Adolf HitlerHitler was born in a small German town, Braunau, in an inn. Hitler's parents had always lived there and were of Bavarian and technically Austrian descent. His father Alois Hitler was a civil servant and was married three times. Alois was born illegitimate, and for the first 39 years of his life he carried his mother's last name, Schicklgruber, until he changed it. His last name Hitler means "he who lives in a cabin". Later in Adolf's life, allies attempted to exploit his father's illegitimacy, saying that Adolf's real last name was Schicklgruber. Adolf was born to his father's third wife, Klara Polzl. He had six siblings and he and his younger sister Paula were the only ones who survived to adulthood. Hitler, as a child, had ambitions to become a civil servant. His great oratory skills were even formed when he was a child, arguing loudly in class. Adolf was something of a leader in his class and even admits that he was difficult to manage as a child. His father failed to realize or encourage his son's abilities. Adolf took singing lessons at his village cloister, and at one time when he was young, he thought he should become a priest as an adult. He was then sent to high school where he was to learn liberal arts, so that he could become a civil servant. But Adolf no longer wanted to grow up like his father. He was already becoming interested in war at the age of 11, because he found books about war. Adolf had great drawing and painting skills at school. He even thought that being an artist would be a profession that would suit him. His father hated this idea which created tension between the two. His father beat him regularly, Adolf admitted to his secretary years later. Alois, his father, died when Adolf was only 13 years old. He wrote that at age 15 he had become a fanatical German nationalist. Rumors circulated that Adolf himself was half-Jewish. Rumor has it that his mother became pregnant while working in a Jewish home. Over the next few years, he went to great lengths to conceal his identity. He passed a law prohibiting women from working in Jewish homes. He also had his father's hometown turned into an artillery training range, completely destroying the town..