selling one particular painting himself for a sum larger than normal, he disappeared for a few days, and Hanisch assumed he would never see his partner again.
[91] But, eventually, the money ran out and Adolf took his place by the window again and started painting in the workroom.
[92] Now, Hanisch knew that Adolf was at most a foul -weather friend.
[93] He would stay around and work only as long as he needed to.
[94] But this was nothing compared to the treachery about to take place.
[95] After one of Adolf's...
[96] Rare larger paintings sold in August of 1910 for a larger than expected price.
[97] The excited artist accused his friend and partner of taking more than his normal share.
[98] Instead of settling this amongst themselves, Adolf took the problem to the police.
[99] The situation was quickly cleared up.
[100] Hanisch's name was cleared of any wrongdoing, but he was sentenced to a few days in jail anyway.
[101] Why?
[102] It turns out that he was using an alias and received a light jail term for it.
[103] Adolf, of course, knew this, and it's been asked if that is why he took the unusual step of going to the police, knowing his friend would be caught up in the ensuing investigation.
[104] Of course, this ended the friendship.
[105] Hanisch disappeared after being released, and Adolf went on to spend the next two years in the men's home, painting as needed, and now selling his own work.
[106] Now that he was responsible for his own sales, when he went out, he would try to dress better, and more importantly, conduct himself better.
[107] He had enough self -awareness to get a tight rein on the ideas in his head when conducting business.
[108] And although he was still lazy when he could afford to be, he settled into himself, his routine, and his finances settled as well.
[109] He paid about 12 cron in a month for his sleeping quarters, and his food and other expenses cost him another 30.
[110] But now that he had a steady address, he applied for and started receiving his 25 kronon a month for his orphan status again.
[111] This, combined with the 70 or so that he earned each month from his paintings, improved his lot substantially.
[112] But, of course, he had to work for it.
[113] Still, what free time he had was invariably spent in the reading room, participating in the discussions that always turned to politics.
[114] Most of his listeners did not agree with him, but that mattered little.
[115] A break seemed to come Adolf's way when his Aunt Johanna died on March 21, 1911.
[116] She left him and him out somewhere between 1 ,000 and 3 ,000 Cronin.
[117] But either way, his life was about to improve.
[118] Unfortunately, the Cronin never made it into his hands.
[119] And that was because his half -sister, Angela Rabau, a widow with three children of her own, while raising Adolf's full sister, 15 -year -old Paula, also got a share of the inheritance.
[120] but she petitioned the court to claim Adolf's part.
[121] The court decided for Angela on the lump sum, but also on the yearly 300 kronon Adolf was to receive as well.
[122] This was made official on May 4, 1911, but there was still one more blow for the financially strapped Adolf to endure.
[123] While the court was gathering information, his orphan allotment was discovered and taken away as well.
[124] Certainly, this loss of income was a blow to Adolf, but overall, he seemed to take it in surprisingly good stride, and continued on with his life as before.
[125] Of course, it did not help him think any better of his sister Paula.
[126] Still, with the type of wandering mind Adolf possessed, the rigidity of the men's home suited him, and he continued to paint, sell, read books and newspapers, and interject himself into the daily discussions in the workroom.
[127] He was protected from the elements, and fortunately, with his lack of life skills from the world.
[128] For now, Adolf had found himself.
[129] His routine was the following.
[130] He would exit the cubicle by 9 a .m. and make for the basement where a simple breakfast was waiting for him.
[131] Afterward, he would head to the reading room and devour any newspapers he could find.
[132] Then he would head for the workroom and paint his postcards by the window.
[133] And although wielded to this routine, the Adolf the world would one day fear was there.
[134] just under the surface.
[135] While painting, he would suddenly burst into an angry monologue against Germany's enemies.
[136] But after a while, if he found no one was listening to him, he was witness to simply stop screaming and suddenly begin painting again.
[137] So Adolf would paint, but only because he had to.
