Adolf Hitler (1889 to 1945)

A truly evil man who drove the world into a world war.

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria. He went to secondary school there but was not a good student. After the death of his parents, he wanted to become a painter and applied to the Vienna Art Academy. He was rejected, however, and then began to develop great interest in anti-Semitic writings in Vienna. He lived off his parents' inheritance and odd jobs.

During World War I, he joined the German Army as a volunteer. He was a brave soldier who was also wounded and was awarded the Iron Cross I Class as his highest decoration.

After the war, Hitler first attended a "rhetoric training for propaganda people" at the University in Munich. He developed an extraordinary talent for oratory and began his political career. He increasingly agitated against Jews and the democratic government. After his prison stay following his failed putsch, he refounded the NSDAP and wanted to come to power through democratic means.

Due to the world economic crisis and the unfair Versailles treaties, Hitler quickly became popular and the NSDAP became the second strongest force. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed by Reich President Hindenburg as the new Reich Chancellor. After his death, he also took over his office, becoming the dictator of the Third Reich. He also eliminated his entire political competition and also eliminated his internal opponents (Röhm Putsch).

Hitler's worldview of anti-Semitism and racism was put into political practice in 1935 with the Nuremberg Laws. Minorities such as the Sinti, Roma, Jews, homosexuals and the disabled were gradually ousted from public life. With the Reichskristallnacht, the persecution of the Jews became obvious. After the Wannensee Conference in 1942, where the "final solution" of the Jewish question was decided, the mass killing of the Jews, who were in the sphere of influence of the Nazis, began.

In terms of foreign policy, Adolf Hitler aimed to undo the Versailles treaties. He rearmed the army, introduced conscription (in violation of the treaties) and began the peaceful annexation of territories and countries. He concluded a non-aggression pact with Stalin and thus had a free hand to start the long-planned war to expand Germany.

With the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, World War II began. This was followed by the occupation of Denmark, Norway and then the western offensive in France. This was followed by the attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, under the name "Unternehmen Barbarossa." With Stalin's Red Army, which was supported by the Western Allies with weapons, the Wehrmacht could not take it on. After initial successes, the advance got stuck in front of Moscow at the end of 1941 and in the following year an entire army was trapped in Stalingrad and finally had to surrender the following year. After that, things only went backwards and the Allies also attacked the Third Reich from Italy and later from France.

Germany was at war on several fronts and had no chance. Hitler did not want to acknowledge his approaching defeat and fought the war to the bitter end. In April 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide together with Eva Braun in the Führerbunker in Berlin.