Editing Konrad Adenauer (section)

=== Early life and education ===
[[File:1896 Konrad Adenauer 01.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Adenauer in 1896]]
Konrad Adenauer was born on 5 January 1876 in [[Cologne]], [[Rhine Province|Rhenish Prussia]], as the third of five children of Johann Konrad Adenauer (1833–1906) and his wife Helene (née Scharfenberg; 1849–1919).<ref name=oryx>{{cite book |title=Government Leaders, Military Rulers, and Political Activists |year=2001 |publisher=Oryx Press |location=Westport, CT |page=4 |chapter-url=https://www.questia.com/read/106890738/government-leaders-military-rulers-and-political |editor=David W. Del Testa |chapter=Adenauer, Konrad |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313231545/https://www.questia.com/read/106890738/government-leaders-military-rulers-and-political |url-status=dead }}</ref> His siblings were August (1872–1952), Johannes (1873–1937), Lilli (1879–1950) and Elisabeth, who died shortly after birth {{circa}} 1880. One of the formative influences of Adenauer's youth was the so-called [[Kulturkampf]], the struggle of the Prussian state with the Catholic church, an experience that as related to him by his parents left him with a lifelong dislike for "[[Prussianism]]", and led him like many other Catholic Rhinelanders of the 19th century to deeply resent the [[Rhineland]]'s inclusion in Prussia.<ref>Jenkins, Roy. ''Portraits and Miniatures'', London: Bloomsbury Reader, 2012. p. 81</ref>

Having a passion for inventing, Adenauer started experimenting with plants in the back garden as a child, which was not welcomed by his father who told him "One should not try to meddle with the Lord's hand", then in 1904 he invented a reaction steam engine which was supposed to filter out dust produced by cars. However, as his hobby of inventing grew ever more costly, Adenauer's activities in this area slowly diminished.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.focus.de/wissen/mensch/geschichte/grosse-politik-fragwuerdige-erfindungen-konrad-adenauer_id_1824639.html|title=Konrad AdenauerGroße Politik, fragwürdige Erfindungen|work=FOCUS online |publisher=[[Focus (German magazine)|Focus]] Online|access-date=3 September 2023|language=de|archive-date=26 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826180558/https://www.focus.de/wissen/mensch/geschichte/grosse-politik-fragwuerdige-erfindungen-konrad-adenauer_id_1824639.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After final school examination ([[Abitur]]) in 1894, Adenauer studied law and politics at the universities of [[University of Freiburg|Freiburg]], [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich|Munich]] and [[University of Bonn|Bonn]], demonstrating competent but not exceptional academic ability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Stanley |last2=Williams |first2=Charles |date=2001 |title=Adenauer: The Father of the New Germany |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20050192 |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=80 |issue=3 |pages=141 |doi=10.2307/20050192 |jstor=20050192 |issn=0015-7120|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1896, he was mustered for the [[Prussian Army|Prussian army]], but did not pass the physical exam due to chronic respiratory problems he had experienced since childhood. He was a member of several [[Catholic]] students' associations. He graduated in 1900,<ref name=oryx /> and afterwards worked as a lawyer at the court in Cologne for four years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.konrad-adenauer.de/biographie/lebenslauf/uebersicht |title=Lebenslauf – Ein kurzer Überblick |publisher=Konrad Adenauer Stiftung |language=de |access-date=28 December 2017 |archive-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005403/https://www.konrad-adenauer.de/biographie/lebenslauf/uebersicht |url-status=dead }}</ref>