[138] He had no other life skills, and it was his only way to survive.
[139] but his mind was already sailing exorbitantly towards its natural harbor of politics.
[140] However, the ideas that he appreciated the most were those already shunned by the majority of any conscientious German -speaking people.
[141] The ideas of the more radical extreme Pan -Germans were falling away, despite Adolf and others still holding fast to their tenets.
[142] That was certainly the case with the leading idea that a German Reich would one day dominate Europe.
[143] by incorporating Austria, much of Poland, Bohemia, Switzerland, and northern Italy.
[144] But Adolf would one day make it a reality.
[145] But it wasn't only politics that engrossed him.
[146] He, with his helpless situation, thought of and craved power.
[147] So it's not surprising that he also dabbled in the half -sciences and the cults, and mixed them with the idea of the Aryan race dominating the inferior ape -like races of the Jews and Slavs.
[148] Of course, ideas like these rarely have a determined course to fulfill their agenda, mostly because they are created and sustained in an uncertain mix of jealousy and hate for those better off.
[149] So the real question is, how much did these ideas influence the young and shallow Adolf versus what he already thought of the larger world?
[150] His extreme political views certainly did not help him win any new friends at the men's home, and his erratic, intense temperament didn't help either.
[151] He had no social graces, and even at this point had a harder time controlling his hatred of the Jewish shop owners.
[152] To him, they couldn't or wouldn't hide the pity they felt for him as he sold them his little paintings.
[153] But it could have simply been jealousy on his part.
[154] After all, they were successful businessmen, and while he lived in a home and had to work to survive, and their lives, more than his, resembled his numerous visions of comfort and success.
[155] And even though a man with his peculiar lack of life skills needed the structure of the men's home, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.
[156] Besides his fantasies, he had his very real pride.
[157] So the months went by, adhering to this schedule, that allowed him to survive.
[158] But it seemed that his glory was perhaps a fantasy after all.
[159] Never an upbeat person, Adolf's negative thoughts turned into a deep depression.
[160] His temper frayed more easily now, he grew more sullen, and days went by without him painting.
[161] Of course, this made his overall situation even more desperate.
[162] Any chance of snapping himself out of this funk was made harder by the idea of surviving another long, cold winter in the fall of 1912 at the men's home.
[163] He had been there for three years and had even less to show for it than he did a year ago.
[164] He desperately needed a change or feared he would go mad.
[165] At this time, Adolf's half -brother, Alois Jr., had lived much better.
[166] He was easygoing, forgave quickly, and found it easy to travel and work in France and Britain.
[167] In 1912, he was in Liverpool and in love.
[168] Surely his relaxed ways had helped him to meet and win over Bridget Dowling.
[169] Also unlike his brother, he had worked hard and saved prudently.
[170] Using his savings, he opened up a restaurant on the busy Dale Street in Liverpool.
[171] Bridget was much like her mate and they were married in London on June 3, 1910.
[172] By March of the following year, 1911, Alois Jr. had become restless, much like his father, and sold his restaurant.
[173] He spent his time looking for a get -rich -quick scheme and decided that selling safety razors was the coming thing.
[174] He sold the razors for a while in his area, but then thought about expanding to the continent.
[175] So he contacted his full -blooded sister, Angela Rabau, in the fall of 1912, and sent her a ticket to come talk to him about his enterprise.
[176] She replied in the affirmative to his request that November.
[177] But as he waited for her at the train station, he was bowled over when his half -brother, Adolf, exited the train instead.
[178] Before Alois Jr. or his wife could ask Adolf how he had come instead of Angela, the shabby...
[179] thin half -brother started whispering conspiratorially to him, but never got a straight answer.
[180] Still, the laid -back couple took Adolf into their home.
[181] True to form, Adolf did not help around the house to repay their kindness.
[182] He slept in late now that he could, but even awake, he stayed on the couch and rested.
[183] From what, the couple could not find out.
