Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

1889-04-20

Biography

Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler from 1934 to 1945. Hitler is most remembered for his central leadership role in the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II and the Holocaust. A decorated veteran of World War I, Hitler joined the precursor of the Nazi Party (DAP) in 1919, and became leader of NSDAP in 1921. He attempted a coup d'état known as the Beer Hall Putsch, which occurred at the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich on 8–9 November 1923. Hitler was imprisoned for one year due to the failed coup, and wrote his memoir, Mein Kampf (in English "My Struggle"), while imprisoned. After his release on 20 December 1924, he gained support by promoting Pan-Germanism, antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He was appointed chancellor on 30 January 1933, and transformed the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich, a single-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of Nazism. Nazi forces engaged in numerous violent acts during the war, including the systematic murder of as many as 17 million civilians, including an estimated six million Jews targeted in the Holocaust and between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Roma, added to the Poles, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. In the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun. To avoid capture by Soviet forces, the two committed suicide less than two days later on 30 April 1945 and their corpses were burned.

Also appears in

The Memory of Justice

The Memory of Justice

7.1

Hitler’s Forgotten Victims

Hitler’s Forgotten Victims

10.0

Distant Journey

Distant Journey

6.7

Mussolini in Deutschland

Mussolini in Deutschland

Not yet rated

Winston Churchill: A Giant in the Century

Winston Churchill: A Giant in the Century

8.0

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist

7.3

The Mistake that Killed Hitler

The Mistake that Killed Hitler

Not yet rated

The Secret Masonic Victory of World War II

The Secret Masonic Victory of World War II

1.0

Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring

Beyond the Movie: The Fellowship of the Ring

6.1

The Soviet Story

The Soviet Story

7.1

Memory of the Camps

Memory of the Camps

Not yet rated

Hitler: The Comedy Years

Hitler: The Comedy Years

5.0

The March on Rome

The March on Rome

6.4

Inside a Nazi Mind: The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell

Inside a Nazi Mind: The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell

7.2

To Arms, We Are Fascists!

To Arms, We Are Fascists!

6.8

The Restless Conscience: Resistance to Hitler Within Germany 1933-1945

The Restless Conscience: Resistance to Hitler Within Germany 1933-1945

5.3

Filmmakers for the Prosecution

Filmmakers for the Prosecution

6.0

Stalin: Man of Steel

Stalin: Man of Steel

Not yet rated

180

180

3.9

Storm Front in Mayo

Storm Front in Mayo

7.5