Young Hitler: The Lost Artist
Imagine a timid teenager in early 1900s in Vienna, walking the streets with a sketchbook
in hand, dreaming of capturing the soul of the city on his canvas. He didn’t have
an army nor hatred to drive people behind his ideology. He just had his charcoal
strokes of grand architecture and wide-eyed ambition. This was Adolf Hitler in
his youth, a budding artist whose path could have bloomed into beauty rather
than destruction. His story reminds us: no one is born inherently evil. Within
every soul lies goodness, talent, and choice—and history hinges on the choices
we take and the choices we make.
The Dreamer:
Adolf was Born in 1889 in, Austria. By his teens in Linz, he was sketching
obsessively: ornate buildings, dramatic landscapes, even portraits of his
mother. His Classmates recalled him as a quiet boy with a talent for ‘drawing’;
he used to boast, "I was going to be a great painter", and evidence
backs it — his surviving watercolour paintings show a competent eye for detail,
especially architecture.
In 1907, at 18, as a teenager Hitler moved to Vienna to chase his passion, the ‘Art’.
He applied to the prestigious ‘Academy of Fine Arts’, submitting 21 drawings
and paintings. The examiners praised three of his paintings as detailed studies
of buildings that revealed promise. But they rejected him twice — for lacking
"human figures". Undeterred, he hustled as a painter of postcards and
advertisements, he read art books, debated aesthetics in coffeehouses. These
years shaped a sensitive soul, not yet scarred by ideology.
You are what you consume:
‘Where you stand, depends on where
you sit’ funny saying isn’t it? Yet it spells out profound truth. Your ideology
comes from what you consume in the form of reading, art, music, movies, food, religion,
etc. If you are not careful, what you consume, will consume you. The young
Adolf grew up idolizing artists like Richard Wagner, whose musical compositions
fuelled his imagination. Richard Wagner portrayed Jews as physically
alien, culturally destructive, and incapable of true art. He depicted Jews as
eternal outsiders threatening German purity. Richard Wagner's writings
and music profoundly influenced Adolf Hitler, who idolized the composer as a
prophetic figure and role model for German nationalism.
The Rejection That Shaped a Monster
What flipped the switch?
Hitler was rejected twice from Vienna's
Academy of Fine Arts in 1907 and 1908 due to his technically proficient but architecture-focused
watercolours lacking human figures, creativity, and emotional depth. This
failure, amid his poverty, deepened his resentment toward elites and fuelled a
victim mentality.
Historians like Ian Kershaw argue that this rejection crushed his ego, planting seeds of resentment. The rejections developed paranoia and bitterness, which Hitler later intertwined his personal failure with antisemitism. (Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews.)
Yet here's the human spark:
Hitler produced over 2,000 artworks,
many sold to tourists even today. His style echoed 19th-century
realists—precise, unemotional, yearning for order. Friends described him as
kind-hearted in youth, vegetarian out of compassion, even a lover of animals. Evil
wasn't encoded in his DNA; it brewed from choices amid failure.
What If Hitler Had Become the Artist?
Picture an alternate timeline:
·
The Academy accepts him in 1907.
·
Young Adolf thrives under mentors,
evolves into a celebrated architectural illustrator.
·
By the 1920s, he's exhibiting in art galleries,
designing posters for Wagner festivals.
·
No military coup; instead,
collaborations with artists in Vienna's vibrant scene.
·
World War I? He might have dodged it,
focusing on anti-war sketches.
·
Post-war Germany gains a voice for
beauty amid ruins—perhaps illustrating memorials that heal, not divide.
·
The Holocaust's 6 million lives must
have been spared;
·
WWII's 70-85 million deaths could
have been averted.
·
Europe would have rebuilt with
Hitler's canvases in museums, a testament to resilience.
As historian Timothy Ryback notes in
*Hitler's Private Library*, his early passions were cultural, not
genocidal—what if rejection hadn't twisted them?
This "what if" isn't fantasy; it's a mirror. Think of other
"rejects" like Van Gogh, who sold one painting in life yet lit the
world. It’s a choice.
A Call to See Potential:
No one arrives evil. Hitler's youth overflows with the same creativity in all
of us. History pivots on a single door: an acceptance letter, a kind word, a
second chance.
As an educator, we need to play a very crucial role in the lives of the students who are entrusted to our care. It is an inevitable virtue that we need to nurture within us to identify the potential within every student. Children come to us with different personalities and unique intelligences. We are not here to monopolise them under one category ‘studious’. Allow them to bloom in their own capacity and in their own time.
Positive words shift focus from mistakes to
productive struggle, helping students reframe challenges positively and build
resilience.
Try using Praising phrases such as:
"Thank you for raising your hand"
"You worked so hard on that—I'm impressed!"
"I
see how much effort you're putting in; keep going."
"You're
getting better every time you try."
"Thank
you for helping your friend."
"I
love how you shared so kindly."
"You're
such a great problem-solver!"
"It's
okay to make mistakes—that's how we learn."
"You
can do it; I believe in you!"
"What
a fantastic idea—tell me more."
"You
did it all by yourself—great job!"
"Thank
you for listening so carefully."
"You're
an important part of our group."
"I appreciate your effort"
"You're showing great progress"
These phrases Bring about positive results inside the class room.
Choose the path of beauty:
Teachers can transform their classrooms by
weaving positive phrases into daily interactions. Spot the
artist in the outcast; nurture the spark before shadows grow.
In our classrooms, communities, and lives, let's choose the path of beauty.
Hitler's Paintings:
