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			{{Short description|Dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945}}
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			{{Redirect2|Hitler|The Führer||Hitler (disambiguation)|and|Führer (disambiguation)}}
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			{{Use shortened footnotes|date=February 2021}}
			{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use British English|date=November 2024}}
			{{Infobox officeholder
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			| name = Adolf Hitler
			| image = Hitler portrait crop.jpg
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			| alt = Portrait of Adolf Hitler, 1938
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			| caption = Official portrait, 1938
			| office = ]
	This page is frequently scrutinized and debated.
			| term_start = 2 August 1934
			| term_end = 30 April 1945
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			| predecessor = ] {{Avoid wrap|(as ])}}
	{{Infobox Chancellor
			| successor = ] {{Avoid wrap|(as President)}}
	| name = Adolf Hitler
			| office2 = ]
	| nationality = Austrian by birth, later German (as of ])
			| 1blankname2 = {{nowrap|]}}
	| citizenship = ]n (1889-1932)</br>] (1932-1945)
			| 1namedata2 = ] {{nowrap|(1933–1934)}}
	| image = 3a48970r.jpg|225px
			| president2 = Paul von Hindenburg {{nowrap|(1933–1934)}}
	| birth_date = ] ]
			| predecessor2 = ]
	| birth_place = ] ], ]
			| successor2 = ]
	| death_date = {{death date and age|1945|4|30|1889|4|20}}
			| term_start2 = 30 January 1933
	| death_place = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} ], ]
	| party = ] (NSDAP)		| term_end2 = 30 April 1945
	| spouse = ]<br>''(married on ] ])''		| office3 = ]
			| deputy3 = ] {{nowrap|(1933–1941)}}
	| religion = see ]
			| term_start3 = 29 July 1921
	| order = ]<br>'']''
	| term_start = ] ]		| term_end3 = 30 April 1945
	| term_end = ] ]		| predecessor3 = ] (Party&nbsp;Chairman)
			| successor3 = ] (])
	| predecessor = ]
			| birth_date = {{Birth date|1889|04|20|df=y}}
	| successor = ]
			| birth_place = ], ], ]
	| order2 = ]
			| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|04|30|1889|04|20|df=y}}
	| term_start2 = ] ]
			| death_place = '']'', Berlin, Nazi Germany
	| term_end2 = ] ]
			| death_cause = ]
	| predecessor2 = ]<br>''(as President)''
			| citizenship = {{Unbulleted list|Austria (])|] (1925–1932)|Germany (from 1932)}}
	| successor2 = ]<br>''(as President)''
			| party = ] (from 1920)
			| otherparty = ] (1919–1920)
			| spouse = {{marriage|]|29 April 1945|30 April 1945|end=d}}
			| parents = {{Unbulleted list|]|]}}
			| relatives = ]
			| cabinet = ]
			| signature = Hitler’s signature (1944).svg
			| signature_alt = Signature of Adolf Hitler
			| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Adolf Hitler’s last speech.ogg|title=Adolf Hitler's voice|type=speech|description=Hitler's last recorded speech<br />Recorded January 1945}}
			| allegiance = {{Unbulleted list|]|]|]}}
			| branch_label = Branch
			| branch = {{Tree list}}
			* ]
			** ]
			* '']''
			{{Tree list/end}}
			| serviceyears = 1914–1920
			| rank = {{lang|de|]}}
			| commands = {{Unbulleted list|] (from 1941)|] (1942)}}
			| unit =
			| battles_label = Wars
			| battles = {{Tree list}}
			* ]
			** ]
			*** ]
			*** ] {{WIA}}
			*** ]
			*** ]
			* ]
			{{Tree list/end}}
			| mawards = ]
	}}		}}
			{{Adolf Hitler series}}
	'''Adolf Hitler''' ({{Audio|de-Adolf Hitler.ogg|<small>listen</small>}}; ], ] &ndash; ], ]) was the German ] (''Reichskanzler'') from 1933 until his death, and, from 1934 until his death, he was the "Leader" ('']'') of ]. Unofficially he was known as the "German dictator" during most of the same period that he was Chancellor and Leader of Germany. Hitler was also the leader of the ] (''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' or NSDAP), the ] Party.
			'''Adolf Hitler'''{{efn|{{IPA|de|ˈaːdɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ|x|GT AH AMS.ogg|small=no}}}} (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was a German politician who was the dictator of ] from 1933 until ] in 1945. ] as the leader of the ],{{efn|Officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ({{langx|de|Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei}}{{Efn|Pronounced {{IPA|de|natsi̯oˈnaːlzotsi̯aˌlɪstɪʃə ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaʁbaɪtɐpaʁˌtaɪ||De-Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.ogg}}}} or NSDAP)}} becoming ] in 1933 and then taking the title of {{lang|de|]}} in 1934.{{efn|The position of {{lang|de|Führer und Reichskanzler}} ("Leader and Chancellor") replaced the position of President, which was the ] for the ]. Hitler took this title after the death of ], who had been serving as President. He was afterwards both head of state and ], with the full official title of {{lang|de|Führer und Reichskanzler des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes}} ("Führer and Reich Chancellor of the German Reich and People").{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=226–227}}{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=63}}}} His ] on 1&nbsp;September 1939 marked the start of the ]. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of ]: the ] of ].
	Hitler gained power during Germany's period of crisis following ]. Using ] and ] oratory, he appealed to the economic needs of the lower and middle classes, while sounding resonant chords of ], ], and ]. With the establishment of a restructured ], a rearmed ], and a ] regime, Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy with the intention of expanding German '']'' ("living space"). This triggered ] when Germany ] and the ] and ], much of which was also annexed to form the ''] Reich'' ("Greater German Reich").
			Hitler was born in ] in ] and was raised near ]. He lived in ] in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to ] in 1913. He was decorated during ] in ], receiving the ]. In 1919, he joined the ] (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and in 1921 was appointed leader of the Nazi Party. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental power in ] and was sentenced to five years in prison, serving just over a year of his sentence. While there, he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and ] {{lang|de|]}} (''My Struggle''). After his early release in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the ] and promoting ], ], and ] with ] oratory and ]. He frequently denounced ] as being part of an ].
	Although ] and the ] occupied most of ] at their zenith, they were eventually defeated by the ]. By the end of the war, Hitler's ] had culminated in the killing of approximately 11 million people, including the ] of some six million ]s, in what is now known as ]. As a result of the war, more than 45 million people died across Europe.
			By November 1932, the Nazi Party held the most seats in the '']'', but not a majority. No political parties were able to form a majority coalition in support of a candidate for chancellor. Former chancellor ] and other conservative leaders convinced President ] to appoint Hitler as chancellor on 30 January 1933. Shortly thereafter, the Reichstag passed the ], which began the process of transforming the ] into Nazi Germany, a ] dictatorship based on the ] and ] ideology of ]. Upon Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934, Hitler succeeded him, becoming simultaneously the head of state and government, with absolute power. Domestically, Hitler implemented numerous ] and sought to deport or kill ]. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the ], the abrogation of restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I, and the annexation of territories inhabited by millions of ethnic Germans, which initially gave him significant popular support.
	In the final days of the war, Hitler, along with his new wife, ], ] in ] in Berlin, as the city was overrun by the ] of the ].
			One of Hitler's key goals was {{lang|de|]}} ({{Literal translation|living space}}) for the German people in Eastern Europe, and his aggressive, ] foreign policy is considered the primary ]. He directed large-scale rearmament and, on 1 September 1939, invaded Poland, causing Britain and France to ]. In June 1941, Hitler ordered ]. In December 1941, he ]. By the end of 1941, German forces and the European ] occupied most of Europe and ]. These gains were gradually reversed after 1941, and in 1945 the ] defeated the German army. On 29 April 1945, he married his longtime partner, ], in the {{lang|de|]}} in Berlin. The couple committed suicide the next day to avoid capture by the Soviet ]. In accordance with Hitler's wishes, their corpses were burned.
	==Early years==
	===Childhood and heritage===
	]
			The historian and biographer ] described Hitler as "the embodiment of modern political evil".{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=xvii}} Under Hitler's leadership and ], the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of an estimated six million Jews and millions of other victims, whom he and his followers deemed {{lang|de|]en}} ({{Literal translation|subhumans}}) or socially undesirable. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the deliberate killing of an estimated 19.3&nbsp;million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7&nbsp;million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European ]. The number of ] was unprecedented in warfare, and the casualties constitute the ].
	Adolf Hitler was born ], ] at ], ], a village in ], bordering ], the third son and fourth child of six.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (Penguin Books 1962), 23.</ref><ref name="bull25">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 25.</ref> His father, ], (born Schicklgruber), (1837&ndash;1903), was a ] official in Austria-Hungary on the German border; his mother, ], (1860&ndash;1907), Alois' second cousin (presumably), was his father's third wife. Because of the close kinship of the two, a papal dispensation had to be obtained for the marriage, both being ]. Of Alois and Klara's six children, only Adolf and his sister ] reached adulthood.<ref name="bull25"/> Hitler's father also had a son, ], and a daughter, ], by his second wife.<ref name="bull25"/> There were no children by his first wife.<ref name="bull25"/>
			== Ancestry ==
	Alois Hitler was born illegitimate.<ref name="bull24">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 24</ref> For the first 39 years of his life he bore his mother's surname, Schicklgruber.<ref name="bull24"/> In ], he began using the surname of his stepfather, ], after visiting a priest who was responsible for ] who had Johann Hiedler declared to be his father.<ref name="bull24"/> The name was variously spelled Hiedler, Huetler, Huettler and Hitler and probably changed to "Hitler" by a clerk. The origin of the name is either from the ] word ''Hittler'' and similar, "one who lives in a hut", "shepherd", or from the ] word ''Hidlar'' and ''Hidlarcek''.
			{{see also|Hitler family|Origin theories of Adolf Hitler}}
			Hitler's father, ] (1837–1903), was the ] child of ].{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=24}} The baptismal register did not show the name of his father, and Alois initially bore his mother's surname, "Schicklgruber". In 1842, ] married Alois's mother. Alois was brought up in the family of Hiedler's brother, ].{{sfn|Maser|1973|p=4}} In 1876, Alois was made legitimate and his baptismal record annotated by a priest to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois's father (recorded as "Georg Hitler").{{sfn|Maser|1973|p=15}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=5}} Alois then assumed the surname "Hitler",{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=5}} also spelled {{lang|de|"Hiedler", "Hüttler"|italic=no}}, or {{lang|de|"Huettler"|italic=no}}. The name is probably based on the German word {{lang|de|Hütte}} ({{Literal translation|hut}}), and has the meaning "one who lives in a hut".{{sfn|Jetzinger|1976|p=32}}
			Nazi official ] suggested that Alois's mother had been employed as a housekeeper by a Jewish family in ], and that the family's 19-year-old son Leopold Frankenberger had fathered Alois, a claim that came to be known as the ].{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1999|p=21}} No Frankenberger was registered in Graz during that period, no record has been produced of Leopold Frankenberger's existence,{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=50}} so historians dismiss the claim that Alois's father was Jewish.{{sfn|Toland|1992|pp=246–247}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=8–9}}
	Later, Hitler was accused by enemies of not being a Hitler, but a Schicklgruber. Allied ] exploited this during World War II. ]s bearing the phrase "Heil Schicklgruber" were ]ped over German cities. Adolf was legally born a Hitler, however, and was also related to Hiedler via his maternal grandmother, ].
			== Early years ==
	The name, "Adolf", comes from ] for "noble wolf" ("Adel"="nobility" + "wolf").<ref>, thinkbabynames.com</ref> Hence, not surprisingly, one of Hitler's self-given nicknames was ''Wolf'' or ''Herr Wolf'' — he began using this nickname in the early 1920s and was addressed by it only by intimates (as "Uncle Wolf" by the Wagners) up until the fall of the Third Reich.<ref>Walter C. Langer, <cite>The Mind of Adolf Hitler</cite>, p. 246 (]: New York, 1972)</ref> The names of his various ] scattered throughout ] ('']'' in ], ''Wolfsschlucht'' in ], ''Werwolf'' in ], etc.) reflect this. By his closest family and relatives, Hitler was known as "Adi".
			=== Childhood and education ===
			Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in ], a town in ] (present-day Austria), close to the border with the ].{{sfn|House of Responsibility}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=23}} He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife, ]. Three of Hitler's siblings—Gustav, Ida, and Otto—died in infancy.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=4}} Also living in the household were Alois's children from his second marriage: Alois Jr. (born 1882) and ] (born 1883).{{sfn|Toland|1976|p=6}} When Hitler was three, the family moved to ], Germany.{{sfn|Rosmus|2004|p=33}} There he acquired the distinctive ], rather than ], which marked his speech throughout his life.{{sfn|Keller|2010|p=15}}{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Kubizek|2006|p=37}} The family returned to Austria and settled in ] in 1894, and in June 1895 Alois retired to Hafeld, near ], where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler attended {{lang|de|]}} (a state-funded primary school) in nearby ].{{sfn|Kubizek|2006|p=92}}{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=6}}
			]
	As a boy, Hitler said he was whipped almost daily by his father. Years later he told his secretary, "I then resolved never again to cry when my father whipped me. A few days later I had the opportunity of putting my will to the test. My mother, frightened, took refuge in the front of the door. As for me, I counted silently the blows of the stick which lashed my rear end."<ref>], ''Adolph Hitler'', pp. 12-13.</ref>
			The move to Hafeld coincided with the onset of intense father-son conflicts caused by Hitler's refusal to conform to the strict discipline of his school.{{sfn|Fromm|1977|pp=493–498}} Alois tried to browbeat his son into obedience, while Adolf did his best to be the opposite of whatever his father wanted.{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=10–11}} Alois would also beat his son, although his mother tried to protect him from regular beatings.{{sfn|Diver|2005}}
			Alois Hitler's farming efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and in 1897 the family moved to Lambach. The eight-year-old Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church choir, and even considered becoming a priest.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=10–11}} In 1898, the family returned permanently to Leonding. Hitler was deeply affected by the death of his younger brother Edmund in 1900 from ]. Hitler changed from a confident, outgoing, conscientious student to a morose, detached boy who constantly fought with his father and teachers.{{sfn|Payne|1990|p=22}} ] recalled how Adolf was a teenage bully who would often slap her.{{sfn|Diver|2005}}
	Hitler's paternal grandfather was probably one of the brothers Johann Georg Hiedler or ]. There were rumours that Hitler was one-quarter Jewish and that his grandmother, ], became pregnant while working as a servant in a Jewish household. During the 1920s, the implications of these rumours were politically explosive, especially for the proponent of a ] ]. Opponents tried to prove that Hitler had ] or ] ancestors. Although these rumours were never confirmed, for Hitler they were reason enough to conceal his origins. According to Robert G. L. Waite in ''The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler'', Hitler made it illegal for German women to work in Jewish households, and after the "]" (annexation) of Austria, Hitler had his father's hometown obliterated by turning it into an artillery practice area. Thus Hitler seems to have betrayed a fear of being Jewish. Waite says that Hitler's insecurities in this regard may have been more important than whether Judaic ancestry could have been proven by his peers.
			Alois had made a successful career in the customs bureau and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=9}} Hitler later dramatised an episode from this period when his father took him to visit a customs office, depicting it as an event that gave rise to an unforgiving antagonism between father and son, who were both strong-willed.{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=8}}{{sfn|Keller|2010|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|Fest|1977|p=32}} Ignoring his son's desire to attend a classical high school and become an artist, Alois sent Hitler to the '']'' in Linz in September 1900.{{efn|name=Realschule}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=8}} Hitler rebelled against this decision, and in {{lang|de|]}} states that he intentionally performed poorly in school, hoping that once his father saw "what little progress I was making at the technical school he would let me devote myself to my dream".{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=10}}
	Alois Hitler's family moved often, from ] to ], Lambach, ], and ]. Adolf Hitler was a good student at the ]s he attended; however, in ] (1900&ndash;1), his first year of ] (''Realschule'') in Linz, he failed and had to repeat the grade. His teachers reported that he had "no desire to work." One of Hitler's classmates in the Linz Realschule was ], one of the great philosophers of the 20th century.<ref>, though there is scant evidence that they knew each other or had any meaningful contact. However a recent book by British author Kimberley Cornish suggests that conflict between Hitler and a group of Jewish students that included Wittgenstein was a critical moment in Hitler's formation as an anti-semitic radical. See ''The Jew of Linz: Hitler, Wittgenstein and their secret battle for the mind'' (1999).</ref>
			{{multiple image
			| align = right
			| direction = horizontal
			| caption_align = center
			| total_width = 230
			| image1 = Alois Hitler in his last years 2.jpg
			| caption1 = Hitler's father, ], {{circa|1900}}
			| image2 = Klara Hitler.jpg
			| caption2 = Hitler's mother, ], 1870s
			}}
			Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler began to develop ] ideas from a young age.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=163–164}} He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining ] and its rule over an ethnically diverse empire.{{sfn|Bendersky|2000|p=26}}{{sfn|Ryschka|2008|p=35}} Hitler and his friends used the greeting "Heil", and sang the "]" instead of the ].{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=13}} After Alois's sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler's performance at school deteriorated and his mother allowed him to leave.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=10}} He enrolled at the ''Realschule'' in ] in September 1904, where his behaviour and performance improved.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=19}} In 1905, after passing a repeat of the final exam, Hitler left the school without any ambitions for further education or clear plans for a career.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=20}}
			=== Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich ===
	Hitler explained his educational slump as a ] against his father, who wanted the boy to follow him in a career as a customs official, although Adolf wanted to become a ]. This explanation is further supported by Hitler's later description of himself as a misunderstood artist. However, after Alois died on ], ], when Adolf was 13, Hitler's schoolwork did not improve. At the age of 16, Hitler left school with no ]s.