[184] But after a few days of rest, and it's certainly possible that Adolf's lack of stamina made him tired, After the trip to Liverpool, he showed signs of life, played with Alois' child, and then had his brother show him around.
[185] They inspected power plants, ships, and anything else mechanical.
[186] Adolf was impressed with what he saw.
[187] Clearly, in maritime possessions, the British led the world.
[188] But overall, Adolf's personality warmed only a little while in his brother's house, and soon he was being encouraged to make his own way in the world.
[189] Clearly, Alois did not know his half -brother.
[190] Adolf would easily deflect this passive request by saying his English and therefore his prospects were limited.
[191] He needed more time, but he never really learned to speak any more than a few words of English.
[192] Christmas of that year came and went, and Adolf was still sleeping on the couch.
[193] But Alois had to get on with his life and started focusing again on his razor business with the beginning of the new year.
[194] But fortunately for Bridget, Adolf would be gone for hours as he walked alone and explored Liverpool.
[195] But he would still return that evening when dinner was ready and on the table, and the tension only increased.
[196] At this point, even Adolf took the hint and got his own room at 102 Upper Stanhope Street.
[197] But he failed to get a job, quickly ran out of what money he had, and moved back in with his brother.
[198] By April, Bridget was beyond caring and told her husband he had to choose between her and his brother.
[199] So Adolf was on his way back to Vienna.
[200] His money was gone, but he took back a growing respect for the British and their industrial capacity.
[201] With no other options, he moved back into the Mannerheim on April 20, 1913, and he turned 24 years old.
[202] He still had no purpose in his life and no prospects for finding one.
[203] There's no proof that he drew in Liverpool, and it seems he did not pick up the brush on his return.
[204] While away, the man had not changed.
[205] but Vienna had.
[206] The podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[207] Suddenly out of the dark it's appeared in love.
[208] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[209] What do they know?
[210] What are their skills?
[211] And what would you do in their position?
[212] Vengeance felt good.
[213] Seeing these people pay for what they'd done felt righteous.
[214] True Spies from Spyscape Studios.
[215] Wherever you get your podcasts.
[216] The political tensions within and beyond the country increased as compromise seemed impossible.
[217] Therefore, the authorities took very seriously the reporting of a change of address, as well as a young man signing up for possible military service.
[218] For the last four years, Adolf was supposed to have registered for that military service, but did not.
[219] And after all this time, now that he was back, it wouldn't be long before he had to answer some rather direct questions.
[220] He decided that now was the time to run before inquiries were made.
[221] He simply could not deal with another year at the men's home.
[222] He left Vienna on May 24, 1913 for destination unknown.
[223] But two days later, the police in Munich registered an Adolf Hitler painter -slash -writer as living with Josef Popp of 34 -111 Cecil Heimastrasse.
[224] He was finally in his beloved Germany.
[225] Josef Popp was a tailor by trade, worked hard, and rented out the third floor of his building.
[226] Adolf paid rent for a simple room and settled down, again alone.
[227] He stayed in his room and read books.
[228] But there was only so much money in his possession, and when he met an acquaintance from the Mannerheim, Adolf let him sleep on the couch to help pay rent.
[229] He also did odd jobs for the Popp family to help pay his rent and for food.
[230] Adolf's temporary roommate asked him if he had plans for the future, but the taciturn young man said he didn't have plans, but it didn't matter anyway.
[231] Soon there would be a war and everyone's life would be changed.
[232] With more time available to think, Adolf had drawn on what he had read in newspapers and heard in the workroom and worked out in his head who would fight who and why in the coming battle.
[233] And for the most part, he had it correct.
[234] But he also said openly he would not fight for Austria.
[235] There was no fear in him, but simply disgust for the Habsburgs ruling the country.
[236] But the mandatory registration upon his arrival in Munich had done him in.
[237] On January 12, 1914, he received a summons to report to Linz for military service.
