Those who like to read the history of World War II recognize its leaders. However, we do not know what those leaders were like as children, did they have a normal childhood or, on the contrary, did they grow up in dysfunctional families? Either way, the leaders of World War II set the path for the future of the world.
Sigmund Freud said that the protection of a parent is the most important thing in a child’s life. By studying the lives of those leaders, fathers take on a fundamental role in understanding what their lives were like and perhaps understanding the reasons for their decisions.
Characteristics of World War II Leaders
The youngest of the leaders was Emperor Hirohito, who at the outbreak of war in September 1939 was 38 years old. He was followed in age by Charles De Gaulle at 48, and two years older was Adolf Hitler. Franklin Roosevelt was 57 years old, Josef Stalin was 60 and the oldest of all, Winston Churchill was 64.
Emperor Hirohito
Emperor Hirohito was separated from his parents at 10 weeks old in 1901. Considered a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, he was raised by a high military commander. It was during his grandfather’s reign that his father and mother gave the child away.
Admiral Sumiyoshi Kawamura was to raise and train him as a son of the gods. Hirohito was made emperor in 1926. Of those defeated in World War II, he was the only one who was not prosecuted for war crimes.
Charles De Gaulle
He spent his childhood in Paris with his four siblings. His mother Jeanne Maillot belonged to a bourgeois industrial family. His father, Henri De Gaulle, was a professor of history and literature. He himself admitted that he inherited his father’s maternal intransigence and love of the French Revolution. He was nicknamed “the great asparagus” because of his 1.96 m height. Between 1959 and 1969 he was president of France.
Adolf Hitler
He grew up in a dysfunctional family, with a father who beat him. Although he died when Adolf was only 13 years old, the blows he received marked him all his life. He endured his father’s hard blows without a sound.
Franklin Roosevelt
Born in 1882, he grew up as a typical rich kid. An only child in a wealthy family, he grew up surrounded by luxury. He was a great sportsman, fond of various sports. Franklin was born when his father James was 54 years old. When he was 5 years old, his father took him to the White House, as he had contributed to President Cleveland’s campaign. He was the only president to be elected four consecutive times.
Franklin Roosevelt
Born in 1882, he grew up as a typical rich kid. An only child in a wealthy family, he grew up surrounded by luxury. He was a great sportsman, fond of various sports. Franklin was born when his father James was 54 years old. When he was 5 years old, his father took him to the White House, as he had contributed to President Cleveland’s campaign. He was the only president to be elected four consecutive times.
Josef Stalin
He was born in 1878 to a poor family and a violent and abusive father. His language was Georgian and he did not learn to speak Russian until he was 9 years old. He had a drunken, abusive father who forever marked the childhood of this Soviet dictator. He was the third child of the couple, although they were so poor that his siblings died shortly after Josef was born. At the age of six he contracted smallpox, which left scars on his face.
Winston Churchill
He came into the world in 1874 into an aristocratic family. The customs of the English aristocracy, very prone to social gatherings, made Winston grow distant from maternal love. For that reason, the little boy adored his nanny, Elizabeth Everest, whom he called Woom.
They were the leaders of World War II. Fate brought together these men who were so different from each other and who had in common only their lust for power. However, in the 1940s, they had the power to define the future of the world.