			{{See also|Paintings by Adolf Hitler}}
			] where Hitler spent his early adolescence]]
			]
			In 1907, Hitler left Linz to live and study fine art in ], financed by orphan's benefits and support from his mother. He applied for admission to the ] but was rejected twice.{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=20}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=30–31}} The ] suggested Hitler should apply to the School of Architecture, but he lacked the necessary academic credentials because he had not finished secondary school.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=31}}
			On 21 December 1907, his mother died of breast cancer at the age of 47; Hitler was 18 at the time. In 1909, Hitler ran out of money and was forced to live a ] life in homeless shelters and the ].{{sfn|Bullock|1999|pp=30–33}}{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=157}} He earned money as a casual labourer and by painting and selling watercolours of Vienna's sights.{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=20}} During his time in Vienna, he pursued a growing passion for architecture and music, attending ten performances of {{lang|de|]}}, his favourite ] opera.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=41, 42}}
	===Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich===
	From 1905 on, Hitler lived a Bohemian life on an orphan's pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the ] (1907 &ndash; 1908) due to "unfitness for painting", and was told his abilities lay in the field of ].<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 30-31.</ref> His memoirs reflect a fascination with the subject:
			In Vienna, Hitler was first exposed to racist rhetoric.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=26}} ] such as mayor ] exploited the city's prevalent ] sentiment, occasionally also espousing German nationalist notions for political benefit. German nationalism was even more widespread in the ] district, where Hitler then lived.{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=243–246}} ] became a major influence on Hitler,{{sfn|Nicholls|2000|pp=236, 237, 274}} and he developed an admiration for ].{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=250}} Hitler read local newspapers that promoted prejudice and utilised Christian fears of being swamped by an influx of Eastern European Jews{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=341–345}} as well as pamphlets that published the thoughts of philosophers and theoreticians such as ], ], ], ], and ].{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=233}} During his life in Vienna, Hitler also developed fervent ]s.{{sfn|Britannica: Nazism}}{{sfn|Pinkus|2005|p=27}}
	<blockquote>"''The purpose of my trip was to study the picture gallery in the Court Museum, but I had eyes for scarcely anything but the Museum itself. From morning until late at night, I ran from one object of interest to another, but it was always the buildings which held my primary interest.''" (Mein Kampf, Chapter II, paragraph 3).</blockquote>
			The origin and development of Hitler's anti-Semitism remains a matter of debate.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=60–67}} His friend ] claimed that Hitler was a "confirmed anti-Semite" before he left Linz.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=25}} However, historian Brigitte Hamann describes Kubizek's claim as "problematical".{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=58}} While Hitler states in {{lang|de|Mein Kampf}} that he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna,{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=52}} ], who helped him sell his paintings, disagrees. Hitler had dealings with Jews while living in Vienna.{{sfn|Toland|1992|p=45}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=55, 63}}{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=174}} Historian ] states that "historians now generally agree that his notorious, murderous anti-Semitism emerged well after Germany's defeat , as a product of the paranoid ] for the catastrophe".{{sfn|Evans|2011}}
	Following the school rector's recommendation, he too became convinced this was the path to pursue, yet he lacked the proper academic preparation for ] school:
			Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to ], Germany.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=27}} When he was conscripted into the ],{{sfn|Weber|2010|p=13}} he journeyed to ] on 5 February 1914 for medical assessment. After he was deemed unfit for service, he returned to Munich.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=86}} Hitler later claimed that he did not wish to serve the ] because of the mixture of races in its army and his belief that the collapse of Austria-Hungary was imminent.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=49}}
	<blockquote>"''In a few days I myself knew that I should some day become an architect.
	''To be sure, it was an incredibly hard road; for the studies I had neglected out of spite at the Realschule were sorely needed. One could not attend the Academy's architectural school without having attended the building school at the Technic, and the latter required a high-school degree. I had none of all this. The fulfillment of my artistic dream seemed physically impossible.''''"(Mein Kampf, Chapter II, paragraph 5 & 6).</blockquote>
			=== World War I ===
	On ], ], Hitler's mother died a painful death from ] at the age of 47. Ordered to by a court in Linz, Hitler gave his share of the ]s' benefits to his sister ]. When he was 21 he inherited money from an aunt. He struggled as a painter in Vienna, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to merchants and tourists (there is evidence he produced over 2000 paintings and drawings before World War I).
			{{Main|Military career of Adolf Hitler}}
	], ]]]
			] comrades from the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment&nbsp;16 ({{Circa|1914–18)}}]]
			In August 1914, at the outbreak of ], Hitler was living in Munich and voluntarily enlisted in the ].{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=90}} According to a 1924 report by the Bavarian authorities, allowing Hitler to serve was most likely an administrative error, because as an Austrian citizen, he should have been returned to Austria.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=90}} Posted to the ] (1st Company of the List Regiment),{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=90}}{{sfn|Weber|2010|pp=12–13}} he served as a dispatch ] on the ] in France and Belgium,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=53}} spending nearly half his time at the regimental headquarters in ], well behind the front lines.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=54}}{{sfn|Weber|2010|p=100}} In 1914, he was present at the ]{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}} and in that year was decorated for bravery, receiving the ], Second Class.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}}
			During his service at headquarters, Hitler pursued his artwork, drawing cartoons and instructions for an army newspaper. During the ] in October 1916, he was wounded in the left thigh when a shell exploded in the dispatch runners' dugout.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=57}} Hitler spent almost two months recovering in hospital at ], returning to his regiment on 5 March 1917.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=58}} He was present at the ] of 1917 and the ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}} He received the ] on 18 May 1918.{{sfn|Steiner|1976|p=392}} Three months later, in August 1918, on a recommendation by Lieutenant ], his Jewish superior, Hitler received the Iron Cross, First Class, a decoration rarely awarded at Hitler's {{lang|de|]}} rank.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=59}}{{sfn|Weber|2010a}} On 15 October 1918, he was temporarily blinded in a ] attack and was hospitalised in ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=59, 60}} While there, Hitler learned of Germany's defeat, and, by his own account, suffered a second bout of blindness after receiving this news.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=97, 102}}
	After the second refusal from the Academy of Arts, Hitler ran out of money. In 1909 he sought refuge in a homeless shelter, and by 1910 had settled into a house for poor working men.
			Hitler described his role in World War I as "the greatest of all experiences", and was praised by his commanding officers for his bravery.{{sfn|Keegan|1987|pp=238–240}} His wartime experience reinforced his German patriotism, and he was shocked by Germany's capitulation in November 1918.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=60}} His displeasure with the collapse of the war effort began to shape his ideology.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=61, 62}} Like other German nationalists, he believed the {{lang|de|Dolchstoßlegende}} (]), which claimed that the German army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" on the ] by civilian leaders, Jews, ], and those who signed the ] that ended the fighting—later dubbed the "November criminals".{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=61–63}}
	Hitler says he first became an ] in ], which had a large ] community, including ] who had fled from pogroms in Russia. However, according to a close childhood friend, ], Hitler was already a "confirmed anti-Semite before he left Linz, Austria. Vienna at this time was a hotbed of traditional religious prejudice and 19th century racism. Hitler may have been influenced by the writings of the ideologist and anti-Semite ] and ]s from ]s such as ], founder of the ] and ], the composer ], and ], leader of the pan-Germanic ''Away from Rome!'' movement. Hitler claims in '']'' that his transition from opposing anti-Semitism on religious grounds to supporting it on racial grounds came from having seen an ], but actually it seems Hitler wasn't that anti-semitic in these years. He often was a guest for dinner in a noble Jewish house and Jewish merchants tried to sell his paintings.<ref>''Hitler's Vienna. A dictator's apprenticeship'' by Brigitte Hamann and Thomas Thornton, Oxford University Press, USA (July 1, 1999)</ref>
			The ] stipulated that Germany had to relinquish several of its territories and ] the ]. The treaty imposed economic sanctions and levied heavy reparations on the country. Many Germans saw the treaty as an unjust humiliation. They especially objected to ], which they interpreted as declaring Germany responsible for the war.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=96}} The Versailles Treaty and the economic, social, and political conditions in Germany after the war were later exploited by Hitler for political gain.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=80, 90, 92}}
	Hitler may also have been influenced by ]'s "The Jews and Their Lies". ] took place on 10 November - Luther's birthday - and resembles Luther's own advice on how the Jews should be dealt with.
			== Entry into politics ==
	<blockquote>"''There were very few Jews in Linz. In the course of centuries the Jews who lived there had become ] in external appearance and were so much like other human beings that I even looked upon them as Germans. The reason why I did not then perceive the absurdity of such an illusion was that the only external mark which I recognized as distinguishing them from us was the practice of their strange religion. As I thought that they were persecuted on account of their faith my aversion to hearing remarks against them grew almost into a feeling of abhorrence. I did not in the least suspect that there could be such a thing as a systematic anti-Semitism.''</blockquote>
			{{Main|Political views of Adolf Hitler}}
			] (DAP) membership card]]
			After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=61}} Without formal education or career prospects, he remained in the Army.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=109}} In July 1919, he was appointed {{lang|de|Verbindungsmann}} (intelligence agent) of an {{lang|de|Aufklärungskommando}} (reconnaissance unit) of the {{lang|de|]}}, assigned to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the ] (DAP). At a DAP meeting on 12 September 1919, Party Chairman ] was impressed by Hitler's oratorical skills. He gave him a copy of his pamphlet ''My Political Awakening'', which contained anti-Semitic, nationalist, ], and anti-Marxist ideas.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}} On the orders of his army superiors, Hitler applied to join the party,{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=170}} and within a week was accepted as party member 555 (the party began counting membership at 500 to give the impression they were a much larger party).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=75, 76}}{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=67}}
	<blockquote>''Once, when passing through the inner City, I suddenly encountered a phenomenon in a long caftan and wearing black side-locks. My first thought was: Is this a Jew? They certainly did not have this appearance in Linz. I carefully watched the man stealthily and cautiously but the longer I gazed at the strange countenance and examined it feature by feature, the more the question shaped itself in my brain: Is this a German?''" <br>(''Mein Kampf'', vol. 1, chap. 2: "Years of study and suffering in Vienna")
	</blockquote>
			Hitler made his earliest known written statement about the ] in a 16 September 1919 letter to Adolf Gemlich (now known as the ]). In the letter, Hitler argues that the aim of the government "must unshakably be the removal of the Jews altogether".{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=125–126}} At the DAP, Hitler met ], one of the party's founders and a member of the occult ].{{sfn|Fest|1970|p=21}} Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging ideas with him and introducing him to a wide range of Munich society.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=94, 95, 100}} To increase its appeal, the DAP changed its name to the {{lang|de|Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei}} (] (NSDAP), now known as the "Nazi Party").{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=87}} Hitler designed the party's banner of a ] in a white circle on a red background.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=88}}
	Hitler claimed that Jews were enemies of the ]. He held them responsible for Austria's crisis. He also identified certain forms of ] and ], which had many Jewish leaders, as Jewish movements, merging his anti-Semitism with anti-Marxism. Blaming Germany's military defeat on the 1918 Revolutions, he considered Jews the culprit of Imperial Germany's downfall and subsequent economic problems as well.
			Hitler was discharged from the Army on 31 March 1920 and began working full-time for the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=93}} The party headquarters was in Munich, a centre for anti-government German nationalists determined to eliminate Marxism and undermine the ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=81}} In February 1921—already highly effective at ]—he spoke to a crowd of over 6,000.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=89}} To publicise the meeting, two truckloads of party supporters drove around Munich waving swastika flags and distributing leaflets. Hitler soon gained notoriety for his rowdy ] speeches against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians, and especially against Marxists and Jews.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=89–92}}
	]
			]
	Generalising from tumultuous scenes in the parliament of the multi-national ], he decided that the democratic ] was unworkable. However, according to ], his roommate at the time, he was more interested in the ]s of ] than in politics.
			In June 1921, while Hitler and Eckart were on a fundraising trip to ], a mutiny broke out within the Nazi Party in Munich. Members of its executive committee wanted to merge with the Nuremberg-based ] (DSP).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=100, 101}} Hitler returned to Munich on 11 July and angrily tendered his resignation. The committee members realised that the resignation of their leading public figure and speaker would mean the end of the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=102}} Hitler announced he would rejoin on the condition that he would replace Drexler as party chairman, and that the party headquarters would remain in Munich.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=103}} The committee agreed, and he rejoined the party on 26 July as member 3,680. Hitler continued to face some opposition within the Nazi Party. Opponents of Hitler in the leadership had ] expelled from the party, and they printed 3,000 copies of a pamphlet attacking Hitler as a traitor to the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=103}}{{efn|name=libel suit}} In the following days, Hitler spoke to several large audiences and defended himself and Esser, to thunderous applause. His strategy proved successful, and at a special party congress on 29 July, he was granted absolute power as party chairman, succeeding Drexler, by a vote of 533&nbsp;to&nbsp;1.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=83, 103}}
	Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to ]. He wrote in '']'' that he had always longed to live in a "real" German city. In Munich, he became more interested in architecture and, he says, the writings of ]. Moving to Munich also helped him escape ] in Austria for a time, but the Austrian army arrested him finally. After a physical exam (during which his height was measured at 173 cm, or 5 ft 8 in) and a contrite plea, he was deemed unfit for service and allowed to return to Munich. However, when Germany entered World War I in August 1914, he petitioned King Ludwig III of Bavaria for permission to serve in a Bavarian regiment, this request was granted, and Adolf Hitler enlisted in the ]n army.<ref>Shirer, William L., ''The Rise And Fall of Adolf Hitler'' c 1961, Random House</ref>
			Hitler's vitriolic beer hall speeches began attracting regular audiences. A ],{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=xv}} he became adept at using populist themes, including the use of ]s, who were blamed for his listeners' economic hardships.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=376}}{{sfn|Frauenfeld|1937}}{{sfn|Goebbels|1936}} Hitler used personal magnetism and an understanding of ] to his advantage while engaged in public speaking.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=105–106}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=377}} Historians have noted the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups.{{sfn|Kressel|2002|p=121}} ], a former member of the Hitler Youth, recalled:
	===World War I===
			{{blockquote|We erupted into a frenzy of nationalistic pride that bordered on hysteria. For minutes on end, we shouted at the top of our lungs, with tears streaming down our faces: {{lang|de|Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil!}} From that moment on, I belonged to Adolf Hitler body and soul.{{sfn|Heck|2001|p=23}}}}
	<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ]}}]] -->
	Hitler soldiered in ] and ] as a runner for the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment (called ''Regiment List'' after its first commander), which exposed him to enemy fire.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 50-51.</ref> Unlike his fellow soldiers, Hitler never complained about the food or hard conditions, preferring to talk about ] or history. He drew ]s and instructional drawings for the army newspaper.
			Early followers included ], former air force ace ], and army captain ]. Röhm became head of the Nazis' paramilitary organisation, the {{lang|de|]}} (SA, "Stormtroopers"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. A critical influence on Hitler's thinking during this period was the {{lang|de|]}},{{sfn|Kellogg|2005|p=275}} a conspiratorial group of ] exiles and early Nazis. The group, financed with funds channelled from wealthy industrialists, introduced Hitler to the idea of a Jewish conspiracy, linking international finance with ].{{sfn|Kellogg|2005|p=203}}
	Hitler was twice decorated for bravery. He received the ], Second Class, in December 1914 and the Iron Cross, First Class, in August 1918, an honour rarely given to a ].<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 52.</ref> However, because the regimental staff thought Hitler lacked leadership skills, and (according to Kershaw){{Page number}} Hitler's unwillingness to leave regimental headquarters (which would have been likely in event of promotion), he was never promoted to ]. Other historians say that the reason he was not promoted is that he did not have German citizenship. His duty station at regimental headquarters, while often dangerous, gave Hitler time to pursue his artwork. In October 1916 Hitler was ]ed in the leg, but returned to the front in March 1917. He received the ] later that year. ], referring to Hitler's experience at the front, suggests he did have at least some understanding of the military.
			The programme of the Nazi Party was laid out in their ] on 24 February 1920. This did not represent a coherent ideology, but was a conglomeration of received ideas which had currency in the {{lang|de|]}} ] movement, such as ], opposition to the ], distrust of ], as well as some ] ideas. For Hitler, the most important aspect of it was its strong ] stance. He also perceived the programme as primarily a basis for propaganda and for attracting people to the party.{{sfn|Bracher|1970|pp=115–116}}
	On ], ] Hitler was admitted to a ], temporarily ] by a ] attack. The English psychologist ]<ref>], ''The Man who invented Hitler'', ], 2003. ISBN 0-7553-1148-5.</ref> and ] indicate the blindness may have been the result of a ] (then known as ]). Hitler said it was during this experience that he became convinced the purpose of his life was to "save Germany". Some scholars, notably Lucy Dawidowicz,<ref>''The War Against the Jews''. Bantam. 1986</ref> argue that an intention to exterminate Europe's Jews was fully formed in Hitler's mind at this time, though he probably hadn't thought through how it could be done. This is however a minority view. Most historians think the decision was made in 1940 or 1941, and some think it came as late as 1942.
