Adolf's parents were Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl, Alois being of German descent, and Klara being Austrian. Alois was a stern man who lacked any sort of remorse for any amount of beating that he would give to his wife or children. Young Adolf received the most of them as Alois tried to instill obedience in Adolf, as he planned for him to succeed in life. Adolf himself said "I never loved my father, but feared him. He was prone to rages and would resort to violence. My poor mother would then always be afraid for me." (Hitler to Christa Schroeder). These beatings led to the young Adolf's disgust with every decision his father tried to make for him. This disobedience may have led to Hitler participating in World War I, the pivotal time for Hitler. Alois tried multiple times to get his son to behave like the fine young man Alois was trying to make him into, but to no avail. Instead the abuse left Hitler a man with a very short temper that if broken would make him irrational, violent, and incredibly extreme. Alois' punishment alone was not enough to form the ultraviolent dictator that we know today, it took much more.