Sargsyan 1

Mary Sargsyan

Professor Kane

English 115 F

6 December 2019

E1.2 Art School Can Save Lives

On April 20, 1889 a man who would alter the history of the world was born. Adolf Hitler

had grown up in a poor family in upper Austria. During primary school, it was evident that Hitler

was intelligent, however, he did not prioritize formal education causing him to relinquish a high

record of academic success by obtaining bad grades and not completing his assignments. He had

always been a fan of art, and after his father passed away while Hitler was still a teen, Hitler was

able to focus on his artistic passion without his father's pressure to do otherwise. In 1907, he

moved to Vienna in hopes of attending the Vienna Academy of Art or the Vienna School of

Architecture; he was denied admission. Now that he was not attending school, he had no means

of education that would get him into a higher skilled--therefore, higher paying--job. He began to

spend his time engaging in political activity, as it was always a topic of interest for him. If Hitler

had gained admission to either of the schools in Vienna, he would not have gone on to join the

Nazi party and the Holocaust could have been avoided. He would be pursuing art rather than

deeply involving himself in politics.

While out of school, Hitler went through various low skill jobs and sold postcards that he

had drawn for famous locations as ways to make money. During Hitler's period of poverty, he

got more involved in politics-- scrutinizing political literature and newspapers,and taking part in

various meetings. “(He) became a politician against (his) will...(he) would never have gone into
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politics; (he) would have become an artist or a philosopher.” (Teachout 57) He felt he was

meant to be an artist who had been diverted to become involved in politics. It is evident that

things would have played out differently if Hitler had been accepted into the Art schools. He

initially became preoccupied with politics since he did not have much else to focus his time and

energy on. Art has always been his passion and what took up his time since he was a young

adult, and now that it was taken from him, he channeled his emotions into politics sparking all of

his outrageous beliefs and actions. Since politics was always one of his interests, it was easier for

him to turn and focus his attention and energy into that instead. Even though he was starting to

get deeply involved in politics, he still maintained a love for art and believed it was the most

important thing.

Hitler would not have gone out into the political field had it not been for him being lost

and poverty stricken. This poverty led him to volunteer in the German army during which he was

introduced to a different environment and a different group of people who had the typical nazi

ideals and predjudices. Hitler then remained serving in the German Army by his own free will as

he found his purpose of life there. He was designated to the Intelligence/Propaganda section

where he received political training, strengthening his speech skills while advocating for German

nationalism and going against socialism. Additionally, when he was discharged from the army,

Hitler became more involved in the German Workers Party. He was in charge of propaganda and

publicity, whose name was later changed to the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi).

This involvement in a group is really influential, since “groups are more immoral than

individuals.” (King 79) This group helped magnify and exaggerate all of his initial beliefs and

helped spread his exaggerated beliefs onto those in the group as well. If Hitler had not initially
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gone into politics, he would never had this large of a system to collaborate with and build off of.

This group gave him a voice to attract more attention to and grow and push his agenda further. If

individuals are on their own, they are more likely to make their own opinions and focus only on

themselves and their own opinions. However, in a group one has more power since there are

more voices advocating for the same idea. With a group like this, more people are inclined to

join and are less likely to speak out against anything immoral since they can easily be

overpowered. Hilter would have never achieved power to this degree if he had gone on any other

route in life. He was only able to become successful with the use of the propaganda he had

learned and the oratory skills he had reinforced through these specific chain of events. If any

piece of his path had been altered or taken out (starting with his education), he would not have

received that much power.

Once Hitler had further developed his oratory skills, he became known for his speeches.

He demonstrated his extraordinarily intense hatred for politicians he believed dishonored

Germany and his hatred for people outside of the Aryan image. Ironically, Hitler did not fit the

Aryan image he strongly advocated for. The next incident that set Hitler on the trajectory of his

gruesome actions was the failed revolution at Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler and his paramilitary

organization barged into a public meeting with the Bavarian prime minister and attempted an

armed insurgency. Hitler was captured and tried for treason. In the courtroom, he took the

opportunity to voice his opinions on politics and other topics, “talking for hours at a time of his

vision of a Germany raised to greatness from the ashes of defeat.” (“The Trial of Adolf Hitler”

66) This speech was important in pushing his agenda as he utilized the courtroom as a public

forum. He was able to tell his story and his ideas to the people in a way to make him seem as
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though he was a mere patriot, who was simply fighting for what was right rather than fighting

against it. Because of his oratory skills, he received the minimum punishment of nine months in

jail, during which he composed his book ​Mein Kampf.​

This failed revolution led him to receive jail time during which he was able to collect all

of his political ideology, propaganda, and some autobiographical features into a book that would

go on to influence many. This book was so influential that by the year 1939 it was translated into

eleven different languages and sold over five million copies. This level of success could not have

been achieved if he had been admitted to art school or if the revolution had gone as planned. He

would have never written about about “his struggles” had it not been for the jail time that gave

him plenty of time to do so. He would have spent his time making art or writing about less

political subjects had it not been for him getting denied admission to art school. After the release

of this book, Hitler became reinvolved with the Nazi party. This book sparked Hitler's

exponentially growing followers and the spread of his ideology. The impact this book had on

Hitler and his followers can be compared to Hellen Keller's moment of realizing there is more to

the world than what she believed. The moment when she realized she could learn words and

started to learn new things about the world that had been so bland to her is comparable to the

moment when Hitler wrote his book. While Keller was learning that “everything had a name,”

every time she learned something new it “gave birth to a new thought” (Keller 79). That single

realization that there is more to the world, allowed her to expand her knowledge and later help

create a system of reading and writing that will help millions after her. Hitler’s book was a way

to grow his supporters and instill his beliefs into others.

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Hitler, although successful in spreading his beliefs and becoming a powerful individual

that influenced millions, would not have fostered World War II or the Holocaust had it not been

for his denial to attend art school. If he had gone into school, he would not have gone into

politics and would not have gained millions of supporters that aided his immoral actions. His

denial from art school set off a chain reaction that led Hitler into the path of domination and

revolution.
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Works Cited

“Hitler's Rise and Fall: Timeline.” ​OpenLearn,​ The Open University, 1 Mar. 2019,

www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/hitlers-rise-and-fall-timeline.

King, Jr., Martin Luther. “The Negro Is Your Brother. The Atlantic Monthly, August 1963,Vol.

212,No.2, pages78–88.search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=

10689018& site=ehost-live.

Teachout, Terry. “The Murder Artist.” ​Commentary,​ vol. 116, no. 2, Sept. 2003, pp. 56–58.

EBSCOhost

“The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of Nazi Germany.” ​Publishers

Weekly,​ vol. 264, no. 14, Apr. 2017, p. 66.​EBSCOhost​,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=t rue&db=aph&AN=122695832&site=ehost-live.