			=== Beer Hall Putsch and Landsberg Prison ===
	Two passages in '']'' mention the use of '']'':
			{{Main|Beer Hall Putsch}}
	:''At the beginning of the Great War, or even during the War, if twelve or fifteen thousand of these Jews who were corrupting the nation had been forced to submit to poison-gas ... then the millions of sacrifices made at the front would not have been in vain.'' (Volume 2, Chapter 15 "The Right to Self-Defence").
			] trial, 1&nbsp;April 1924. From left to right: ], ], ], ], ], Hitler, ], ], and ].]]
			] of {{lang|de|]}}'s 1926–28 edition, which Hitler authored in 1925]]
			In 1923, Hitler enlisted the help of World War I General ] for an attempted coup known as the "]". The Nazi Party used ] as a model for their appearance and policies. Hitler wanted to emulate ]'s "]" of 1922 by staging his own coup in Bavaria, to be followed by a challenge to the government in Berlin. Hitler and Ludendorff sought the support of {{lang|de|Staatskommissar}} (State Commissioner) ], Bavaria's ''de facto'' ruler. However, Kahr, along with Police Chief ] and Reichswehr General ], wanted to install a nationalist dictatorship without Hitler.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=126}}
			On 8 November 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting of 3,000 people organised by Kahr in the ], a beer hall in Munich. Interrupting Kahr's speech, he announced that the national revolution had begun and declared the formation of a new government with Ludendorff.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=128}} Retiring to a back room, Hitler, with his pistol drawn, demanded and subsequently received the support of Kahr, Seisser, and Lossow.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=128}} Hitler's forces initially succeeded in occupying the local Reichswehr and police headquarters, but Kahr and his cohorts quickly withdrew their support. Neither the Army nor the state police joined forces with Hitler.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=129}} The next day, Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the ] to overthrow the Bavarian government, but police dispersed them.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=130–131}} ] and four police officers were killed in the failed coup.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=73–74}}
	:''These tactics are based on an accurate estimation of human weakness and must lead to success, with almost mathematical certainty, unless the other side also learns how to fight poison gas with poison gas. The weaker natures must be told that here it is a case of to be or not to be.'' (Volume 1, Chapter 2 "Years of Study and Suffering in Vienna")
			Hitler fled to the home of ] and by some accounts contemplated suicide.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=132}} He was depressed but calm when arrested on 11 November 1923 for ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=131}} His trial before the special ] in Munich began in February 1924,{{sfn|Munich Court, 1924}} and ] became temporary leader of the Nazi Party. On 1 April, Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at ].{{sfn|Fulda|2009|pp=68–69}} There, he received friendly treatment from the guards, and was allowed mail from supporters and regular visits by party comrades. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, he was released from jail on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=239}} Including time on remand, Hitler served just over one year in prison.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=121}}
	Hitler had long admired Germany, and during the war he had become a passionate German ], although he did not become a German citizen until 1932. He was shocked by Germany's ] in November 1918 even while the German army still held enemy territory.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 60.</ref> Like many other German ], Hitler believed in the '']'' ("dagger-stab legend") which claimed that the army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" by civilian leaders and Marxists back on the ]. These politicians were later dubbed the '']''.
			While at Landsberg, Hitler dictated most of the first volume of '']'' ({{Literal translation|My Struggle}}); originally titled ''Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice'') at first to his chauffeur, ], and then to his deputy, ].{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=121}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|page=147}} The book, dedicated to Thule Society member Dietrich Eckart, was an autobiography and exposition of his ideology. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race. Throughout the book, Jews are equated with "germs" and presented as the "international poisoners" of society. According to Hitler's ideology, the only solution was their extermination. While Hitler did not describe exactly how this was to be accomplished, his "inherent genocidal thrust is undeniable", according to ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=148–150}}
	The ] deprived Germany of various territories, ] the ] and imposed other economically damaging sanctions. The treaty re-created Poland, which even moderate Germans regarded as an outrage. The treaty also blamed Germany for all the horrors of the Great War, something which major historians like ] now consider at least in part to be ], as most European nations in the run-up to World War I had become increasingly militarised and had in fact been eager to fight. The culpability of Germany was used as a basis to impose reparations on Germany (the amount was repeatedly revised under the ], the ], and the ]). Germany in turn perceived the treaty and especially the paragraph on the German guilt as a humiliation. For example, there was a nearly total demilitarisation of the armed forces, allowing Germany only 6 battleships, no submarines, no air force, an army of 100,000 without ] and no armoured vehicles. The treaty was an important factor in both the social and political conditions encountered by Hitler and his Nazis as they sought power. Hitler and his party used the signing of the treaty by the "November Criminals" as a reason to build up Germany so that it could never happen again. He also used the "November Criminals" as scapegoats, although at the ], these politicians had had very little choice in the matter.
			Published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, {{lang|de|Mein Kampf}} sold 228,000 copies between 1925 and 1932. One million copies were sold in 1933, Hitler's first year in office.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=80–81}} Shortly before Hitler was eligible for parole, the Bavarian government attempted to have him deported to Austria.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=237}} The Austrian federal chancellor rejected the request on the specious grounds that his service in the German Army made his Austrian citizenship void.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=238}} In response, Hitler formally renounced his Austrian citizenship on 7 April 1925.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=238}}
	==The early years of the Nazi Party==
	] membership card. His actual membership number was 555 (the 55th member of the party - the 500 was added to make the group appear larger) but later the number was reduced to create the impression that Hitler was one of the founding members (Ian Kershaw ''Hubris''). Hitler had wanted to create his own party, but was ordered by his superiors in the Reichswehr to infiltrate an existing one instead.]]
			=== Rebuilding the Nazi Party ===
	===Hitler's entry into politics===
	{{main|Hitler's political beliefs}}
	After World War I, Hitler remained in the army and returned to Munich, where he - in contrast to his later declarations - participated in the funeral march for the murdered Bavarian prime minister ].<ref></ref> After the suppression of the ], he took part in "national thinking" courses organized by the ''Education and Propaganda Department'' (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian ''Reichswehr'' Group, Headquarters 4 under Captain ]. A key purpose of this group was to create a ]{{Fact|date=February 2007}} for the outbreak of the war and Germany's defeat. The scapegoats were found in "international Jewry", communists, and politicians across the party spectrum, especially the parties of the ], who were deemed "]".
			At the time of Hitler's release from prison, politics in Germany had become less combative and the economy had improved, limiting Hitler's opportunities for political agitation. As a result of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, the Nazi Party and its affiliated organisations were banned in Bavaria. In a meeting with the Prime Minister of Bavaria, ], on 4 January 1925, Hitler agreed to respect the state's authority and promised that he would seek political power only through the democratic process. The meeting paved the way for the ban on the Nazi Party to be lifted on 16 February.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=158, 161, 162}}
	In July 1919, Hitler was appointed a ''Verbindungsmann'' (police spy) of an ''Aufklärungskommando'' (Intelligence Commando) of the ], both to influence other soldiers and to ] a small party, the ] (DAP) (See: ]). During his ], Hitler was impressed with ]'s ], ], ] and anti-] ideas, which favoured a strong active government, a "non-Jewish" version of socialism and mutual solidarity of all members of society.
			However, after an inflammatory speech he gave on 27 February, Hitler was barred from public speaking by the Bavarian authorities, a ban that remained in place until 1927.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=162, 166}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=129}} To advance his political ambitions in spite of the ban, Hitler appointed ], ], and ] to organise and enlarge the Nazi Party in northern Germany. Gregor Strasser steered a more independent political course, emphasising the socialist elements of the party's programme.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=166, 167}}
	Here Hitler also met ], one of the early founders of the party and member of the occult ].<ref>Joachim C. Fest, in ''The Face Of The Third Reich'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1970; URL accessed ] ]).</ref> Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging ideas with him, teaching him how to dress and speak, and introducing him to a wide range of people. Hitler thanked Eckart by paying tribute to him in the second volume of ''Mein Kampf''.
			The stock market in the United States ]. The impact in Germany was dire: millions became unemployed and several major banks collapsed. Hitler and the Nazi Party prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to repudiate the Versailles Treaty, strengthen the economy, and provide jobs.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=136–137}}
	Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with his former superiors' continued encouragement began participating full time in the party's activities. By early 1921, Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of large crowds. In February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in ]. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of Party supporters to drive around with ]s, cause a commotion and throw out ]s, their first use of this tactic. Hitler gained notoriety outside of the Party for his rowdy, ] speeches against the ], rival politicians (including monarchists, nationalists and other non-internationalist socialists) and especially against Marxists and Jews.
			== Rise to power ==
	The DAP was centered in Munich, a hotbed of German nationalists who included Army officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine the Weimar republic. Gradually they noticed Adolf Hitler and his growing movement as a vehicle to hitch themselves to. Hitler traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 1921 and in his absence there was a ] among the DAP leadership in Munich.
			{{Main|Adolf Hitler's rise to power}}
			{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align: center;"
	The Party was run by an executive ] whose original members considered Hitler to be overbearing and dictatorial. They formed an ] with a group of socialists from ]. Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by tendering his ] from the Party on ], ]. When they realized the loss of Hitler would effectively mean the end of the Party, he seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he would be given dictatorial powers. Infuriated committee members (including founder ]) held out at first. Meanwhile an anonymous ] appeared entitled ''Adolf Hitler: Is he a ]?'', attacking Hitler's lust for power and criticizing the violent men around him. Hitler responded to its publication in a Munich newspaper by ] for ] and later won a small settlement.
			|-
			|+ Nazi Party election results{{sfn|Kolb|2005|pp=224–225}}
			|-
			! scope="col" | Election
			! scope="col" | Total votes
			! scope="col" | % votes
			! scope="col" | Reichstag seats
			! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{dts|1 May 1924|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|1918300}}
			| {{Number table sorting|6.5}}
			| {{Number table sorting|32}}
			| style="text-align:left;" | Hitler in prison
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{dts|1 December 1924|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|907300}}
			| {{Number table sorting|3.0}}
			| {{Number table sorting|14}}
			| style="text-align:left;" | Hitler released from prison
			|-
			! scope="row" |{{dts|1 May 1928|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|810100}}
			| {{Number table sorting|2.6}}
			| {{Number table sorting|12}}
			| style="text-align:left;" | &nbsp;
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{dts|1 September 1930|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|6409600}}
			| {{Number table sorting|18.3}}
			| {{Number table sorting|107}}
			| style="text-align:left;" | After the financial crisis
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{dts|1 July 1932|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|13745000}}
			| {{Number table sorting|37.3}}
			| {{Number table sorting|230}}
			| style="text-align:left;" | After Hitler was candidate for presidency
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{dts|1 November 1932|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|11737000}}
			| {{Number table sorting|33.1}}
			| {{Number table sorting|196}}
			| style="text-align:left;"|&nbsp;
			|-
			! scope="row" | {{dts|1 March 1933|format=hide}}]
			| {{Number table sorting|17277180}}
			| {{Number table sorting|43.9}}
			| {{Number table sorting|288}}
			| style="text-align:left;" | Only partially free during Hitler's term as chancellor of Germany
			|}
			=== Brüning administration ===
	The executive committee of the DAP eventually backed down and Hitler's demands were put to a vote of party members. Hitler received 543 votes for and only one against. At the next gathering on ], ], Adolf Hitler was introduced as ] of the National Socialist Party, marking the first time this title was publicly used. Hitler changed the name of the party to the ''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' or ].
			The ] provided a political opportunity for Hitler. Germans were ambivalent about the ], which faced challenges from ] and ]. The moderate political parties were increasingly unable to stem the tide of extremism, and the ] helped to elevate Nazi ideology.{{sfn|Kolb|1988|p=105}} The elections of September 1930 resulted in the break-up of a ] and its replacement with a minority cabinet. Its leader, chancellor ] of the ], governed through ] from President ]. Governance by decree became the new norm and paved the way for authoritarian forms of government.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|p=403 ''et. seq''}} The Nazi Party rose from obscurity to win 18.3 per cent of the vote and 107 parliamentary seats in the 1930 election, becoming the second-largest party in parliament.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=434–446 ''et. seq''}}
	Hitler's beer hall ], attacking Jews, ], ], reactionary ], ] and ], began attracting adherents. Early followers included ], the former air force pilot ], and the army ] ], who became head of the Nazis' ], the ] (''Sturmabteilung'', or "Storm Division"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. Hitler also assimilated independent groups, such as the Nuremberg-based ''Deutsche Werkgemeinschaft'', led by ], who now became ] of ]. Hitler also attracted the attention of local business interests, was accepted into influential circles of Munich society, and became associated with wartime General ] during this time.
			] at the dedication of the renovation of the Palais Barlow on ] in Munich into the ] headquarters, December 1930]]
	===The Beer Hall Putsch===
	{{main|Beer Hall Putsch}}
			Hitler made a prominent appearance at the trial of two Reichswehr officers, Lieutenants Richard Scheringer and ], in late 1930. Both were charged with membership in the Nazi Party, at that time illegal for Reichswehr personnel.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=218}} The prosecution argued that the Nazi Party was an extremist party, prompting defence lawyer Hans Frank to call on Hitler to testify.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=216}} On 25 September 1930, Hitler testified that his party would pursue political power solely through democratic elections,{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|pp=218–219}} which won him many supporters in the officer corps.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=222}}
	Encouraged by this early support, Hitler decided to use Ludendorff as a front in an ] later known as the ''Beer Hall Putsch'' (sometimes as the ''Hitler Putsch'' or ''Munich Putsch''). The Nazi Party had copied the Italian ] in appearance and also had adopted some programmatical points and now, in the turbulent year 1923, Hitler wanted to emulate ]'s "]" by staging his own "Campaign in Berlin". Hitler and Ludendorff obtained the clandestine support of ], ]'s ] ruler along with leading figures in the ] and the police. As political posters show, Ludendorff, Hitler and the heads of the Bavarian police and military planned on forming a new government.
			Brüning's austerity measures brought little economic improvement and were extremely unpopular.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|p=449 ''et. seq''}} Hitler exploited this by targeting his political messages specifically at people who had been affected by the inflation of the 1920s and the Depression, such as farmers, war veterans, and the middle class.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=434–436, 471}}
	However on ], ] Kahr and the military withdrew their support during a meeting in the Bürgerbräukeller, a large beer hall outside of Munich. A surprised Hitler had them arrested and proceeded with the coup. Unknown to him, Kahr and the other detainees had been released on Ludendorff's orders after he obtained their word not to interfere. That night they prepared resistance measures against the coup and in the morning, when Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government as a start to their "March on Berlin", the army dispersed them (a few Nazis were killed).
			Although Hitler had terminated his Austrian citizenship in 1925, he did not acquire German citizenship for almost seven years. This meant that he was ], legally unable to run for public office, and still faced the risk of deportation.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=130}} On 25 February 1932, the interior minister of ], ], who was a member of the Nazi Party, appointed Hitler as administrator for the state's delegation to the ] in Berlin, making Hitler a citizen of Brunswick,{{sfn|Hinrichs|2007}} and thus of Germany.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|p=476}}
	Hitler fled to the home of ] and contemplated suicide. He was soon arrested for ]. ] became temporary leader of the party. During Hitler's trial, sympathetic magistrates allowed Hitler to turn his coup debacle into a ] triumph. He was given almost unlimited time to speak, and his popularity soared as he voiced nationalistic sentiments. A Munich personality became a nationally known figure. On ], ] Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at ]. Hitler received favoured treatment from the guards and had much fan mail from ].<ref name="bull121">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 121.</ref> He was pardoned and released from jail in December 1924, after serving only nine months of his sentence, or just over a year if time on remand is included.<ref name="bull121"/>
			Hitler ran against Hindenburg in the ]. A speech to the Industry Club in ] on 27 January 1932 won him support from many of Germany's most powerful industrialists.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=468–471}} Hindenburg had support from various nationalist, monarchist, Catholic, and ] parties, and some ]. Hitler used the campaign slogan "{{lang|de|Hitler über Deutschland}}" ("Hitler over Germany"), a reference to his political ambitions and his campaigning by aircraft.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=201}} He was one of the first politicians to use aircraft travel for campaigning and used it effectively.{{sfn|Hoffman|1989}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=227}} Hitler came in second in both rounds of the election, garnering more than 35 per cent of the vote in the final election. Although he lost to Hindenburg, this election established Hitler as a strong force in German politics.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=477–479}}
	===''Mein Kampf''===
	{{main|Mein Kampf}}
	While at Landsberg he dictated '']'' (''My Struggle'', originally intended " Four Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice" by Hitler) to his deputy ].<ref name="bull121"/> The book, dedicated to ] member ], was a selective and sometimes misleading autobiography and an exposition of his ideology. It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, selling about 240,000 copies between 1925 and 1934 alone. By the end of the war, about 10 million copies had been sold or distributed (every newly-wed couple, as well as front soldiers, received free copies).