[238] He had to comply, or go to jail, pay a fine, and then do the service anyways.
[239] Clearly he had to think of something.
[240] With the help of a friendly lawyer, he came up with a plan to weaken...
[241] but not beat the summons.
[242] First he wrote that he did not receive the summons in time to be at Linz at the appointed date.
[243] The next step was to go to the Austrian consulate in Munich on January 19th instead of Linz.
[244] He said he simply could not afford the journey.
[245] He then wrote respectfully to the authorities that he was throwing himself on their mercy, and that simply he was an artist, too proud to ask for help, and was much poorer than the records showed.
[246] and finally, despite all of this, he reminded them that he had kept his name clean with the police in Vienna.
[247] He asked that the coming fine be lowered, and he would happily pay it, and only wanted to support the Habsburgs and their monarchy.
[248] The officials were impressed with this serious young man's letter, whose only crime was poverty.
[249] They ordered him to take a physical in Salzburg, which he did on February 5, 1914, and the results were not surprising.
[250] He was found...
[251] unfit for combat.
[252] The authorities were done with him.
[253] The crisis behind him, he returned to his room on the pop's third floor and resumed his life.
[254] He took up painting again, simply because he had to, and seemed destined for a life of genteel poverty.
[255] But events larger than any one person were taking place.
[256] Did war have to come?
[257] Not necessarily, but probably.
[258] And the form it took could have had many variations.
[259] But here's what happened.
[260] In Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, right before 11 a .m. on June 28, 1914, a young Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip fired two shots at the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro -Hungarian throne.
[261] Princip's first shot severed the Archduke's jugular vein.
[262] His second shot mortally wounded the Archduchess.
[263] They were both dead within minutes.
[264] The monarchy of Austria -Hungary used this incident to send a list of demands to Serbia on July 23rd.
[265] Most of the demands were within reason, as in demanding Serbia not support terrorists attacking inside Austria.
[266] But a few other demands were extreme and would have weakened Serbia's independence.
[267] Still, most of the demands were agreed to, especially since Great Britain and Russia urged Serbia to do so.
[268] But then, events started taking on a life of their own, or rather, Each country was anticipating what others would do and therefore acted precipitously.
[269] On July 24th, Germany officially declared support for Austria's position.
[270] On July 25th, Russia began a period of preparing for war and decided that a partial mobilization should start on July 29th.
[271] Also on July 25th, Serbia mobilized its army and agreed to most of the demands.
[272] Still, Austria -Hungary used this as an excuse to break diplomatic relations with Serbia.
[273] Then, Austria goes to the next step and decides not to accept Serbia's limited offer and declares war on July 28th.
[274] Russia orders a mobilization on July 30th.
[275] In response, Austria orders a general mobilization on July 31st.
[276] On that same day, Germany prepares for war.
[277] Kaiser Wilhelm II sends a warning to Russia to halt.
[278] their mobilization.
[279] Also on that day, Britain asks France and Germany to respect the neutrality of Britain.
[280] France agrees, but Germany does not respond.
[281] And on August 1st, France begins to mobilize, and Germany goes into a full mobilization.
[282] Also on August 1st, Germany declares war on Russia.
[283] The next day, on August 2nd, Germany and the Ottoman Empire sign a secret treaty, allying themselves together.
[284] The next day, on August 3rd, Germany demands that France remain neutral.
[285] But France declines this threat.
[286] And so, Germany declares war on France.
[287] Britain offers its full support to France.
[288] On the very next day, Germany invades Belgium, according to the Schlieffen Plan.
[289] And on that same day, August 4th, Britain declares war on Germany.
[290] Austria -Hungary, taking its cue from Germany, declares war on Russia on August 6th.
[291] And finally...
[292] Japan honoring the Anglo -Japanese alliance, declares war on Germany on August 23rd.
[293] All these events must have consumed Adolf's imagination and stirred his German nationalism.
[294] He was still determined not to support the Austro -Hungarian monarchy, and on August 3rd, he petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria to be allowed to join a Bavarian regiment.
[295] Times being what they were, the petition was quickly approved.
[296] At last, his chance had come to prove his love for Germany.
[297] As for Austria, the place of his suffering, it deserved to suffer as well.
[298] It deserved to lose its independence and be absorbed into a greater Germany.
[299] Then the Jews, Slavs, and other non -Germans could be handled appropriately.
[300] The country stumbled closer to war and peace was coming to an end, as was Hitler's loneliness.
[301] Soon he would be called up and the military would provide him with clothes, food, and lodgings.
[302] This he was looking forward to, but he would remain aloof to his fellow soldiers.
[303] By August 16th, he was assigned to the 1st Company of the List Regiment of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry.
[304] For the first two weeks, the List trained in Munich on the exercise plots.
[305] He was drilled, marched, practiced with a bayonet, and learned how to fire a gun.
[306] The regiment then moved to Leckfeld, about 70 miles west of Munich.
[307] and at the confluence of the Leck and Danube rivers on October 8th, Adolf Hitler took the oath to King Ludwig III of Bavaria.
[308] At age 25, Adolf was older than most of the volunteers.
[309] He was happy to be fighting for Germany, but he was still himself, reserved, diffident, not taking to small talk.
[310] But if and when he was asked what he did before the war, he inevitably said he was an architectural painter.
[311] and when he had any free time, he could be seen with his brushes and watercolors.
[312] For whatever reason, his work improved during this time, or rather, his sketches drew out more expression or intensity from him.
[313] His best work had no people in it, but it's still doubtful if even these works would have gotten him into the academy at Vienna.
[314] So his passion for fighting for Germany touched his art, but it also filled him with a zeal for soldiering.
[315] But...
[316] Being a little older than most around him, he knew enough to let his zeal be noticed by officers.
[317] Certainly, he was genuinely brave and therefore promoted, but after becoming a dispatch runner, he sought no further advancement.
[318] Like his solid, structured life in the men's home, Adolf had found something he liked, was good at it, and most importantly, allowed him much freedom.
[319] The exposure to danger was there, but when not dodging bullets, he was his own man and did not have to suffer life in the trenches.
[320] Adolf and the rest of the Liszt regiment's inadequate training ended on October 21st, and they were sent to the front.
[321] The train then took them to Lille in northern France, close to the Belgian border.
[322] That city was captured early by the Germans, but then lost, and on October 12th it had been captured again.
[323] Two weeks later, the excited Adolf got to see the effects of war up close, and didn't like it very much.
[324] Almost every building was touched by war.
[325] Soon they would march to the front.
[326] Adolf and the men with him had missed the great battles of the Marne and the End.
[327] They had missed Antwerp being captured.
[328] At Ypres, in the initial attack, when the Allies tried to turn the German right flank and failed, both sides suffered massive casualties.
[329] Of the 3 ,000 men of the List Regiment, only 500 were still alive.
[330] As a soldier, Adolf was cautious, sensible, and fearless.
[331] In other words, a good soldier.
[332] In February 1915, he wrote a long letter describing his first battle.
[333] The events may or may not have been true, but most certainly, the pages were covered with details and color.
[334] One could even call the descriptions poetic.
[335] Adolf was finally feeling alive.
[336] On December 2, 1914, Adolf won the Iron Cross, second class.
[337] He would go on to collect four more decorations.
[338] In September of 1917, he earned the cross of military merit, third class.
[339] In May 1918, he received the regimental diploma.
[340] And in August 1918, he was awarded the Iron Cross, first class.
[341] Hitler, the politician, would later lie about how he received this high honor.
[342] Supposedly, it was for capturing, single -handedly, 15 Allied soldiers.
[343] But the truth is far more simple.
[344] but it was still an act of daring and required bravery.
[345] In July of 1918, the List's position was being shelled by their own guns to the rear.
[346] They were also under the fire of the British in front of them.
[347] The German guns were supposed to be taking out the British machine guns, but were aimed incorrectly.
[348] First Lieutenant Ugo Guttman told Adolf if he got a message through to stop the German guns, he would personally put up the young man for the Iron Cross for his class.
[349] Adolf agreed, and between the British machine gun fire and German artillery, he dashed his way through, delivered the message, and the German guns were redirected.
[350] But only later, when the story got out, as Hitler became better known, did the apparent uncomfortable fact come to light that Lieutenant Gutmann was Jewish.
[351] Adolf mostly enjoyed the army life and the purpose it gave him, even if it was the day -to -day kind.
[352] The life -consuming purpose would come later.
[353] A fellow dispatch runner, Ignaz Westerkirchner, remembered Adolf as a serious fellow who always followed the rules.
[354] Strangely, he also remembered that Adolf was indifferent to meals, and considering his physical state when he joined the army, this is a very queer but proven fact.
[355] The only exception was bread smothered with jam to be washed down with tea.
[356] The only meal he received was from his lawyer friend Hep, who had helped him, and his landlady, Frau Popp.
[357] After a year and a half into the war, the frustrated British decided to try something else besides a frontal assault.
[358] They began to drop leaflets over the German troops.
[359] The leaflets spoke of the hopelessness of the German struggle.
[360] The men read them and began to grumble about their lot.
[361] Hitler was unimpressed, as a solid soldier should be, but was simultaneously impressed by the results.
[362] He would remember their potency for later.
[363] He also found it strange that the German government did nothing to counteract their influence.
[364] He certainly would have.
[365] He seemed to be always thinking.
[366] The List Regiment kept on fighting, losing men to death or debilitating wounds while collecting more honors.
[367] In the summer of 1915, the List participated in the Battle of the Somme.
[368] The fighting raged from July until autumn, but the battle line barely moved.
[369] The Germans dug themselves in, and the trenches began to grow.
[370] then connect, and then grow some more.
[371] Hitler and the list stayed in the area until October of 1916.
[372] It was then that Hitler received his first wound.
[373] Sitting slightly apart from a dozen men or so, a British shell landed among them.
[374] Four died instantly, six were seriously wounded, and Hitler received a shell splinter in the face.
[375] Then, only days later, on October 7, 1916, Hitler was wounded again, but this time seriously.
[376] He was carrying a message through a British rolling barrage of artillery fire, one that he had volunteered for, when he was hit by a shell fragment in the left thigh.
[377] Within days, he was on his way to Germany to recover.
[378] He had been in action for two years.
[379] He was recovering just outside of Berlin and was taken well care of.
[380] Healing quickly, but still very thin, he was stationed with the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment in Munich.
[381] Theirs was a comparatively lighter duty.
[382] With nothing but time on his hands, Adolf must have considered his appearance, because before this time, his mustache was long and drooped on each side, like many others.
[383] But now, he clipped each end and it resembled what the world would later come to recognize.
[384] But actually, the small square mustache was worn more by English officers than Germans.
[385] Even though his recovery was short, Adolf couldn't stand the defeatist talk of the soldiers around him, and the desire by the public to bring the war to a conclusion.
[386] with or without victory.
[387] Getting over his shock that everyone wasn't as supportive as himself, he couldn't wait to get away from the treasonous talk.
[388] Right before his release, he was able to move around Munich and found that the complaints of rationing and deprivation were the same all over.
[389] It was at this time of disappointing anger towards the people that his hatred of Jews resurfaced.
[390] To one with his political point of view, there was an obvious connection between the Jews and the English.
[391] The English were trying to bring down the Reich from the outside, and the Jews were busy sowing dissent against the central government from the inside.
[392] The English were being held off, but the Jews were certainly succeeding.
[393] Unable to stand their complaints when none of them had seen the front for themselves, he volunteered and rejoined his own regiment on March 1, 1970.
