Like many leaders during WWII, Adolf Hitler served in World War I. It was an important part of his identity, and, prior to his rise to power in Germany, he even went to court to defend his service record. His detractors claimed he was a “rear area hog.” They argued he had dodged service in the Austro-Hungarian army and then spent WWI in the German army in the relative safety of his regimental HQ. Hitler won his court case, but what do we know about his war service? And, like the other future WWII leaders, how did the crucible of WWI shape him? To discuss Hitler’s service in WWI, the World War I Podcast hosted Bob Carruthers, author of Private Hitler’s War 1914-1918. 

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