Hitler was an anti-war pacifist before WWI. While serving in the German war effort, he was awarded the Iron Cross both for bravery and for saving a comrade under heavy enemy fire.

Hitler was an anti-war, pacifist Austria-Hungary citizen living in Germany when the war against France and Britain started. During his early years as a German citizen, he was a passionate believer in the socialistic, anti-militaristic Willhelminian Era. When WWI was declared, as a German citizen he was obligated to serve in the military. Initially, he was thrust into rat-fighting duty, where he was exposed to their lethality firsthand.<br><br>He was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for bravery for his service on the front lines. This experience of seeing first hand the brutality and lethality of modern warfare led to a profound shift in Hitler’s worldview. He soon became a fierce believer in German militarism, and he began to view the war as a struggle for German greatness and the need for strength and martial honor. He was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for his bravery when he stopped traffic in the middle of no man’s land, under heavy enemy fire, to save a fallen German soldier. Hitler was soon wounded in action and sent home to recover.<br><br>During this time, he became more and more entrenched in his militaristic worldview. After recovering, he was assigned to the German Front in Flanders, where he was assigned labor duties. In 1918, he was assigned to the German defense of the Somme. During this time, he was surrounded by comrades and officers who also had a growing sense of militarism and German greatness. Hitler was wounded again by a mustard gas shell. He was sent to a military hospital in Pula, where he was awarded the Wound Badge Black.<br><br>After his recovery, Hitler was assigned to the Bavarian Altoatschützen (high sharpshooters). He was promoted to Meisterjäger (master sharpshooter) for his marksmanship abilities, and he was awarded the Schießspange zum Ehrenpunkte (shooting sleeve of honor points) for achieving 60 kills. Although this is often claimed as his official kill count, it is worth noting that the German military did not keep track of kills by infantry. The end of the war was near, and on November 11, 1918, Germany was forced to surrender. Hitler was in regrouping, waiting for the war to end. When he heard the news, he was filled with grief, anger, and humiliation. He wept. He had been severely let down by the war’s outcome.<br><br>After the war, the German economy was in shambles, and hyperinflation was rampant. Hitler joined the right wing, populinistic German Party (DVP), which was led by Gustav Stresemann. He became disenchanted with the party’s lack of radicalism, so he left to join the German Workers Party (DAP). Hitler soon rose to leadership within the party, and it was renamed the National Socialist German Workers Party, or the Nazis.<br><br>Hitler was a passionate speaker and soon gained noteriety for his oratory skills. In 1923, the German economy was in such disarray that the government collapsed, and the Weimar Republic was in chaos. Hitler led the Nazis in the Beer Hall Putsch, an attempted coup to overthrow the German government. It failed, and Hitler was arrested. While in prison, he wrote part one of *Mein Kampf*.<br><br>In 1924, the Nazis gained 108 seats in the German Reichstag, making them the 2nd largest party in Germany. Over the next 13 years, Hitler would write part two of *Mein Kampf*. He would become the leader of the Nazi Party, and he would serve as the leader of Germany. During WWII, the Nazis would conquer France, the Balkans, Poland, and the Soviet Union. When the Allies landed in Normandy, Hitler would not allow the German war effort to be shifted to defend the eastern front, where they were fighting the Soviet Union. He would order the German troops to dig in and fight a war of attrition, bleeding the Allies dry.<br><br>When the war was lost, and Germany was on the brink of defeat, Hitler would rather go down in a blaze of glory than accept surrender. On April 30, 1945, he would rather eat cyanide and then shoot himself in the head than accept that Germany was defeated. As the Allied forces pushed deeper into Germany, Hitler ordered the German troops to fight to the death on the beaches of Normandy. They obeyed without question.