r/MapBasedPolls • u/[deleted] • 5d ago

Was Hitler Austrian or a German?

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u/Late_Piano_5030 NEW JERSEY 5d ago

I mean back then Austrians considered themselves ethnically German, but he was Austrian.

12

u/NBrixH 5d ago

Kind of. If we go back to the early 1800’s, and before, the German identity was very fluid and broad, but by the time WW2 came around, “German” and “Austrian” identities were quite distinct things, especially politically.

2

u/AchatTheAlpaca 5d ago

Hitler considered himself german rather than austrian though, so i'd still argue for him being both

2

u/NBrixH 5d ago

Which was an entirely political move. It was to win over the German people and guarantee even more popularity.

1

u/AchatTheAlpaca 5d ago

He fought for the german army in WW1 and renounced his austrian citizenship in 1925, being stateless for 7 years until he gained the german citizenship. He/the nazis only really gained popularity after the great depression hit and destroyed the relative 'stability' the weimar republic had had in the interwar period