Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

52 DER FUEHRERa middle customs officer; on the whole he was somewhat surprised thatthese people admitted him, the poor boy, to their house.After October, 1907, he lived in Vienna, supported by his mother andother relatives, preparing himself to attend the Academy of Fine Artsand for the rest enjoying the city in his own boyish way: theater,museums, parliament. He registered with the Vienna police, sometimesas a student and sometimes as a painter. Once he indicated that he 'wasstudying to be a writer.'To gain admission to the Academy's school of painting, one had tosubmit a number of drawings. If they were halfway acceptable, thecandidate had to take an examination in drawing which was held eachyear in October. Freshly arrived from his province, young Adolf,apparently with great self-confidence, headed straight for his goal; theresult was shattering and unexpected. The classification list of theAcademy for the school year 1907-08 contains the following entry:Composition exercises in drawing. First day: expulsion from paradise,etc. Second day: episode from the deluge, etc. . . . The following tookthe test with insufficient results, or were not admitted: . . . Adolf Hitler,Braunau a. Inn, April 20, 1889, German, Catholic. Father civil servant.4 classes in Realschule. Few heads. Test drawing unsatisfactory.He was rejected. He does not seem to have mentioned this failure athome; in his autobiography he passes it over in complete silence. Heremained in Vienna as an art student, rejected but still self-confident,lodging in attics looking out on palaces; certainly despising the teacherswho had failed to appreciate him; measuring the imperial city of Viennawith the eye of a conqueror. For he did not give up, but prepared tobegin anew, the royal artist still unrecognized, scorned, and insulted, butconfident that victory would come. Thus began his struggle against thecity of Vienna; after his struggle with his father, his second big conflictwith life.For the first year he lived on the money sent to him by his mother andrelatives and practiced drawing. Then, in October, 1908, anotherexamination at the Academy's School of Painting; the result was evenmore crushing. This time the classification list reads simply: