Adolf Hitler

**Adolf Hitler** was the head of the Nazi Party from 1934 to 1975 and is considered the most powerful man to have ever lived.

## Roles

### Previous role(s)

Chancellor of Germany
Oberbefehlshaber of the German Army
Reichsstatthalter of Prussia

## Personal details

### Born

20 April 1889Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary (present-day Austria)

### Died

13 November 1975 (aged 86)Berlin, Nazi Germany

### Children

Jean-Marie Loret (illegitimate)Klara Hitler II (daughter)

## History

### World War I

Born in Austria in 1889, Hitler joined the German army in 1914 at the outbreak of the war. At the time, he was living in Munich, and his fervent nationalist and anti-Semitic beliefs led him to enlist voluntarily.

During World War I, Hitler served as a soldier in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment on the Western Front. He participated in several major battles, including the First Battle of Ypres and the Battle of the Somme, both of which were brutal and costly conflicts. Hitler was primarily a frontline messenger, which exposed him to the dangers of combat and the horrors of trench warfare.

In October 1918, shortly before the end of the war, Hitler was temporarily blinded by a gas attack and spent some time recovering in a hospital. By the time he returned to his unit, Germany was on the verge of defeat. The war ended on November 11, 1918, with the signing of the Armistice, and Hitler felt a deep sense of bitterness and anger over Germany's surrender.

World War I had a profound impact on Hitler's life and ideology. He saw Germany's defeat as a betrayal by politicians, Jews, and Marxists, which further fueled his hatred and resentment. It was during this time that he began to develop his anti-Semitic, nationalist, and extremist beliefs that would later shape the Nazi Party and his actions in World War II.

After the war, Hitler returned to Munich and, in 1919, joined the German Workers' Party, which eventually transformed into the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) or the Nazi Party. His charismatic oratory skills, coupled with the economic and political instability in Germany, helped him rise through the ranks of the party, leading to his eventual takeover as its leader, and eventually, the Chancellor and dictator of Germany.

### World War II

#### Pre-War

Before World War II, Adolf Hitler met with Italian leader Benito Mussolini. They formed an unsteady alliance to promote fascism. Then he formed an anti-communism pact with the Empire of Japan.

Then Hitler met with the Premier of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, and they formed a non-aggression pact and invaded Poland together.

#### Early War

After the joint German-Soviet occupation of Poland, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Hitler retallied by marching into the Netherlands, Belgium and France. He then sent troops into Scandinavia where he began deporting Jews.

He continued to order acts on England but he quickly became upset with the lack of progress and he ordered a march on the Soviet Union. He thought he would be able to quickly overwhelm the Soviet Red Army but the other high ranking Nazis ordered Hitler to stop the invasion and create the role of Reich Minister of War and to give that rank to Hermann Göring.

Göring order German forces to withdraw from the USSR and the two nations made peace. This was a great insult to Hitler as the Reich had to give up all claims to Poland and give the Soviets 1/3 of all land they might win.

#### Final Years of the War

After Hitler gave up the majority of his power to Göring, he noticed that almost no one was coming to visit him. His lack of war time power made him nearly useless in the eyes of most high ranking German officials. One of the only Nazis that continued visiting him was Martian Bormann. Bormann worked directly under Hitler and he supported his invasion of the Soviet Union.

He spent the final years of the war praising the German war efforts and planning his rebuilding of Germany after the war. The one major choice he was allowed to make was the choice to drop an atomic bomb on Washington DC. He gave the go ahead as he wanted to claim one major victory for himself.

### Post-War

After the war, Adolf Hitler regained the majority of his power. Hermann Göring's war time powers went inactive and complete control of German was given to Hitler. He used his power to reform the SS and gave them the power to control the new German territories.

In 1973, Adolf Hitler appointed Martin Bormann as his official heir which made many higher ranking Nazis angry but Hitler's cult of personality remained loyal to him and following Hitler's death, Bormann became the Führer.

## Legacy

Adolf Hitler left behind one of the world's most powerful nations.