In fact, Hitler esteemed many Jews during his life. His favorite actors and singers were mostly Jews, and he respected the Jewish doctor that cared for his mother. His friends at the Männerheim Men's Home in Vienna were largely Jews. Even after he became Chancellor, he made friends with a Jewish child. However, his deputy stopped her from seeing Hitler, who then complained that someone always tried to spoil good things for him.
While at the Männerheim, Hitler admired the Jews for their resistance to persecution and stated that the Jews had built the first civilized nation in history. He blamed Christians more than Jews for usury and dismissed newspaper charges of Jewish ritual murder as nonsense.
What caused his change? To answer that one must search from the beginning of Hitler's life. Many aspects of his childhood are believed to contribute to the development of serious personality and behavior problems. But the combination of these elements could be devastating. First, Europe--especially Austria, where Adolf lived most of his life until 1913--was strongly antisemitic. Daily newspaper articles and cartoons attacked Jews. An avid newspaper reader from his youth, Adolf frequently read these presentations. While his parents were not particularly antisemitic, they were tolerant of the view. European society was violent; riots were frequent--old Austria's equivalent of violent television. This violence was also condoned by Hitler's parents and teachers. Psychologists know that children usually interpret parental tolerance as approval, so Hitler's parents' casual acceptance of the social evils around them is partly responsible for his becoming antisemitic.
Non only did Hitler's father, Alois, accept the culture's antisemitism, he also beat Adolf and his half-brother, sometimes brutally. On occasion, he also beat the family dog and struck Hitler's mother. It is well established that most physically abused children feel impotent, developing an inner rage that can unreasonably lash out in any direction. Often this rage is held inside until the child become big enough to lash out with "safety."
As a contrast to Alois' beatings, Adolf's mother, Klara, was overprotective. She lost three children within two years, shortly before conceiving Adolf. Fearful of losing another child, she coddled him, waiting on him hand and foot--particularly if he seemed ill. Studies have shown that a child who is not allowed to do many things for himself may feel powerless.
