20 Mind-Blowing Facts About Adolf Hitler

15. Hitler Was "Nationless" For Seven Years

Young Hitler
Wikimedia Commons

Although he later professed his goal for a Grossdeutschland ("Greater Germany"), Hitler was in fact Austrian by birth. Yet from a young age, Hitler longed to be part of Imperial Germany and despised the Habsburg's Austro-Hungarian Empire - formally renouncing his Austrian citizenship in April 1925.

He did this despite the fact it prevented him from running for public office in Germany and left him at risk of deportation at any time - and, until he was awarded citizenship of Brunswick in February 1932, Hitler technically was "nationless" or "stateless" as he did not have a formal nationality.

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Contributor

NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.