[394] Of course, as a volunteer, he was now in the trenches with the fighting men and found it difficult to ingest.
[395] Living in the trenches meant one thing, rats.
[396] Killing them became an obsession with Adolf, to the point where it drove his fellow soldiers crazy.
[397] The trench warfare continued.
[398] By the summer of 1917, the List Regiment was around Ypres again, but now the lovely villages Adolf admired years ago were gone.
[399] Everything was flat and blackened.
[400] Rubble was everywhere.
[401] As much as they hated the trenches, the gas attacks and the accompanying gas masks, sometimes wearing them for 24 hours at a time, became their new hell.
[402] The British followed up their gas attacks with the bombing of German positions.
[403] And on July 31, 1917, Allied tanks attacked on a broad front.
[404] But then much needed good news came to the front.
[405] The Russians were out of the war.
[406] Lenin, their new leader, had created a new form of government.
[407] But what mattered now was that there was one less front to fight on.
[408] The Italians were pushed back as well.
[409] Things seemed to be inching towards the inevitable German victory promised many years ago.
[410] But then, the Americans came in, and new blood was pitted against the tired Germans in the field.
[411] But that shock was nothing compared to when the German munitions workers went on strike.
[412] To Hitler, his demented view now included the Kaiser, in league with the Jews and the surging Marxists.
[413] The victory that seemed just over the horizon was now gone, and the fight seemed about staving off defeat only.
[414] In March of 1918, the List Regiment was moved again, but this time against the French.
[415] But now, the usual German efficiency broke down.
[416] The men were literally running out of food and bullets, and as always, the Allied shells kept raining down on them.
[417] Fortune was turning her face from the Germans.
[418] But all Adolf saw was the conniving, treacherous Jews.
[419] He also blamed the situation on the ineptitude of the high command and central government.
[420] Bitter, he would sit apart from the other men, his head dejectedly in his hands.
[421] Then suddenly he would jump up and declare that defeat was inevitable.
[422] They had the big, corrupt guns, but there were larger, invisible forces opposing them.
[423] And of course, he hadn't painted since his thigh wound.
[424] Nothing, it seems, could take his mind off those betraying Germany.
[425] But soon Adolf would have other things to think about.
[426] On October 13, 1918, the List Regiment was at Weirwick, just south of Ypres.
[427] The hill Adolf was on shook under the intense bombardment.
[428] Still, the Germans somehow held their ground.
[429] Near evening, a different kind of shell came at them.
[430] Shells filled with gas, and they rained down for hours.
[431] By morning, the gas made its way towards Adolf's position.
[432] At 7 a .m., he couldn't take it anymore and stumbled away from the lines, holding the last dispatch he would ever carry.
[433] His sight was nearly gone.
[434] Within days, he would be in pace walk, totally blind.
[435] After four years of fighting, his war was over.
[436] The Germans were unable to push the Allies back, and the war ground down and ended on November 11, 1918, when the German army surrendered.
[437] The Kaiser, unsure of his future, ran to Holland.
[438] A republic was set up in Germany, but a new struggle immediately came into existence.
[439] That struggle would determine Germany's leaders and future.
[440] It wouldn't completely end until January 30, 1933, when Hitler was made Chancellor.
[441] Next time, young Adolf will regain his sight and see his purpose more clearly than any fantasy.
[442] The future would witness a revived Germany, a Third Reich, that would humble all those around her with himself as its master.
[443] Welcome to True Spies.
[444] The podcast that takes you deep inside the greatest secret missions of all time.
[445] Suddenly out of the dark, it's a bit in love.
[446] You'll meet the people who live life undercover.
[447] What do they know?
[448] What are their skills?
[449] And what would you do in their position?
[450] Vengeance felt good.
[451] Seeing these people pay for what they'd done felt righteous.
[452] True Spies from Spyscape Studios, wherever you get your podcasts.