			=== Appointment as chancellor ===
	Hitler spent years dodging taxes on the royalties of his book, and had accumulated a tax debt of about 405,500 ] (€6m in today's money) by the time he became chancellor (at which time his debt was waived).<ref name="taxes"> BBC News, 2004-12-17. Retrieved on 2007-1-22.</ref><ref> Spiegel Online</ref>
			], receives an ovation on the evening of his inauguration as ], 30 January 1933]]
			The absence of an effective government prompted two influential politicians, ] and ], along with several other industrialists and businessmen, to write a letter to Hindenburg. The signers urged Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties", which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people".{{sfn|Letter to Hindenburg, 1932}}{{sfn|Fox News, 2003}}
			Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor after two further parliamentary elections—in July and November 1932—had not resulted in the formation of a majority government. Hitler headed a short-lived coalition government formed by the Nazi Party (which had the most seats in the Reichstag) and Hugenberg's party, the ] (DNVP). On 30 January 1933, the new cabinet was sworn in during a brief ceremony in Hindenburg's office. The Nazi Party gained three posts: Hitler was named chancellor, ] Minister of the Interior, and Hermann Göring Minister of the Interior for Prussia.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=184}} Hitler had insisted on the ministerial positions as a way to gain control over the police in much of Germany.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=307}}
	The copyright of Mein Kampf in Europe is claimed by the Free State of Bavaria and will expire in 2015. Reproductions in Germany are authorized only for scholarly purposes and in heavily commented form. The situation is however unclear; Werner Maser (whom Theodor Heuss proposed to publish "Mein Kampf" as a weapon against Nazi Ideology) comments that intellectual property cannot be confiscated and so, it still would lie in the hands of Hitler's nephew, who, however, does not want to have anything to do with Hitler's legacy. This situation led to contested trials, eg., in Poland and Sweden. "Mein Kampf", however, is published in the USA, as well as in other countries such as Turkey and Israel, by publishers with various political positions.
			=== Reichstag fire and March elections ===
	===The rebuilding of the party===
			{{Main|Reichstag fire}}
	At the time of Hitler's release, the political situation in Germany had calmed and the economy had improved, which hampered Hitler's opportunities for agitation. Though the ''Hitler Putsch'' had given Hitler some national prominence, his party's mainstay was still Munich.
			As chancellor, Hitler worked against attempts by the Nazi Party's opponents to build a majority government. Because of the political stalemate, he asked Hindenburg to again dissolve the Reichstag, and elections were scheduled for early March. On 27 February 1933, the ]. Göring blamed a communist plot, as Dutch communist ] was found in incriminating circumstances inside the burning building.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=262}} Until the 1960s, some historians, including ] and ], thought the Nazi Party itself was responsible;{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=192}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=262}} according to Ian Kershaw, writing in 1998, the view of nearly all modern historians is that van der Lubbe set the fire alone.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=456–458, 731–732}}{{Update inline|reason=The main article mentions post-2014 scholarship. Is there WP:HISTRS / secondary sources since then that would be appropriate to include here? |date=October 2024}}
	As Hitler was still banned from public speeches, he appointed ], who in 1924 had been elected to the ], as ''Reichsorganisationsleiter'', authorizing him to organize the party in northern Germany. Gregor, joined by his younger brother ] and ], steered an increasingly independent course, emphasizing the socialist element in the party's programme. The ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Gauleiter Nord-West'' became an internal opposition, threatening Hitler's authority, but this faction was defeated at the ], during which Goebbels joined Hitler.
			At Hitler's urging, Hindenburg responded by signing the ] of 28 February, drafted by the Nazis, which suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. The decree was permitted under ] of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=194, 274}} Activities of the ] (KPD) were suppressed, and some 4,000 KPD members were arrested.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=194}}
	After this encounter, Hitler centralized the party even more and asserted the '']'' ("Leader principle") as the basic principle of party organization. Leaders were not elected by their group but were rather appointed by their superior and were answerable to them while demanding unquestioning obedience from their inferiors. Consistent with Hitler's disdain for ], all power and ] devolved from the top down.
			In addition to political campaigning, the Nazi Party engaged in paramilitary violence and the spread of anti-communist propaganda in the days preceding ]. On election day, 6 March 1933, the Nazi Party's share of the vote increased to 43.9 per cent, and the party acquired the largest number of seats in parliament. Hitler's party failed to secure an absolute majority, necessitating another coalition with the DNVP.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=265}}
	A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to convey a sense of offended national pride caused by the ] imposed on the defeated ] by the Western Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory in Europe along with its ] and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge ] bill totaling 132 billion ]. Most Germans bitterly resented these terms but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly successful with the electorate. The party learned quickly and soon a more subtle propaganda emerged, combining anti-Semitism with an attack on the failures of the "] system" and the parties supporting it.
			=== Day of Potsdam and the Enabling Act ===
	Having failed in overthrowing the Republic by a coup, Hitler now pursued the "strategy of legality": this meant formally adhering to the rules of the ] until he had legally gained power and then transforming liberal democracy into a Nazi dictatorship. Some party members, especially in the paramilitary ], opposed this strategy and ] ridiculed Hitler as "Adolphe Legalité".
			{{Main|Enabling Act of 1933}}
			] on the Day of Potsdam, 21 March 1933]]
	==The road to power==
	{{main|Hitler's rise to power}}
			On 21 March 1933, the new Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony at the ] in ]. This "Day of Potsdam" was held to demonstrate unity between the Nazi movement and the old ]n elite and military. Hitler appeared in a ] and humbly greeted Hindenburg.{{sfn|City of Potsdam}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=196–197}}
	<table border="2" class="prettytable">
	<tr>
	<td align="center" colspan="5"><strong>Nazi Party Election Results<br />
	</strong></td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="center"><strong>Date</strong></td>
	<td align="center"><strong>Votes</strong></td>
	<td align="center"><strong>Percentage </strong></td>
	<td align="center"><strong>Seats in&nbsp;Reichstag</strong></td>
	<td align="center"><strong>Background</strong></td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">1,918,300</td>
	<td align="right">6.5</td>
	<td align="right">32</td>
	<td align="left">Hitler in prison</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">907,300</td>
	<td align="right">3.0</td>
	<td align="right">14</td>
	<td align="left">Hitler is released from prison</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">810,100</td>
	<td align="right">2.6</td>
	<td align="right">12</td>
	<td align="left">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">6,409,600</td>
	<td align="right">18.3</td>
	<td align="right">107</td>
	<td align="left">After the financial crisis</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">13,745,800</td>
	<td align="right">37.4</td>
	<td align="right">230</td>
	<td align="left">After Hitler was candidate for presidency</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">11,737,000</td>
	<td align="right">33.1</td>
	<td align="right">196</td>
	<td align="left">&nbsp;</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
	<td align="left">]</td>
	<td align="right">17,277,000</td>
	<td align="right">43.9</td>
	<td align="right">288</td>
	<td align="left">During Hitler's term as Chancellor of Germany</td>
	</tr>
	</table>
			To achieve full political control despite not having an absolute majority in parliament, Hitler's government brought the {{lang|de|Ermächtigungsgesetz}} (Enabling Act) to a vote in the newly elected Reichstag. The Act—officially titled the {{lang|de|Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich}} ("Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich")—gave Hitler's cabinet the power to enact laws without the consent of the Reichstag for four years. These laws could (with certain exceptions) deviate from the constitution.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=198}}
	===The Brüning administration===
	The political turning point for Hitler came when the ] hit Germany in 1930. The ] had never been firmly rooted and was openly opposed by right-wing conservatives (including monarchists), Communists and the Nazis. As the parties loyal to the democratic, parliamentary republic found themselves unable to agree on counter-measures, their ] broke up and was replaced by a minority cabinet. The new Chancellor ] of the Roman Catholic ], lacking a majority in parliament, had to implement his measures through the President's emergency decrees. Tolerated by the majority of parties, the exception soon became the rule and paved the way for authoritarian forms of government.
			Since it would affect the constitution, the Enabling Act required a two-thirds majority to pass. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to arrest all 81 Communist deputies (in spite of their virulent campaign against the party, the Nazis had allowed the KPD to contest the election){{sfn|Evans|2003|p=335}} and prevent several Social Democrats from attending.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=196}}
	The Reichstag's initial opposition to Brüning's measures led to premature elections in September 1930. The republican parties lost their majority and their ability to resume the Grand Coalition, while the Nazis suddenly rose from relative obscurity to win 18.3% of the vote along with 107 seats in the ], becoming the second largest party in Germany.
			On 23 March 1933, the Reichstag assembled at the ] under turbulent circumstances. Ranks of SA men served as guards inside the building, while large groups outside opposing the proposed legislation shouted slogans and threats towards the arriving members of parliament.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=269}} After Hitler verbally promised Centre party leader ] that Hindenburg would retain his power of veto, Kaas announced the Centre Party would support the Enabling Act. The Act passed by a vote of 444–94, with all parties except the Social Democrats voting in favour. The Enabling Act, along with the Reichstag Fire Decree, transformed Hitler's government into a de facto legal dictatorship.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=199}}
	] in Munich (headquarters of the Nazi party during the last days of the ]) after a post-election meeting in 1930.]]
			=== Dictatorship ===
	Brüning's measure of budget consolidation and financial ] brought little economic improvement and was extremely unpopular. Under these circumstances, Hitler appealed to the bulk of German ]s, ]s and the ] who had been hard-hit by both the ] of the 1920s and the ] of the Depression. Hitler received little response from the ] working classes and traditionally Catholic regions.
			{{blockquote|At the risk of appearing to talk nonsense I tell you that the National Socialist movement will go on for 1,000 years!&nbsp;... Don't forget how people laughed at me 15 years ago when I declared that one day I would govern Germany. They laugh now, just as foolishly, when I declare that I shall remain in power!{{sfn|''Time'', 1934}}|Adolf Hitler to a British correspondent in Berlin, June 1934}}
			Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his allies began to suppress the remaining opposition. The Social Democratic Party was made illegal, and its assets were seized.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=201}} While many ] delegates were in Berlin for May Day activities, SA stormtroopers occupied union offices around the country. On 2 May 1933, all trade unions were forced to dissolve, and their leaders were arrested. Some were sent to ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=202}} The ] was formed as an umbrella organisation to represent all workers, administrators, and company owners, thus reflecting the concept of Nazism in the spirit of Hitler's {{lang|de|]}} ("people's community").{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=350–374}}
	Meanwhile, on ], ],{{Failed verification|date=April 2007}} Hitler's ] ] was found dead in her bedroom in his Munich apartment (his half-sister ] and her daughter Geli had been with him in Munich since 1929), an apparent suicide. Geli, who was believed to be in some sort of romantic relationship with Hitler, was 19 years younger than he was and had used his gun. The event is viewed as having caused lasting turmoil for him.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 393-394.</ref>
			]}} (leader and chancellor of the Reich)]]
	In 1932, Hitler intended to run against the aging ] ] in the scheduled ]. Though Hitler had left Austria in 1913, he still had not acquired German citizenship and hence could not run for public office. In February, however, the state government of ], in which the Nazi Party participated, appointed Hitler to some minor administrative post and also gave him ] on ] ].<ref>{{cite web | title=] | work=Des Führers Pass, Hitlers Einbürgerung | url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/zeitgeschichte/0,1518,470844,00.html | accessdate=March 10 | accessyear=2007}}</ref>
	The new German citizen ran against Hindenburg, who was supported by a broad range of reactionary nationalist, monarchist, Catholic, Republican and even ] parties, and against the Communist presidential candidate. His campaign was called "Hitler über Deutschland" (Hitler over Germany).<ref name="bull201">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 201.</ref> The name had a double meaning; besides an obvious reference to Hitler's dictatorial intentions, it also referred to the fact that Hitler was campaigning by aircraft.<ref name="bull201"/> This was a brand new political tactic that allowed Hitler to speak in two cities in one day, which was practically unheard of at the time. Hitler came in second on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one in April. Although he lost to Hindenburg, the election established Hitler as a realistic and fresh alternative in German politics.
			By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. This included the Nazis' nominal coalition partner, the DNVP; with the SA's help, Hitler forced its leader, Hugenberg, to resign on 29 June. On 14 July 1933, the Nazi Party was declared the only legal political party in Germany.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=350–374}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=201}} The demands of the SA for more political and military power caused anxiety among military, industrial, and political leaders. In response, Hitler purged the entire SA leadership in the ], which took place from 30 June to 2 July 1934.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=309–314}} Hitler targeted Ernst Röhm and other SA leaders who, along with a number of Hitler's political adversaries (such as Gregor Strasser and former chancellor ]), were rounded up, arrested, and shot.{{sfn|Tames|2008|pp=4–5}} While the international community and some Germans were shocked by the killings, many in Germany believed Hitler was restoring order.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=313–315}}
	===The cabinets of Papen and Schleicher===
	President Hindenburg, influenced by the ], became increasingly estranged from Brüning and pushed his Chancellor to move the government in a decidedly authoritarian and right-wing direction. This culminated, in May 1932, with the resignation of the Brüning cabinet.
			Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. On the previous day, the cabinet had enacted the ].{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=63}} This law stated that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of president would be abolished, and its powers merged with those of the chancellor. Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government and was formally named as {{lang|de|Führer und Reichskanzler}} (Leader and Chancellor of the Reich),{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=226–227}} although {{lang|de|Reichskanzler}} was eventually dropped.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=44}} With this action, Hitler eliminated the last legal remedy by which he could be removed from office.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=229}}
	Hindenburg appointed the nobleman ] as chancellor, heading a "Cabinet of Barons". Papen was bent on authoritarian rule and, since in the Reichstag only the conservative ] supported his administration, he immediately called for new elections in July. In these elections, the Nazis achieved their biggest success yet and won 230 seats.
			As head of state, Hitler became commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Immediately after Hindenburg's death, at the instigation of the leadership of the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}}, the traditional loyalty oath of soldiers was altered to ], rather than to the office of commander-in-chief (which was later renamed to supreme commander) or the state.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=309}} On 19 August, the merger of the presidency with the chancellorship was approved by 88 per cent of the electorate voting in a ].{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=110}}
	The Nazis had become the largest party in the Reichstag without which no stable government could be formed. Papen tried to convince Hitler to become Vice-Chancellor and enter a new government with a parliamentary basis. Hitler however rejected this offer and put further pressure on Papen by entertaining parallel negotiations with the ], Papen's former party, which was bent on bringing down the renegade Papen. In both negotiations, Hitler demanded that he, as leader of the strongest party, must be Chancellor, but President Hindenburg consistently refused to appoint the "Bohemian private" to the Chancellorship.
			]
	After a ] in the Papen government, supported by 84% of the deputies, the new Reichstag was dissolved and new elections were called in November. This time, the Nazis lost some seats but still remained the largest party in the Reichstag.
			In early 1938, Hitler used blackmail to consolidate his hold over the military by instigating the ]. Hitler forced his War Minister, Field Marshal ], to resign by using a police dossier that showed that Blomberg's new wife had a record for prostitution.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=392, 393}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=312}} Army commander Colonel-General ] was removed after the {{lang|de|]}} (SS) produced allegations that he had engaged in a homosexual relationship.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=393–397}} Both men had fallen into disfavour because they objected to Hitler's demand to make the {{lang|de|]}} ready for war as early as 1938.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=308}} Hitler assumed Blomberg's title of Commander-in-Chief, thus taking personal command of the armed forces.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=318}} He replaced the Ministry of War with the {{lang|de|]}} (OKW), headed by General ]. On the same day, sixteen generals were stripped of their commands and 44 more were transferred; all were suspected of not being sufficiently pro-Nazi.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=318–319}} By early February 1938, twelve more generals had been removed.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=397–398}}
	After Papen failed to secure a majority, he proposed to dissolve the parliament again along with an indefinite postponement of elections. Hindenburg at first accepted this, but after General ] and the military withdrew their support, Hindenburg instead dismissed Papen and appointed Schleicher, who promised he could secure a majority government by negotiations with both the Social Democrats, the trade unions, and dissidents from the Nazi party under ]. In January 1933, however, Schleicher had to admit failure in these efforts and asked Hindenburg for emergency powers along with the same postponement of elections that he had opposed earlier, to which the President reacted by dismissing Schleicher.
			Hitler took care to give his dictatorship the appearance of legality. Many of his decrees were explicitly based on the Reichstag Fire Decree and hence on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. The Reichstag renewed the Enabling Act twice, each time for a four-year period.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=274}} While elections to the Reichstag were still held (in 1933, 1936, and 1938), voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and pro-Nazi "guests" which received well over 90 per cent of the vote.{{sfn|Read|2004|p=344}} These sham elections were held in far-from-secret conditions; the Nazis threatened severe reprisals against anyone who did not vote or who voted against.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=109–111}}
	===Hitler's appointment as Chancellor===
	Meanwhile Papen, resentful because of his dismissal, tried to get his revenge on Schleicher by working toward the General's downfall, through forming an intrigue with the ] and ], media mogul and chairman of the ]. Also involved were ], ] and other leading German businessmen. They financially supported the Nazi Party, which had been brought to the brink of bankruptcy by the cost of heavy campaigning. The businessmen also wrote letters to Hindenburg, urging him to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties" which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people."<ref>"<cite>Die Übertragung der verantwortlichen Leitung eines mit den besten sachlichen und persönlichen Kräften ausgestatteten Präsidialkabinetts an den Führer der grössten nationalen Gruppe wird die Schlacken und Fehler, die jeder Massenbewegung notgedrungen anhaften, ausmerzen und Millionen Menschen, die heute abseits stehen, zu bejahender Kraft mitreissen.</cite>" </ref>
			== Nazi Germany ==
	Finally, the President reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler Chancellor of a coalition government formed by the ] and ]. Hitler and two other Nazi ministers (], ]) were to be contained by a framework of conservative cabinet ministers, most notably by Papen as ] and by Hugenberg as Minister of Economics. Papen wanted to use Hitler as a figure-head, but the Nazis had gained key positions, most notably the Ministry of the Interior. On the morning of ], ], in Hindenburg's office, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as ] during what some observers later described as a brief and simple ceremony. The Nazis' seizure of power subsequently became known as the '']''. Hitler established the ] as his personal bodyguards.
