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Today marks the birth anniversary of one of the most infamous figures in modern history — Adolf Hitler, born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria. While his legacy is cemented in the dark chapters of World War II and the Holocaust, a lesser-known incident from his youth continues to intrigue historians and raise chilling questions about fate.
The Soldier Who Didn’t Shoot
During World War I, Hitler served in the German army as a young corporal and dispatch runner. In 1914, amid the chaos of battle near the French town of Marcoing, British soldier Henry Tandey, a decorated veteran of the Green Howards regiment, found a wounded German soldier in his rifle’s line of fire.
Tandey reportedly chose not to shoot the injured enemy, allowing him to limp away. That soldier, as history suggests, was none other than Adolf Hitler.
Years later, Hitler himself recalled the event. According to accounts, during British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s visit to Germany in 1938, Hitler pointed to a painting of Tandey and claimed, “That man came so close to killing me, I thought I should never see Germany again.”
A Haunting ‘What If’
Tandey would live to see Hitler plunge the world into a catastrophic war two decades later, wondering if a single decision on a battlefield could have rewritten the course of history.
While some historians remain skeptical about the exact details of the encounter, the story stands as one of the most debated ‘what if’ moments of the 20th century — a reminder that history sometimes pivots on seemingly ordinary choices.
