Adolf was born in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria in 1889 to Alois and Klara Hitler. Of course being born in Austria made him a native Austrian not a native German. As a young child, Adolf didn't get along real well with his peers. He did rather poorly in school, and even dropped out early to pursue a dream of becoming an artist. This too would prove not to be the thing for Adolf. He applied to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and was turned down. Adolf's mother, Klara, was his only living relative willing to support, and when she died in 1909, Adolf was forced to move to Vienna in search of a better way of life. Adolf was forced to bum around for awhile because he refused to take regular employment.
In 1913 Adolf, still very poor, moved to Munich, Germany. As World War I started, Adolf volunteered for service in the German military. Hitler was accepted as an infantry man and fought bravely on the side of the Germans. He was awarded several medals including both the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class. Ironically enough, the captain who recommended Hitler for these medals was Jewish. In the war he was injured and even suffered temporary blindness from a British gas attack. Receiving medals of honor was a tremendous thing for Adolf. He felt he was finally being recognized for his skills and accomplishments. .
Hitler recovered from his injuries and joined a militia of veteran soldiers put in charge of keeping communist groups in check. Hitler was put on task of watching a small political group called the "German Worker's Party." He realizes through watching them that their beliefs match his own, so he decides to quit the military and join this group in hopes to use it to push him to the political top. The group was mainly the same as other communist groups around at the time but with an overhaul of anti-semitism. In 1923 the Germany economy crumbled into a mass of inflation. This is exactly what Hitler and his party needed, and he felt it was his time to "lead a revolution.