			{{Main|Nazi Germany}}
			] in ] in September 1934]]
	===Reichstag Fire and the March elections===		=== Economy and culture ===
			{{Main|Economy of Nazi Germany}}
	Having become Chancellor, Hitler foiled all attempts to gain a majority in parliament and on that basis persuaded President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag again. Elections were scheduled for early March, but on ], ], the ].<ref name="bull262">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 262.</ref> Since a ] was found in the building, the fire was blamed on a Communist plot to which the government reacted with the ] of ], which suspended basic rights, including '']''. Under the provisions of this decree, the ] and other groups were suppressed, and Communist functionaries and deputies were arrested, put to flight, or murdered.
			In August 1934, Hitler appointed {{lang|de|Reichsbank}} President ] as Minister of Economics, and in the following year, as Plenipotentiary for War Economy in charge of preparing the economy for war.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=54}} Reconstruction and rearmament were financed through ], printing money, and seizing the assets of people arrested as enemies of the State, including Jews.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=259–260}} The number of unemployed fell from six{{Nbsp}}million in 1932 to fewer than one million in 1936.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=258}} Hitler oversaw one of the largest infrastructure improvement campaigns in German history, leading to the construction of dams, ]s, railroads, and other civil works. Wages were slightly lower in the mid to late 1930s compared with wages during the Weimar Republic, while the cost of living increased by 25 per cent.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=262}} The average work week increased during the shift to a war economy; by 1939, the average German was working between 47 and 50 hours a week.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=54–57}}
	Campaigning continued, with the Nazis making use of paramilitary violence, anti-Communist hysteria, and the government's resources for propaganda. On election day, ], the NSDAP increased its result to 43.9% of the vote, remaining the largest party, but its victory was marred by its failure to secure an absolute majority, necessitating maintaining a ] with the ].<ref name="bull265">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 265.</ref>
			Hitler's government sponsored ] on an immense scale. ], instrumental in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, was placed in charge of the ].{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=118–119}} Despite a threatened ], Germany hosted the 1936 Olympic Games. Hitler ] at the opening ceremonies and attended events at both the ] in ] and the ] in Berlin.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=570–572}}
	===The "Day of Potsdam" and the Enabling Act===
	On ], the new Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony held at Potsdam's garrison church. This "Day of Potsdam" was staged to demonstrate reconciliation and union between the revolutionary Nazi movement and "Old Prussia" with its elites and virtues. Hitler himself appeared, not in Nazi uniform, but in a tail coat, and humbly greeted the aged President Hindenburg.
			=== Rearmament and new alliances ===
	Because of the Nazis' failure to obtain a majority on their own, Hitler's government confronted the newly elected ] with the ] that would have vested the cabinet with ] powers for a period of four years. Though such a bill was not unprecedented, this act was different since it allowed for deviations from the constitution. As the bill required a two-thirds majority in order to pass, the government needed the support of other parties. The position of the Catholic ], at this point the third largest party in the Reichstag, turned out to be decisive: under the leadership of ], the party decided to vote for the Enabling Act. It did so in return for the government's oral guarantees regarding the ]'s liberty, the concordats signed by German states and the continued existence of the Centre Party itself.
			{{Main|Axis powers|Tripartite Pact|German re-armament}}
			In a meeting with German military leaders on 3 February 1933, Hitler spoke of "conquest for {{lang|de|Lebensraum}} in the East and its ruthless Germanisation" as his ultimate foreign policy objectives.{{sfn|Weinberg|1970|pp=26–27}} In March, Prince Bernhard Wilhelm von Bülow, secretary at the ] ({{lang|de|Auswärtiges Amt}}), issued a statement of major foreign policy aims: {{lang|de|]}} with Austria, the restoration of Germany's national borders of 1914, rejection of military restrictions under the Treaty of Versailles, the return of the former German colonies in Africa, and a German zone of influence in Eastern Europe. Hitler found Bülow's goals to be too modest.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=490–491}} In speeches during this period, he stressed what he termed the peaceful goals of his policies and a willingness to work within international agreements.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=492, 555–556, 586–587}} At the first meeting of his cabinet in 1933, Hitler prioritised military spending over unemployment relief.{{sfn|Carr|1972|p=23}}
	On ], the Reichstag assembled in a replacement building under extremely turbulent circumstances. Some ] served as guards within while large groups outside the building shouted slogans and threats toward the arriving deputies. Kaas announced that the Centre would support the bill amid "concerns put aside.", while Social Democrat ] denounced the Act in his speech. At the end of the day, all parties except the ] voted in favour of the bill. The ] was dutifully renewed by the Reichstag every four years, even through World War II.
			Germany withdrew from the ] and the ] in October 1933.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=297}} In January 1935, over 90 per cent of the people of the ], then under League of Nations administration, ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=283}} That March, Hitler announced an expansion of the Wehrmacht to 600,000 members—six times the number permitted by the Versailles Treaty{{snd}}including development of an air force ({{lang|de|]}}) and an increase in the size of the navy ({{lang|de|]}}). Britain, France, Italy, and the League of Nations condemned these violations of the Treaty but did nothing to stop it.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=601–602}}{{sfn|Martin|2008}} The ] (AGNA) of 18 June allowed German tonnage to increase to 35 per cent of that of the British navy. Hitler called the signing of the AGNA "the happiest day of his life", believing that the agreement marked the beginning of the Anglo-German alliance he had predicted in {{lang|de|Mein Kampf}}.{{sfn|Hildebrand|1973|p=39}} France and Italy were not consulted before the signing, directly undermining the League of Nations and setting the Treaty of Versailles on the path towards irrelevance.{{sfn|Roberts|1975|p=}}
	===Removal of remaining limits===
	With this combination of legislative and ] power, Hitler's government further suppressed the remaining political ]. The ] and the ] were banned, while all other political parties dissolved themselves. ] were merged with employers' federations into an organisation under Nazi control and the autonomy of German state governments was abolished.
	]'']]
			Germany ] the demilitarised zone in the Rhineland in March 1936, in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Hitler also sent troops to Spain to support ] during the ] after receiving an appeal for help in July 1936. At the same time, Hitler continued his efforts to create an Anglo-German alliance.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=630–631}} In August 1936, in response to a growing economic crisis caused by his rearmament efforts, Hitler ordered Göring to implement a ] to prepare Germany for war within the next four years.{{sfn|Overy, ''Origins of WWII Reconsidered''|1999}} The plan envisaged an all-out struggle between "]" and German Nazism, which in Hitler's view required a committed effort of rearmament regardless of the economic costs.{{sfn|Carr|1972|pp=56–57}}
	Hitler also used the ] paramilitary to push Hugenberg into resigning and proceeded to politically isolate Vice Chancellor Papen. As the SA's demands for political and military power caused much anxiety among military leaders, Hitler used allegations of a plot by the SA leader ] to purge the SA's leadership during the ]. Opponents unconnected with the SA were also ]ed, notably ] and former Chancellor ].<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 305.</ref>
			In October 1936, Count ], foreign minister of Mussolini's government, visited Germany, where he signed a ] as an expression of ''rapprochement'' and had a personal meeting with Hitler. On 1 November, Mussolini declared an "axis" between Germany and Italy.{{sfn|Goeschel|2018|pp=69–70}} On 25 November, Germany signed the ] with ]. Britain, China, Italy, and Poland were also invited to join the Anti-Comintern Pact, but only Italy signed in 1937. Hitler abandoned his plan of an Anglo-German alliance, blaming "inadequate" British leadership.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=642}} At a meeting in the ] with his foreign ministers and military chiefs that November, Hitler restated his intention of acquiring {{lang|de|Lebensraum}} for the German people. He ordered preparations for war in the East, to begin as early as 1938 and no later than 1943. In the event of his death, the conference minutes, recorded as the ], were to be regarded as his "political testament".{{sfn|Aigner|1985|p=264}} He felt that a severe decline in living standards in Germany as a result of the economic crisis could only be stopped by military aggression aimed at seizing Austria and ].{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=636–637}}{{sfn|Carr|1972|pp=73–78}} Hitler urged quick action before Britain and France gained a permanent lead in the ].{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=636–637}} In early 1938, in the wake of the ], Hitler asserted control of the military-foreign policy apparatus, dismissing Neurath as foreign minister and appointing himself as War Minister.{{sfn|Overy, ''Origins of WWII Reconsidered''|1999}} From early 1938 onwards, Hitler was carrying out a foreign policy ultimately aimed at war.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=638}}
	President ] died on ] ]. Rather than holding new presidential elections, Hitler's cabinet passed a law proclaiming the presidency dormant and transferred the role and powers of the head of state to Hitler as ''Führer und Reichskanzler'' (leader and chancellor).<ref name="bull309">Bullock, A. ''Hitler, A Study in Tyranny'', 309.</ref> Thereby Hitler also became supreme commander of the military, whose officers then swore an ] not to the state or the constitution but to Hitler personally.<ref name="bull309"/> In a mid-August ], these acts found the approval of 84.6%<ref>Fest, Joachim, ''Hitler'' (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974), pp. 476.</ref> of the electorate. Combining the highest offices in state, military and party in his hand, Hitler had attained supreme rule that could no longer be legally challenged.
			{{clear}}
	==The Third Reich==		== World War II ==
			=== Early diplomatic successes ===
	{{main|Nazi Germany}}
			]|italic=no}}, at a meeting in Berlin in March 1941. In the background is ].]]
	]'s book of photography, ''Youth with Hitler'', were used to ] Hitler's populist-] (Völkisch) image]]
			==== Alliance with Japan ====
	Having secured supreme political power, Hitler went on to gain their support by ] most Germans he was their saviour from the economic Depression, ] and the "]," and the ] along with other "undesirable" ]. The Nazis eliminated opposition through a process known as ].
			{{See also|Germany–Japan relations}}
			In February 1938, on the advice of his newly appointed foreign minister, the strongly pro-Japanese ], Hitler ended the ] with the ] to instead enter into an alliance with the more modern and powerful ]. Hitler announced German recognition of ], the Japanese puppet state in ], and renounced German claims to their former colonies in the Pacific held by Japan.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=178–179}} Hitler ordered an end to arms shipments to China and recalled all German officers working with the Chinese Army.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=178–179}} In retaliation, Chinese General {{lang|zh-Latn|]|italic=no}} cancelled all Sino-German economic agreements, depriving the Germans of many Chinese raw materials.{{sfn|Plating|2011|p=21}}
	===Economics and culture===
	Hitler oversaw one of the greatest expansions of industrial production and civil improvement Germany had ever seen, mostly based on debt flotation and expansion of the military. Nazi policies toward women strongly encouraged them to stay at home to bear children and keep house. In a September 1934 speech to the National Socialist Women's Organization, Adolf Hitler argued that for the German woman her “world is her husband, her family, her children, and her home,” a policy which was reinforced by the bestowing of the Cross of Honor of the German Mother on women bearing four or more babies. The ] rate was cut substantially, mostly through arms production and sending women home so that men could take their jobs. Given this, claims that the ] achieved near ] are at least partly artifacts of ] from the ]. Much of the financing for Hitler's reconstruction and rearmament came from currency manipulation by ], including the clouded credits through the ]. The negative effects of this ] were offset in later years by the acquisition of foreign ] from the treasuries of conquered nations.
			==== Austria and Czechoslovakia ====
	] Hitler also oversaw one of the largest infrastructure-improvement campaigns in German history, with the construction of dozens of ]s, ]s, ]s, and other civil works. Hitler's ] emphasised the importance of family life: men were the "breadwinners", while women's priorities were to lie in bringing up children and in household work. This revitalising of industry and infrastructure came at the expense of the overall standard of living, at least for those not affected by the chronic unemployment of the later Weimar Republic, since wages were slightly reduced in pre-World-War-II years, despite a 25% increase in the cost of living. <ref>]</ref> ]s and ]s, the traditional voters of the NSDAP, however, saw an increase their standard of living.
			] ({{langx|de|link=no|Eger}}), in the ].]]
			On 12 March 1938, Hitler announced the unification of Austria with ] in the '']''.{{sfn|Butler|Young|1989|p=159}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=434}} Hitler then turned his attention to the ] population of the ] region of Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=425}} On 28–29 March 1938, Hitler held a series of secret meetings in Berlin with ] of the ], the largest of the ethnic German parties of the Sudetenland. The men agreed that Henlein would demand increased autonomy for ] from the Czechoslovakian government, thus providing a pretext for German military action against Czechoslovakia. In April 1938 Henlein told the ] of ] that "whatever the Czech government might offer, he would always raise still higher demands&nbsp;... he wanted to sabotage an understanding by any means because this was the only method to blow up Czechoslovakia quickly".{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=334–335}} In private, Hitler considered the Sudeten issue unimportant; his real intention was a war of conquest against Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=338–340}}
	Hitler's government ] ] on an immense scale, with ] becoming famous as the first architect of the Reich. While important as an Architect in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, Speer would prove much more effective as armaments minister during the last years of World War II. In 1936, Berlin hosted the ], which were opened by Hitler and ] to demonstrate ] superiority over all other races, achieving mixed results. '']'', the movie about the games and other documentary propaganda films for the German Nazi Party were directed by Hitler's personal filmmaker ].
			In April, Hitler ordered the OKW to prepare for {{lang|de|]}} (Case Green), the code name for an invasion of Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=366}} As a result of intense French and British diplomatic pressure, on 5 September Czechoslovakian President ] unveiled the "Fourth Plan" for constitutional reorganisation of his country, which agreed to most of Henlein's demands for Sudeten autonomy.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=418–419}} Henlein's party responded to Beneš' offer by instigating a series of violent clashes with the Czechoslovakian police that led to the declaration of martial law in certain Sudeten districts.{{sfn|Kee|1988|pp=149–150}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=419}}
	Although Hitler made plans for a '']'' (] railroad network), they were preempted by World War II. Had the railroad been built, its gauge would have been three metres, even wider than the old ] of Britain.
			Germany was dependent on imported oil; a confrontation with Britain over the Czechoslovakian dispute could curtail Germany's oil supplies. This forced Hitler to call off {{lang|de|Fall Grün}}, originally planned for 1 October 1938.{{sfn|Murray|1984|pp=256–260}} On 29 September, Hitler, ], ], and Mussolini attended a one-day conference in Munich that led to the ], which handed over the Sudetenland districts to Germany.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=469}}{{sfn|Overy, ''The Munich Crisis''|1999|p=207}}
	Hitler contributed slightly to the design of the car that later became the ], and charged ] with its design and construction.<ref>],<cite>Who's Who in Nazi Germany </cite>(New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 193.</ref> Production was also deferred due to the war.
			Chamberlain was satisfied with the Munich conference, calling the outcome "]", while Hitler was angered about the missed opportunity for war in 1938;{{sfn|Kee|1988|pp=202–203}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=462–463}} he expressed his disappointment in a speech on 9 October in ].{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=672}} In Hitler's view, the British-brokered peace, although favourable to the ostensible German demands, was a diplomatic defeat which spurred his intent of limiting British power to pave the way for the eastern expansion of Germany.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=671, 682–683}}{{sfn|Rothwell|2001|pp=90–91}} As a result of the summit, Hitler was selected '']'' magazine's ] for 1938.{{sfn|''Time'', January 1939}} In late 1938 and early 1939, the continuing economic crisis caused by rearmament forced Hitler to make major defence cuts.{{sfn|Murray|1984|p=268}} In his "Export or die" ], he called for an economic offensive to increase German foreign exchange holdings to pay for raw materials such as high-grade iron needed for military weapons.{{sfn|Murray|1984|p=268}}
	He awarded the ], the Third Reich's highest distinction, to the industrialist ] in April 1937, in reward for his financial support during his rise to power. The next year, he organized state funerals for him.
			On 14 March 1939, under threat from Hungary, ] and received protection from Germany.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=682}} The next day, in violation of the Munich Agreement and possibly as a result of the deepening economic crisis requiring additional assets,{{sfn|Murray|1984|pp=268–269}} Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to ], and from ] he proclaimed the territory a ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=448}}
	===Rearmament and new alliances===
	{{main|Axis Powers|Tripartite Treaty|}}
			=== Start of World War II ===
	In March 1935, Hitler violated the ] by reintroducing ] in Germany, building a massive military machine, including a new Navy ('']'') and an Air Force ('']''). The enlistment of vast numbers of men and women in the new military seemed to solve ] problems, but seriously distorted the economy. For the first time in 20 years, Germany's armed forces were as strong as ]'s.
			{{See also|Causes of World War II}}
	]]]
			]]]
	In March 1936, Hitler again violated the Treaty by ] the ] in the ]. When ] and France did nothing, he grew bolder. In July 1936, the ] began when the military, led by General ], rebelled against the elected ] government. Hitler sent troops to support Franco and Spain served as a testing ground for Germany's new forces and their methods, including the bombing of undefended towns such as ] in April 1937, prompting ]'s famous ]ous ].
			In private discussions in 1939, Hitler declared Britain the main enemy to be defeated and that Poland's obliteration was a necessary prelude for that goal.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=562}} The eastern flank would be secured and land would be added to Germany's {{lang|de|Lebensraum}}.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=579–581}} Offended by the British "guarantee" on 31 March 1939 of Polish independence, he said, "I shall brew them a devil's drink".{{sfn|Maiolo|1998|p=178}} In a speech in ] for the launch of the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} on 1 April, he threatened to denounce the ] if the British continued to guarantee Polish independence, which he perceived as an "encirclement" policy.{{sfn|Maiolo|1998|p=178}} Poland was to either become a German satellite state or it would be neutralised in order to secure the Reich's eastern flank and prevent a possible British blockade.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=688–690}}
	An ] was declared between Germany and Italy by ], ] of ] ] ] on ], ]. ] was then signed by ] of ], Adolf Hitler of ] and Galeazzo Ciano of ] in ], ] and was later expanded to include ], ] and ]. They were collectively known as the ]. Then on ], ], at the ], Adolf Hitler held a secret meeting and stated his plans for acquiring "living space" (]) for the German people.
			Hitler initially favoured the idea of a satellite state, but upon its rejection by the Polish government, he decided to invade and made this the main foreign policy goal of 1939.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=537–539, 557–560}} On 3 April, Hitler ordered the military to prepare for {{lang|de|]}} ("Case White"), the plan for invading Poland on 25 August.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=537–539, 557–560}} In a Reichstag speech on 28 April, he renounced both the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the ].{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=558}} Historians such as ], ], and ] have argued that one reason for Hitler's rush to war was his fear of an early death. He had repeatedly claimed that he must lead Germany into war before he got too old, as his successors might lack his strength of will.{{sfn|Carr|1972|pp=76–77}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|pp=36–37, 92}}{{sfn|Weinberg|2010|p=792}} Hitler was concerned that a military attack against Poland could result in a premature war with Britain.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=688–690}}{{sfn|Robertson|1985|p=212}} Hitler's foreign minister and former Ambassador to London, Joachim von Ribbentrop, assured him that neither Britain nor France would honour their commitments to Poland.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|p=228}}{{sfn|Overy|Wheatcroft|1989|p=56}} Accordingly, on 22 August 1939 Hitler ordered a military mobilisation against Poland.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=497}}
	===The Holocaust===
	{{main|Holocaust}}
	].]]
			This plan required tacit Soviet support,{{sfn|Robertson|1963|pp=181–187}} and the ] (the ]) between Germany and the Soviet Union, led by ], included a secret agreement to partition Poland between the two countries.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=693}} Contrary to Ribbentrop's prediction that Britain would sever Anglo-Polish ties, Britain and Poland signed the Anglo-Polish alliance on 25 August 1939. This, along with news from Italy that Mussolini would not honour the ], prompted Hitler to postpone the attack on Poland from 25 August to 1 September.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=252–253}} Hitler unsuccessfully tried to manoeuvre the British into neutrality by offering them a non-aggression guarantee on 25 August; he then instructed Ribbentrop to present a last-minute peace plan with an impossibly short time limit in an effort to blame the imminent war on British and Polish inaction.{{sfn|Weinberg|1995|pp=85–94}}{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=255–257}}
	One of the foundations of Hitler's and the NSDAP's social policies was the concept of ]. It was based on the ideas of ], ], and ]. Applied to human beings, "]" was interpreted as requiring racial purity and killing off "life unworthy of life." The first victims were crippled and retarded children on an order signed by Hitler. After a public outcry, Hitler made a show of ending this program, but the killings in fact continued. This deadly program was called ] and many of its killers soon moved to death camps.
	Between 1939 and 1945, the SS, assisted by ] governments and recruits from ] countries, systematically killed somewhere between 11 and 14 million people, including about 6 million Jews,<ref>"<cite>There is no precise figure for the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. The figure commonly used is the six million quoted by Adolf Eichmann, a senior SS official. Most research confirms that the number of victims was between five to six million.</cite>" ; FAQs About The Holocaust, Yad Vashem (URL accessed on ], ])<br />"<cite>Between 1942 and 1944, Nazi Germany deported millions more Jews from the occupied territories to extermination camps, where they murdered them in specially developed killing facilities</cite>" ; ''Holocaust Encyclopedia'', ] (URL accessed on ], ]).</ref> in ]s, ]s and mass ]s, or through less systematic methods elsewhere. Besides being gassed to death, many also died as a result of ] and ] while working as ]ers (sometimes benefiting private German companies in the process, because of the low cost of such labour). Along with Jews, non-Jewish ] (over 3 million of whom died), alleged ] or political opposition, members of resistance groups, resisting ] and ], ], ], the physically ] and mentally ], ] ] (possibly as many as 3 million), ], anti-Nazi ], ]ists, and ] ]s were killed. This industrial-scale ] in Europe is referred to as ] (the term is also used by some ]s in a narrower sense, to refer specifically to the unprecedented destruction of European Jewry). One of the biggest centres of mass-killing was the ] complex of ]. Hitler never visited the concentration camps and did not speak publicly about the killing in precise terms.
			On 1 September 1939, Germany ] under the pretext of having been denied claims to the ] and the right to extraterritorial roads across the ], which Germany had ceded under the Versailles Treaty.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=561–562, 583–584}} In response, ] on Germany on 3 September, surprising Hitler and prompting him to angrily ask Ribbentrop, "Now what?"{{sfn|Bloch|1992|p=260}} France and Britain did not act on their declarations immediately, and on 17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.{{sfn|Hakim|1995}}
	The massacres that led to the coining of the word "]" (the '']'' or "Final Solution of the Jewish Question") were planned and ordered by leading Nazis, with ] playing a key role. While no specific order from Hitler authorizing the mass killing of the Jews has surfaced, there is documentation showing that he approved the '']'', killing squads that followed the German army through Poland and Russia and that he was kept well informed about their activities. The evidence also suggests that in the fall of 1941 Himmler and Hitler decided upon mass extermination by gassing. During ]s by Soviet ]s declassified over fifty years later, Hitler's ] ] and his military ] Otto Gunsche said Hitler had "pored over the first ]s of ]s."
			] (September 1939).]]
	To make for smoother ] in the implementation of this "Final Solution", the ] was held near Berlin on ], ], with fifteen senior officials participating, led by ] and ]. The records of this meeting provide the clearest evidence of planning for the Holocaust. On ], Hitler was recorded saying to his associates, "we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews".
			The fall of Poland was followed by what contemporary journalists dubbed the "]" or {{lang|de|Sitzkrieg}} ("sitting war"). Hitler instructed the two newly appointed ]s of north-western Poland, ] of ] and ] of ], to ] their areas, with "no questions asked" about how this was accomplished.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=141–145}} In Forster's area, ethnic Poles merely had to sign forms stating that they had German blood.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=527}} In contrast, Greiser agreed with Himmler and carried out an ] campaign towards Poles. Greiser soon complained that Forster was allowing thousands of Poles to be accepted as "racial" Germans and thus endangered German "racial purity".{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=141–145}} Hitler refrained from getting involved. This inaction has been advanced as an example of the theory of "working towards the Führer", in which Hitler issued vague instructions and expected his subordinates to work out policies on their own.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=141–145}}{{sfn|Welch|2001|pp=88–89}}
	==World War II==
	{{main|World War II}}
			Another dispute pitched one side represented by ] and Greiser, who championed ethnic cleansing in Poland, against another represented by Göring and Hans Frank (] of occupied Poland), who called for turning Poland into the "granary" of the Reich. On 12 February 1940, the dispute was initially settled in favour of the Göring–Frank view, which ended the economically disruptive mass expulsions. On 15 May 1940, Himmler issued a memo entitled "Some Thoughts on the Treatment of Alien Population in the East", calling for the expulsion of the entire Jewish population of Europe into Africa and the reduction of the Polish population to a "leaderless class of labourers". Hitler called Himmler's memo "good and correct", and, ignoring Göring and Frank, implemented the Himmler–Greiser policy in Poland.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=148–149}}
	===Opening moves===
			] (left) and sculptor ] (right), 23 June 1940]]
	On ], ], Hitler pressured ] into ] with Germany (the ]) and made a triumphal entry into ]. Next, he intensified a crisis over the German-speaking ] districts of ]. This led to the ] of September 1938, which authorized the annexation and immediate military occupation of these districts by Germany. As a result of the summit, Hitler was '']'' magazine's ] for 1938.<ref>''TIME'' magazine (January 2, 1939), , ''time.com</ref> ] ] ] hailed this agreement as "Peace in our time", but by giving way to Hitler's military demands Britain and France also left Czechoslovakia to Hitler's mercy. Hitler ordered Germany's army to enter ] on ] ] and from ] proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German ].
			On 9 April, German forces ]. On the same day Hitler proclaimed the birth of the ], his vision of a united empire of Germanic nations of Europe in which the Dutch, Flemish, and Scandinavians were joined into a "racially pure" polity under German leadership.{{sfn|Winkler|2007|p=74}} In May 1940, Germany ], and conquered ], the ], and ]. These victories prompted Mussolini to have Italy join forces with Hitler on 10 June. France and Germany signed an ] on 22 June.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=696–730}} Kershaw notes that Hitler's popularity within Germany—and German support for the war—reached its peak when he returned to Berlin on 6 July from his tour of Paris.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=562}} Following the unexpected swift victory, Hitler promoted twelve generals to the rank of ] during the ].{{sfn|Deighton|2008|pp=7–9}}{{sfn|Ellis|1993|p=94}}
			Britain, whose troops were forced to evacuate France by sea from ],{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=731–737}} continued to fight alongside other British ]s in the ]. Hitler made peace overtures to the new British leader, ], and upon their rejection he ordered a series of aerial attacks on ] airbases and radar stations in southeast England. On 7 September the systematic nightly bombing of London began. The German Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force in what became known as the ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=774–782}} By the end of September, Hitler realised that air superiority for the invasion of Britain (in ]) could not be achieved, and ordered the operation postponed. The ] on British cities intensified and continued for months, including London, ], and ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=563, 569, 570}}
	After that, Hitler claimed German grievances relating to the ] and the ], that Germany had ceded under the ]. Britain had not been able to reach an agreement with the ] for an alliance against Germany, and, on ], ], Hitler concluded a secret ] (the ]) with ] on which it was likely agreed that the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany would partition Poland. On ], Germany invaded the western portion of Poland. Britain and France, who had guaranteed assistance to Poland, declared war on Germany. Not long after this, on ], Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.
			On 27 September 1940, the ] was signed in Berlin by ] of ], Hitler, and Italian foreign minister Ciano,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=580}} and later expanded to include Hungary, Romania, and ], thus yielding the ]. Hitler's attempt to integrate the Soviet Union into the anti-British bloc failed after inconclusive talks between Hitler and ] in Berlin in November, and he ordered preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|pp=58–60}}
	Britain and France declared war on Germany on ], but did not immediately act. During this '']'', Hitler built up his forces. In April 1940, he ordered German forces to march into ] and ]. In May 1940, Hitler ordered his forces to attack ], conquering the ], ] and ] in the process. France ] on ], ]. This series of victories convinced his main ally, ] of Italy, to join the war on Hitler's side in May 1940.
			In early 1941, German forces were deployed to North Africa, the ], and the Middle East. In February, ] to bolster the Italian presence. In April, Hitler launched the ], quickly followed by the ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=604–605}} In May, German forces were sent to support ] and to ].{{sfn|Kurowski|2005|pp=141–142}}
	], whose defeated forces had evacuated France from the coastal town of ], continued to fight alongside Canadian forces in the ]. After having his overtures for peace systematically rejected by the defiant British Government, now led by ], Hitler ordered ]s on the British Isles, leading to the ], a ] of the planned German invasion. The attacks began by pounding the ] airbases and the ] stations protecting South-East England. However, the ] failed to defeat the ] by the end of October 1940. Air superiority for the invasion, code-named ], could not be assured and Hitler ordered bombing raids to be carried out on British cities, including ] and ], mostly at night.
	===Path to defeat===		=== Path to defeat ===
			] to the ''Reichstag'' on 11 December 1941]]
	On ] ], Hitler gave the signal for three million German troops to attack the ], breaking the ] he had concluded with Stalin less than two years earlier. This invasion, code-named ], seized huge amounts of territory, including the ] states, ], and ], along with the ] and destruction of many Soviet forces. German forces, however, were stopped short of ] in December 1941 by the Russian ] and fierce Soviet resistance (see ]), and the invasion failed to achieve the quick triumph over the Soviet Union which Hitler had anticipated.
			] in Finland in June 1942]]
			On 22 June 1941, contravening the ] of 1939, over three million Axis troops attacked ].{{sfn|Mineau|2004|p=1}} This offensive (codenamed ]) was intended to destroy the Soviet Union and seize its natural resources for subsequent aggression against the Western powers.{{sfn|Glantz|2001|p=9}}{{sfn|Koch|1988}} The action was also part of the overall plan to obtain more living space for German people; and Hitler thought a successful invasion would force Britain to negotiate a surrender.{{sfn|Evans|2008|pp=162–163}} The invasion conquered a huge area, including the ] republics, ], and West ]. By early August, Axis troops had advanced {{convert|500|km|miles|abbr=on}} and won the ]. Hitler ordered ] to temporarily halt its advance to Moscow and divert its Panzer groups to aid in the ] and ].{{sfn|Stolfi|1982}} His generals disagreed with this change, having advanced within {{convert|400|km|miles|abbr=on}} of Moscow, and his decision caused a crisis among the military leadership.{{sfn|Wilt|1981}}{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=202}} The pause provided the Red Army with an opportunity to mobilise fresh reserves; historian Russel Stolfi considers it to be one of the major factors that caused the failure of the Moscow offensive, which was resumed in October 1941 and ].{{sfn|Stolfi|1982}} During this crisis, Hitler appointed himself as head of the {{lang|de|]}}.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=210}}
			On 7 December 1941, Japan ] based at ], Hawaii. Four days later, Hitler ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=900–901}} On 18 December 1941, Himmler asked Hitler, "What to do with the Jews of Russia?", to which Hitler replied, {{lang|de|"als Partisanen auszurotten"}} ("exterminate them as partisans").{{sfn|Bauer|2000|p=5}} Israeli historian ] has commented that the remark is probably as close as historians will ever get to a definitive order from Hitler for the genocide carried out during ].{{sfn|Bauer|2000|p=5}}
	Hitler's declaration of war against the ] on ], ] four days after the ]'s ], ], ] set him against a coalition that included the world's largest empire (the ]), the world's greatest industrial and financial power (the ]), and the world's largest army (the ]).
			In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the ],{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=921}} thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the ] and the Middle East. Overconfident in his own military expertise following the earlier victories in 1940, Hitler became distrustful of his Army High Command and began to interfere in military and tactical planning, with damaging consequences.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=417}} In December 1942 and January 1943, Hitler's repeated refusal to allow their withdrawal at the ] led to the almost total destruction of the ]. Over 200,000 Axis soldiers were killed and 235,000 were taken prisoner.{{sfn|Evans|2008|pp=419–420}} Thereafter came a decisive strategic defeat at the ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1006}} Hitler's military judgement became increasingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated, as did Hitler's health.{{sfn|BBC News, 1999}}
	In late 1942, German forces under ] ] were defeated in the ], thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the ] and the ]. In February 1943, the lengthy ] ended with the complete encirclement and destruction of the German ]. Both defeats were turning points in the war, although the latter is more commonly considered primary. From this point on, the quality of Hitler's military judgment became increasingly ] and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated. Hitler's health was deteriorating too. His left hand started shaking uncontrollably. The biographer ] and ] neurology head Abraham Lieberman<ref>, ]</ref> believes he suffered from ]. Other conditions that are suspected by some to have caused some (at least) of his symptoms are ] ]{{Fact|date=April 2007}} and ].<ref name="bull717">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 717.</ref>
			], Hitler's eastern command post, after the ]]]
	Italians overthrew Hitler's ally, ], in 1943 after ], an American and British invasion of ]. Throughout 1943 and 1944, the ] steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the ]. On ] ], the Western allied armies landed in northern France in what was the largest ] operation ever conducted, ]. Realists in the German army knew defeat was inevitable and some officers plotted to remove Hitler from power. In July 1944 one of them, ], planted a ] at Hitler's military headquarters in ] (the so-called ]), but Hitler narrowly escaped death. He ordered savage reprisals, resulting in the executions of more than 4,900 people<ref>Shirer, William L., ''Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', ch. 29, ''The Allied Invasion of Western Europe and the Attempt to Kill Hitler'' lists 4,980.</ref> (sometimes by starvation in solitary confinement followed by slow ]). The main resistance movement was destroyed although smaller isolated groups such as ] continued to operate.
			Following the ] in 1943, ] by King ] after a vote of no confidence of the ]. Marshal ], placed in charge of the government, soon ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=996–1000}} Throughout 1943 and 1944, the Soviet Union steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the ]. On 6 June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France in one of the largest ] operations in history, ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1036}} Many German officers concluded that defeat was inevitable and that continuing under Hitler's leadership would result in the ].{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=513–514}}
	===Defeat and death===
	{{main|Death of Adolf Hitler}}
			Between 1939 and 1945, there were numerous plans to ], some of which proceeded to significant degrees.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=544–547, 821–822, 827–828}} The most well-known and significant, the ] of 1944, came from within Germany and was at least partly driven by the increasing prospect of a German defeat in the war.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=816–818}} Part of ], the plot involved ] planting a bomb in one of ], the ] at ]. Hitler narrowly survived because staff officer ] moved the briefcase containing the bomb behind a leg of the heavy conference table, which deflected much of the blast. Later, Hitler ordered savage reprisals resulting in the execution of more than 4,900&nbsp;people.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=1048–1072}} Hitler was put on the ]'s first list of ]s in December 1944, after determining that Hitler could be held criminally responsible for the acts of the Nazis in occupied countries. By March 1945, at least seven indictments had been filed against him.{{sfn|Plesch|2017|p=158}}
	By the end of ], the ] had driven the last Germans from Soviet territory and began entering Central Europe. The ] were also rapidly advancing into Germany. The Germans had lost the war, but Hitler allowed no retreat or regrouping for his forces while hoping for a break between the Allied Powers to negotiate a separate peace with America and Britain, hopes buoyed by the death of ] on April 12 1945.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 753, 763, 778.</ref><ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 780-781.</ref> Hitler's stubbornness and defiance of military realities also allowed the continued mass killing of Jews and others to continue. He also gave orders which became known as the ]{{Fact|date=April 2007}} which called for the complete destruction of all German industrial infrastructure before it could fall into the hands of the Allies, citing that Germany's failure to win the war forfeited its right to survive.<ref name="bull774-775">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 774-775.</ref> Execution of the plan was entrusted to Minister for Armaments Production ], who instead opted to question Hitler's reasoning while trying to stop the orders from being carried out himself.<ref name="bull774-775"/>
			=== Defeat and death ===
	In ] ], Soviet forces broke through Berlin's outer defenses and were soon attacking the outskirts of the city itself in the ]. Hitler's closest lieutenants urged him to flee to the mountains of ] or Austria to make a last stand in the ]. But Hitler seemed determined to either live or die in the capital.
			{{Main|Death of Adolf Hitler}}
			]'' in the Reich Chancellery garden, 20 April 1945]]
			]'', 2 May 1945, announcing Hitler's death. It erroneously states that Hitler died on 1 May; he died on 30 April]]
			By late 1944, both the ] and the ] were advancing into Germany. Recognising the strength and determination of the Red Army, Hitler decided to use his remaining mobile reserves against the American and British armies, which he perceived as far weaker.{{sfn|Weinberg|1964}} On 16 December, he launched the ] to incite disunity among the Western Allies and perhaps convince them to join his fight against the Soviets.{{sfn|Crandell|1987}} After some temporary successes, the offensive failed.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=778}} With much of Germany in ruins in January 1945, Hitler spoke on the radio: "However grave as the crisis may be at this moment, it will, despite everything, be mastered by our unalterable will."{{sfn|Rees|Kershaw|2012}} Acting on his view that Germany's military failures meant it had forfeited its right to survive as a nation, Hitler ordered the destruction of all German industrial infrastructure before it could fall into Allied hands.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=774–775}} Minister for Armaments ] was entrusted with executing this ] policy, but he secretly disobeyed the order.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=774–775}}{{sfn|Sereny|1996|pp=497–498}} Hitler's hope to negotiate peace with the United States and Britain was encouraged by the death of US President ] on 12 April 1945, but contrary to his expectations, this caused no rift among the Allies.{{sfn|Crandell|1987}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=753, 763, 780–781}}
	On ], Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday in the "Führer's shelter" ('']'') below the ] (''Reichskanzlei''). The garrison commander of the besieged "fortress Breslau" ('']''), German General ], had chocolates distributed to his troops, where possible, in honor of Hitler's birthday. <ref>Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047, Page 112</ref>
	By ], Soviet Marshal ] ] had broken through the defenses of German General ]'s ] during the ]. Having achieved a break through, the Soviets were advancing towards Berlin with little to stop them. Ignoring the facts, Hitler saw salvation in the ragtag units commanded by one of his favorite generals, General ]. For Hitler's purposes, Steiner's command became known as "]" (''Armeeabteilung Steiner''). Unfortunately for the Germans, the "Army Detachment Steiner" was an army which existed primarily on paper. It was something more than a corps but less than an army. Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the huge ] created by the break through of Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front. Meanwhile, the German ] commanded by General ], which had just been pushed south of the salient, was ordered to attack north in a pincer attack.		On 20 April, his 56th and final birthday, Hitler made his last trip from the {{lang|de|]}} to the surface. In the ruined garden of the Reich Chancellery, he awarded Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the ], who were now fighting the Red Army at the front near Berlin.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|p=251}} By 21 April, ]'s ] had broken through the defences of General ]'s ] during the ] and advanced to the outskirts of Berlin.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|pp=255–256}} In denial about the dire situation, Hitler placed his hopes on the undermanned and under-equipped {{lang|de|Armeeabteilung Steiner}} (]), commanded by ]. Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the ], while the German ] was ordered to attack northward in a ].{{sfn|Le Tissier|2010|p=45}}
			During a military conference on 22 April, Hitler inquired about Steiner's offensive. He was informed that the attack had not been launched and that the Soviets had entered Berlin. Hitler ordered everyone but Wilhelm Keitel, ], ], and ] to leave the room,{{sfn|Dollinger|1995|p=231}} then launched into a tirade against the perceived treachery and incompetence of his generals, culminating in his declaration—for the first time—that "everything is lost".{{sfn|Jones|1989}} He announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|p=275}}
	Late on ], Heinrici called ] Chief German General Staff of the Supreme Army Command ('']'' or ]) and told him that Hitler's plan could not be implemented. Heinrici asked to speak to Hitler, but was told by Krebs that Hitler was too busy to take his call.
			By 23 April, the Red Army had surrounded Berlin,{{sfn|Ziemke|1969|p=92}} and Goebbels made a proclamation urging its citizens to defend the city.{{sfn|Dollinger|1995|p=231}} That same day, Göring sent a telegram from ], arguing that as Hitler was isolated in Berlin, Göring should assume leadership of Germany. Göring set a deadline, after which he would consider Hitler incapacitated.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=787}} Hitler responded by having Göring arrested, and in his ] of 29 April, he removed Göring from all government positions.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=787, 795}}{{sfn|Butler|Young|1989|pp=227–228}} On 28 April, Hitler discovered that Himmler, who had left Berlin on 20 April, was attempting to negotiate a surrender to the Western Allies.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=923–925, 943}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=791}} He considered this treason and ordered Himmler's arrest. He also ordered the execution of ], Himmler's SS representative at Hitler's headquarters in Berlin, for desertion.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=792, 795}}
	On ], during one of his last military conferences, Hitler interrupted the report to ask what had happened to General ]'s offensive. There was a long silence and then Hitler was told that the attack had never been launched, and that the withdrawal from Berlin of several units for Steiner's army, on Hitler's orders, had so weakened the front that the Russians had broken through into Berlin. This was too much for Hitler; he asked everyone except ], ], ], ], and ] to leave the room, <ref>Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047, Page 231</ref> and launched a furious tirade against the perceived treachery and incompetence of his military commanders, culminating in an oath to stay in Berlin, head up the defense of the city, and shoot himself at the end. <ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 783-784.</ref>
			After midnight on the night of 28–29 April, Hitler married ] in a small civil ceremony in the {{lang|de|Führerbunker}}.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|p=343}}{{efn|name=will and marriage}} Later that afternoon, Hitler was informed that ] by the ] on the previous day; this is believed to have increased his determination to avoid capture.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=798}} On 30 April, Soviet troops were within five hundred metres of the Reich Chancellery when Hitler shot himself in the head and Braun bit into a ] capsule.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=199}}{{sfn|Joachimsthaler|1999|pp=160–182}} In accordance with Hitler's wishes, their corpses were carried outside to the garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were placed in a bomb crater, doused with petrol, and set on fire as the Red Army shelling continued.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=200}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=799–800}}{{sfn|Joachimsthaler|1999|pp=217–220, 224–225}} Grand Admiral ] and Goebbels assumed Hitler's roles as head of state and chancellor respectively.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=949–950}} On the evening of 1 May, Goebbels and his wife, ], committed suicide in the Reich Chancellery garden, after having poisoned their six children with cyanide.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1136}}
	Before the day ended, Hitler again found salvation in a new plan that included General ]'s ].<ref name="bull784">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 784.</ref> This new plan had Wenck turn his army, currently facing the Americans to the west, and attack towards the east to relieve Berlin.<ref name="bull784"/> Wenck's Twelfth Army was to link up with Busse's Ninth Army and break through to the city. Wenck did attack and, in the confusion, managed to make temporary contact with the Potsdam garrison. But the link up with the Ninth Army, like the plan in general, was ultimately unsuccessful.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 790.</ref>
			] on 2 May. The remains of the Goebbels family, General ] (who had committed suicide that day), and Hitler's dog ] were repeatedly buried and exhumed by the Soviets.{{sfn|Vinogradov|2005|pp=111, 333}} Hitler's and Braun's remains were alleged to have been moved as well, but this is most likely Soviet ]. There is no evidence that any identifiable remains of Hitler or Braun—with the exception of dental bridges—were ever found by them.{{sfn|Joachimsthaler|1999|pp=215–225}}{{sfn|Fest|2004|pp=163–164}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=1110}} While news of Hitler's death spread quickly, a ] was not issued until 1956, after a lengthy investigation to collect testimony from 42 witnesses. Hitler's death was entered as an ] based on this testimony.{{sfn|Joachimsthaler|1999|pp=8–13}}
	On ], after committing to stay in Berlin with Hitler, ] made the following proclamation to the people of Berlin:
			== The Holocaust ==
	<blockquote> "I call on you to fight for your city. Fight with everything you have got, for the sake of your wives and your children, your mothers and your parents. Your arms are defending everything we have ever held dear, and all the generations that will come after us. Be proud and courageous! Be inventive and cunning! Your '']'' is amongst you. He and his colleagues will remain in your midst. His wife and children are here as well. He, who once captured the city with 200 men, will now use every means to galvanize the defense of the capital. The ] must become the signal for the whole nation to rise up in battle . . . " <ref>Dollinger, Hans. The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 67-27047, Page 231</ref> </blockquote>
			{{Main|The Holocaust|Final Solution}}
			{{blockquote|]{{sfn|Marrus|2000|p=37}}|Adolf Hitler, ]}}
			] (April 1945)]]
	Also on ], second in command of the ] and commander of the ] ] sent a telegram from ] in Bavaria. In his telegram, Göring argued that, since Hitler was cut off in Berlin, he should assume leadership of Germany as Hitler's designated successor. Göring' telegram mentioned a time limit after which he would consider Hitler incapacitated.<ref name="bull787">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 787.</ref> Hitler responded, in anger, by having Göring arrested and when he wrote his will on the 29th Göring was removed from all his positions in the government.<ref name="bull787"/><ref name="bull795">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 795.</ref><ref>Butler, Ewan and Young, Gordon. ''The Life and Death of Hermann Goering'' {David and Charles Publishers 1989), 227-228.</ref>
			The Holocaust and Germany's war in the East were based on Hitler's long-standing view that the Jews were the enemy of the German people, and that {{lang|de|]}} was needed for Germany's expansion. He focused on Eastern Europe for this expansion, aiming to defeat Poland and the Soviet Union and then removing or killing the Jews and ].{{sfn|Gellately|1996}} The {{lang|de|]}} (General Plan East) called for deporting the population of occupied Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to West Siberia, for use as slave labour or to be murdered;{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}} the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or "Germanised" settlers.{{sfn|Steinberg|1995}} The goal was to implement this plan after the conquest of the Soviet Union, but when this failed, Hitler moved the plans forward.{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=683}} By January 1942, he had decided that the Jews, Slavs, and other deportees considered undesirable should be killed.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=965}}{{efn|name=recent scholarship}}
	By the end of the day on ], German General ], the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, found the city to be completely cut off from the rest of Germany.
			]}}, dated 1 September 1939]]
	On ] Hitler discovered that ] Leader ] was trying on his own to inform the Allies (through the ] ] Count ]) that Germany was prepared to discuss surrender terms.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 791.</ref> Hitler responded as he did with Göring, ordering his arrest and removing him from office, while having his representative in Berlin ] shot.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 792.</ref><ref name="bull795"/>
			The genocide was organised and executed by ] and ]. The records of the ], held on 20 January 1942 and led by Heydrich, with fifteen senior Nazi officials participating, provide the clearest evidence of systematic planning for the Holocaust. On 22 February, Hitler was recorded saying, "we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews".{{sfn|Naimark|2002|p=81}} Similarly, at a meeting in July 1941 with leading functionaries of the Eastern territories, Hitler said that the easiest way to quickly pacify the areas would be best achieved by "shooting everyone who even looks odd".{{sfn|Longerich|2005|p=116}} Although no direct order from Hitler authorising the mass killings has surfaced,{{sfn|Megargee|2007|p=146}} his public speeches, orders to his generals, and the diaries of Nazi officials demonstrate that he conceived and authorised the extermination of European Jewry.{{sfn|Longerich, Chapter 15|2003}}{{sfn|Longerich, Chapter 17|2003}} During the war, Hitler repeatedly stated his ] was being fulfilled, namely, that a world war would bring about the annihilation of the Jewish race.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|pp=459–462}} Hitler approved the {{lang|de|]}}—killing squads that followed the German army through Poland, the Baltic, and the Soviet Union{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=670–675}}—and was well informed about their activities.{{sfn|Longerich, Chapter 15|2003}}{{sfn|Megargee|2007|p=144}} By summer 1942, ] was expanded to accommodate large numbers of deportees for murder or ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=687}} Scores of other concentration camps and satellite camps were set up throughout Europe, with ].{{sfn|Evans|2008|loc=map, p. 366}}
	During the night of ], General Wenck reported to the German Supreme Army Command ('']'' or OKH) in Fuerstenberg that his Twelfth Army had been forced back along the entire front. Wenck noted that no further attacks towards Berlin were possible. General ] (Supreme Army Command) did not provide this information to Hans Krebs in Berlin until early in the morning of ].
			Between 1939 and 1945, the {{lang|de|]}} (SS), assisted by ] governments and recruits from occupied countries, were responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million non-combatants,{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}}{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}} including the murders of about 6&nbsp;million Jews (representing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe),{{sfn|Holocaust Memorial Museum}}{{efn|Sir Richard Evans states, "it has become clear that the probable total is around 6 million."{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=318}} }} and between 200,000 and 1,500,000 ].{{sfn|Hancock|2004|pp=383–396}}{{sfn|Holocaust Memorial Museum}} The victims were killed in concentration and extermination camps and in ], and through mass shootings.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=946}}{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=15}} Many victims of the Holocaust were murdered in ]s or shot, while others died of starvation or disease or ].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=946}}{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=15}} In addition to eliminating Jews, the Nazis planned to reduce the population of the conquered territories by 30&nbsp;million people through starvation in an action called the ]. Food supplies would be diverted to the German army and German civilians. Cities would be razed, and the land allowed to return to forest or resettled by German colonists.{{sfn|Snyder|2010|pp=162–163, 416}} Together, the Hunger Plan and {{lang|de|Generalplan Ost}} would have led to the starvation of 80&nbsp;million people in the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Dorland|2009|p=6}} These partially fulfilled plans resulted in additional deaths, bringing the total number of civilians and prisoners of war who died in the ] to an estimated 19.3&nbsp;million people.{{sfn|Rummel|1994|loc=}}
	On ], Hans Krebs, Wilhelm Burgdorf, Joseph Goebbels, and ] witnessed and signed the ].<ref name="bull795"/> Hitler dictated the document to his personal private secretary, ].<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 793.</ref> Hitler was also that day informed of the violent death of Italian dictator ] on the 28th, which is presumed to have increased his determination to avoid capture.<ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 798.</ref>
			Hitler's policies resulted in the killing of nearly two million non-Jewish ],{{sfn|US Holocaust Memorial Museum}} over three million ],{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=184}} communists and other political opponents, ], the physically and mentally disabled,{{sfn|Niewyk|Nicosia|2000|p=45}}{{sfn|Goldhagen|1996|p=290}} ], ], and trade unionists. Hitler never spoke publicly about the killings and seems to have never visited the concentration camps.{{sfn|Downing|2005|p=33}} The Nazis embraced the concept of ]. On 15 September 1935, Hitler presented two laws—known as the ]—to the Reichstag. The laws banned sexual relations and marriages between Aryans and Jews and were later extended to include "Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring".{{sfn|Gellately|2001|p=216}} The laws stripped all non-Aryans of their German citizenship and forbade the employment of non-Jewish women under the age of 45 in Jewish households.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=567–568}} Hitler's early ] policies targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities in a programme dubbed ], and he later authorised a ] programme for adults with serious mental and physical disabilities, now referred to as {{lang|de|]}}.{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=252}}
	]'', May 1945]]
	On ] ], after intense ], when Soviet troops were spotted within a block or two of the ] in the city centre, Hitler committed suicide in the ], shooting himself while simultaneously biting into a ] capsule.<ref name="bull799-800">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 799-800.</ref><ref> BBC News, 2002-02-04. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.</ref> Hitler's body and that of ] (his long-term mistress whom he had married the day before) were put in a bomb crater,{{Fact|date=April 2007}} doused in ] by ] and other Führerbunker aides, and set alight as the Red Army advanced and shelling continued.<ref name="bull799-800"/> Hitler also had his dog ] poisoned before his suicide to test the poison he and Eva Braun were going to take.
			== Leadership style ==
	On ], General Weidling surrendered Berlin unconditionally to Soviet General ]. When Russian forces reached the Chancellory, they found his body and an autopsy was performed using dental records to confirm the identification. To avoid any possibility of creating a potential shrine,{{Fact|date=April 2007}} the remains of Hitler and Braun were repeatedly moved,{{Failed verification|date=April 2007}} then secretly buried by ] at their new headquarters in ].<ref name="BBCskull"> BBC News, 2000-08-26. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.</ref> In April 1970, when the facility was about to be turned over to the East German government, the remains were reportedly exhumed and thoroughly ].<ref name="BBCskull"/> According to the Russian Federal Security Service, a fragment of human skull stored in its archives and displayed to the public in a 2000 exhibition came from the remains of Hitler's body uncovered by the Red Army in Berlin, and is all that remains of Hitler; however, the authenticity of the skull has been challenged by many historians and researchers.<ref name="BBCskull"/>
			] in June 1942]]
			Hitler ruled the Nazi Party ]ally by asserting the {{lang|de|]}} (leader principle). The principle relied on absolute obedience of all subordinates to their superiors; thus, he viewed the government structure as a pyramid, with himself—the ]—at the apex. Rank in the party was not determined by elections—positions were filled through appointment by those of higher rank, who demanded unquestioning obedience to the will of the leader.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=170, 172, 181}} Hitler's leadership style was to give contradictory orders to his subordinates and to place them into positions where their duties and responsibilities overlapped with those of others, to have "the stronger one the job".{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=281}} In this way, Hitler fostered distrust, competition, and infighting among his subordinates to consolidate and maximise his own power. ] never met after 1938, and he discouraged his ministers from meeting independently.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2007|p=29}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=323}} Hitler typically did not give written orders; instead, he communicated verbally, or had them conveyed through his close associate ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=377}} He entrusted Bormann with his paperwork, appointments, and personal finances; Bormann used his position to control the flow of information and access to Hitler.{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=333}}
	At the time of Hitler's death, most of Germany's infrastructure and major cities were in ruins and he had left explicit orders to complete the destruction. Millions of Germans were dead with millions more wounded or homeless. In his ], he dismissed other Nazi leaders and appointed Grand ] ] as '']'' (President of Germany) and ] as ] (Chancellor of Germany).<ref name="bull795"/> However, Goebbels and his wife Magda, after killing their six young children, committed suicide on ], ]. On ], ], in ], France, the German armed forces ] to the ] and on ], ], in Berlin to the ] thus ] and with the creation of the ] on ], ], the Four Powers assumed "supreme authority with respect to Germany". Hitler's "Thousand Year Reich" had lasted 12 years.
			Hitler dominated his country's war effort during World War II to a greater extent than any other national leader. He strengthened his control of the armed forces in 1938, and subsequently made all major decisions regarding Germany's military strategy. His decision to mount a risky series of offensives against Norway, France, and the Low Countries in 1940 against the advice of the military proved successful, though the diplomatic and military strategies he employed in attempts to force the United Kingdom out of the war ended in failure.{{sfn|Overy|2005a|pp=421–425}} Hitler deepened his involvement in the war effort by appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in December 1941; from this point forward, he personally directed the war against the Soviet Union, while his military commanders facing the Western Allies retained a degree of autonomy.{{sfn|Kershaw|2012|pp=169–170}} Hitler's leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, with the military's defensive strategies often hindered by his slow decision-making and frequent directives to hold untenable positions. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that only his leadership could deliver victory.{{sfn|Overy|2005a|pp=421–425}} In the final months of the war, Hitler refused to consider peace negotiations, regarding the destruction of Germany as preferable to surrender.{{sfn|Kershaw|2012|pp=396–397}} The military did not challenge Hitler's dominance of the war effort, and senior officers generally supported and enacted his decisions.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=171–395}}
	==Legacy==
			== Personal life ==
	{{further|] and ]}}
			=== Family ===
			{{Main|Hitler family}}
			{{See also|Sexuality of Adolf Hitler}}
			]
			Hitler created a public image as a celibate man without a domestic life, dedicated entirely to his political mission and the nation.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=130}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=563}} He met his lover, ], in 1929,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=378}} and married her on 29 April 1945, one day before they both committed suicide.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=947–948}} In September 1931, his half-niece, ], took her own life with Hitler's gun in his Munich apartment. It was rumoured among contemporaries that Geli was in a romantic relationship with him, and her death was a source of deep, lasting pain.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=393–394}} ], the younger sister of Hitler and the last living member of his immediate family, died in June 1960.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=4}}
	], ] where Adolf Hitler was born is a ] warning of the horrors of World War II]]
			=== Views on religion ===
	Since the defeat of Germany in World War II, Hitler, the Nazi Party and the ] have been regarded in most of the world as synonymous with ]. Historical and ] in the west are, almost by consensus, condemnatory.
			{{Main|Religious views of Adolf Hitler}}
			Hitler was born to a practising ] mother and an ] father; after leaving home, Hitler never again attended ] or received the ].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=5}}{{sfn|Rißmann|2001|pp=94–96}}{{sfn|Toland|1992|pp=9–10}} Albert Speer states that Hitler railed against the church to his political associates, and though he never officially left the church, he had no attachment to it.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=141–142}} He adds that Hitler felt that in the absence of organised religion, people would turn to mysticism, which he considered regressive.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=141–142}} According to Speer, Hitler believed that ] or ] would have been a more suitable religion for Germans than Christianity, with its "meekness and flabbiness".{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=143}} Historian ] states that Hitler was fundamentally opposed to the Christian churches.{{sfn|Conway|1968|p=3}} According to Bullock, Hitler did not believe in God, was anticlerical, and held Christian ethics in contempt because they contravened his preferred view of "]".{{sfn|Bullock|1999|pp=385, 389}} He favoured aspects of ] that suited his own views, and adopted some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organisation, ], and phraseology.{{sfn|Rißmann|2001|p=96}} In a 1932 speech, Hitler stated that he was not a Catholic, and declared himself a ].{{sfn|Weir|Greenberg|2022|p=694}} In a conversation with Albert Speer, Hitler said, "Through me the Evangelical Church could become the established church, as in England."{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=142}}
	The display of ]s or other ] is prohibited in Germany and political extremists are generally under surveillance by the ], one of the federal or state-based offices for the protection of the constitution.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
			] in Germany in the 1930s]]
	Despite the condemnation heaped upon Hitler by many public figures, there have been instances of some people referring to Hitler's legacy in neutral or favourable terms, particularly in ] and parts of Asia. He has sometimes been portrayed positively in the ], if only because of his antisemitism. Future ]ian President ] wrote favourably of Hitler in 1953.<ref> Schoeman, Roy. "Salvation Is from the Jews: The Role of Judaism in Salvation History", Ignatius Press 2004. ISBN 0-89870-975-X</ref> ] has referred to him as a "very great man".<ref></ref> ], leader of the right-wing Hindu ] party in the ]n state of the ], declared in 1995 that he was an admirer of Hitler.<ref> AsiaWeek's interview with Bal Thackeray</ref>
			Hitler viewed the church as an important politically conservative influence on society,{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=141}} and he adopted a strategic relationship with it that "suited his immediate political purposes".{{sfn|Conway|1968|p=3}} In public, Hitler often praised Christian heritage and German Christian culture, though professing a belief in an "Aryan Jesus" who fought against the Jews.{{sfn|Steigmann-Gall|2003|pp=27, 108}} Any pro-Christian public rhetoric contradicted his private statements, which described Christianity as "absurdity"{{sfn|Hitler|2000|p=59}} and nonsense founded on lies.{{sfn|Hitler|2000|p=342}}
	==Hitler's religious beliefs==
	{{main|Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs|Nazi Mysticism}}
	Hitler was raised by ] parents, but as a school boy he rejected Catholicism as he was influenced by ]. Apparently, after Hitler left home, he never attended ] or received the ].<ref>Michael Rissmann, Hitlers Gott. Vorsehungsglaube und Sendungsbewußtsein des deutschen Diktators, Zürich München: Pendo, 2001, p. 94-96 ISBN 3-85842-421-8. </ref>
	In later life, Hitler's religious beliefs present a discrepant picture: Publicly he often spoke positively of the ] heritage of German culture and belief in ]. Hitler’s private statements, reported by his intimates, are more mixed, showing Hitler as a religious man but also critical of Christianity.<ref name="bull389">Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 389.</ref> However, in contrast to other Nazi leaders, Hitler did not adhere to ] ideas, ], or ],<ref name="bull389"/> and ridiculed such beliefs in his book '']''.{{Fact|date=April 2007}} Rather, Hitler advocated a "]", a belief system purged from what he objected to in traditional Christianity, and reinvented ] as a fighter against the Jews.
			According to a US ] (OSS) report, "The Nazi Master Plan", Hitler planned to destroy the influence of Christian churches within the Reich.{{sfn|Sharkey|2002}}{{sfn|Bonney|2001|pp=2–3}} His eventual goal was the total elimination of Christianity.{{sfn|Phayer|2000}} This goal informed Hitler's movement early on, but he saw it as inexpedient to publicly express this extreme position.{{sfn|Bonney|2001|p=2}} According to Bullock, Hitler wanted to wait until after the war before executing this plan.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=219, 389}} Speer wrote that Hitler had a negative view of Himmler's and ]'s mystical notions and Himmler's attempt to mythologise the SS. Hitler was more pragmatic, and his ambitions centred on more practical concerns.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=141, 171, 174}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=729}}
	Hitler believed in ]'s ideas of struggle for survival between the different races, among which the "Aryan race"—guided by "Providence"—was supposed to be the torchbearers of civilization and the Jews as enemies of all civilization. Whether his anti-semitism was influenced by older Christian ideas remains disputed.
			=== Health ===
	Among Christian denominations, Hitler favored ], which was more open to such reinterpretations.{{Fact|date=April 2007}} At the same time, he made use of some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organization, liturgy and phraseology in his politics.<ref>Michael Rissmann, p. 96.</ref><ref>Bullock, A. ''Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'', 388.</ref>
			{{See also|Health of Adolf Hitler|Psychopathography of Adolf Hitler}}
			Researchers have variously suggested that Hitler suffered from ], ]s, ], ],{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=508}} ],{{sfn|BBC News, 1999}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=717}} ],{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=717}} ],{{sfn|Redlich|1993}} ],{{sfn|Redlich|2000|pp=129–190}} and ].{{sfn|''The Guardian'', 2015}} In a report prepared for the OSS in 1943, ] of ] described Hitler as a "neurotic ]".{{sfn|Langer|1972|p=126}} In his 1977 book '']'', historian ] proposes that Hitler suffered from ].{{sfn|Waite|1993|p=356}} Historians Henrik Eberle and Hans-Joachim Neumann consider that while he suffered from a number of illnesses including Parkinson's disease, Hitler did not experience pathological delusions and was always fully aware of, and therefore responsible for, his decisions.{{sfn|Gunkel|2010}}{{sfn|Jones|1989}}
	==Health and sexuality==
	{{Unreferenced|date=March 2007}}
			Sometime in the 1930s, ],{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=388}}{{sfn|Toland|1992|p=256}} avoiding all meat and fish from 1942 onwards. At social events, he sometimes gave graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make his guests shun meat.{{sfn|Wilson|1998}} Bormann had a greenhouse constructed near the ] (near ]) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for Hitler.{{sfn|McGovern|1968|pp=32–33}} Hitler stopped drinking alcohol around the time he became vegetarian and thereafter only very occasionally drank beer or wine on social occasions.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=38}}{{sfn|Hitler|Trevor-Roper|1988|p=176, 22 January 1942}} He was a non-smoker for most of his adult life, but smoked heavily in his youth (25 to 40 cigarettes a day); he eventually quit, calling the habit "a waste of money".{{sfn|Proctor|1999|p=219}} He encouraged his close associates to quit by offering a gold watch to anyone able to break the habit.{{sfn|Toland|1992|p=741}} Hitler began using ] occasionally after 1937 and became addicted to it in late 1942.{{sfn|Heston|Heston|1980|pp=125–142}} Speer linked this use of amphetamine to Hitler's increasingly erratic behaviour and inflexible decision-making (for example, rarely allowing military retreats).{{sfn|Heston|Heston|1980|pp=11–20}}
	===Health===
	{{main|Adolf Hitler's medical health|Vegetarianism of Adolf Hitler}}
	Hitler's health has long been the subject of debate. He has variously been said to have suffered from ], ]s, ], tremors on the left side of his body due to ],<ref name="bull717"/> ],<ref name="bull717"/> and a strongly suggested addiction to ]. One film exists that shows his left trembling, which might suggest Parkinson's. Beyond that, the evidence is very sparse.
			Prescribed 90 medications during the war years by his personal physician, ], Hitler took many pills each day for chronic stomach problems and other ailments.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=782}} He regularly consumed ], ]s, ]s, and ],{{sfn|Ghaemi|2011|pp=190–191}}{{sfn|Porter|2013}} as well as ] and ] (the latter in the form of ]).{{sfn|Doyle|2005|p=8}} He suffered ]s as a result of the ] bomb blast in 1944, and 200 wood splinters had to be removed from his legs.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=156}} Newsreel footage of Hitler shows tremors in his left hand and a shuffling walk, which began before the war and worsened towards the end of his life.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=782}} ] and several other doctors who met Hitler in the last weeks of his life also formed a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.{{sfn|O'Donnell|2001|p=37}}
	Hitler was a ] beginning in the early 1930s until his death (although his actual dietary habits appear inconsistent and are sometimes hotly disputed).<ref></ref>There are reports of him disgusting his guests by giving them graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make them shun meat.<ref>Wilson, Bee (October 9, 1998). "". New Statesman. (Archived version)</ref> A fear of cancer (from which his mother died) is the most widely cited reason, though many authors also assert Hitler had a profound and deep love of animals. He did consume dairy products and eggs, however. ] had a greenhouse constructed for him near the ] (near ]) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables for Hitler throughout the war. Photographs of Bormann's children tending the greenhouse survive and, by 2005, its foundations were among the only ruins visible in the area which were associated with Nazi leaders.
			== Legacy ==
	Hitler was also a non-smoker and promoted aggressive anti-smoking campaigns throughout Germany. He reportedly promised a gold watch to any of his close associates who quit (and actually gave a few away). Several witness accounts relate that, immediately after his suicide was confirmed, many officers, aides, and secretaries in the Führerbunker lit cigarettes.<ref>], <cite>Adolf Hitler</cite>, p. 741</ref>
			{{Further|Historiography of Adolf Hitler|Consequences of Nazism|Neo-Nazism}}
			], Austria, where Hitler was born, is a ] placed as a reminder of World War II. The inscription translates as:{{sfn|Zialcita|2019}}
			<poem>
			For peace, freedom
			and democracy
			never again fascism
			millions of dead warn </poem>]]
			According to historian ], Hitler's suicide was likened by numerous contemporaries to a "spell" being broken.{{sfn|Fest|1974|p=753}} Similarly, Speer commented in '']'' on his emotions the day after Hitler's suicide: "Only now was the spell broken, the magic extinguished."{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=617}} Public support for Hitler had collapsed by the time of his death, which few Germans mourned; Kershaw argues that most civilians and military personnel were too busy adjusting to the collapse of the country or fleeing from the fighting to take any interest.{{sfn|Kershaw|2012|pp=348–350}} According to historian ], Nazism "burst like a bubble" without its leader.{{sfn|Toland|1992|p=892}}
	Contrary to popular accounts, there seems to be some evidence Hitler did not abstain entirely from ]. After the war, an interrogation in the ] of his valet ] could indicate that Hitler drank champagne now and then with ].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
			Kershaw describes Hitler as "the embodiment of modern political evil".{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=xvii}} "Never in history has such ruination—physical and moral—been associated with the name of one man", he adds.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=841}} Hitler's political programme brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe. Germany suffered wholesale destruction, characterised as {{lang|de|]}} (Zero Hour).{{sfn|Fischer|1995|p=569}} Hitler's policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale;{{sfn|Del Testa|Lemoine|Strickland|2003|p=83}} according to ], the Nazi regime was responsible for the ] killing of an estimated 19.3&nbsp;million civilians and prisoners of war.{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}} In addition, 28.7&nbsp;million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the ].{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}} The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in the history of warfare.{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=554}} Historians, philosophers, and politicians often use the word "evil" to describe the Nazi regime.{{sfn|Welch|2001|p=2}} Many European countries have ] both the promotion of Nazism and ].{{sfn|Bazyler|2006|p=1}}
	===Sexuality===
	{{main|Hitler's sexuality}}
	Hitler presented himself publicly as a man without an intimate domestic life, dedicated to his political "mission". He had a fiancée, ] in the 1920s, and later had a mistress, ]. He had a close bond with his niece ], which many commentators have claimed was sexual, although there is no evidence that proves this.<ref>Rosenbaum, R., "Was Hitler 'unnatural'", ''Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of his Evil'', Macmillan, 1998, pp.99-117.</ref> All three women attempted suicide during their relationship with him, a fact which has led to speculation that Hitler may have had unusual sexual fetishes, such as ], as was claimed by ]. Reiter, the only one to survive the Nazi regime, denies this.<ref>Rosenbaum, op. cit., p.116</ref> During the war and afterwards ] offered numerous inconsistent psycho-sexual explanations of his pathology.<ref></ref> More recently ] has argued in his book '']'' that Hitler was homosexual, while others argue that he was largely ].
			Historian ] described Hitler as "one of the great examples of the singular and incalculable power of personality in historical life".{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=6}} English historian ] saw him as "among the 'terrible simplifiers' of history, the most systematic, the most historical, the most philosophical, and yet the coarsest, cruelest, least magnanimous conqueror the world has ever known".{{sfn|Hitler|Trevor-Roper|1988|p=xxxv}} For the historian ], Hitler's defeat marked the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany.{{sfn|Roberts|1996|p=501}} In its place emerged the ], a global confrontation between the ], dominated by the United States and other ] nations, and the ], dominated by the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Lichtheim|1974|p=366}} Historian ] asserted that without Hitler and the displacement of the Jews, the modern nation state of Israel would not exist. He contends that without Hitler, the ] of former European spheres of influence would have been postponed.{{sfn|Haffner|1979|pp=100–101}} Further, Haffner claimed that other than ], Hitler had a more significant impact than any other comparable historical figure, in that he too caused a wide range of worldwide changes in a relatively short time span.{{sfn|Haffner|1979|p=100}}
	==Hitler's family==
	{{main|Hitler (disambiguation)}}
	Paula Hitler, the last living member of Adolf Hitler's immediate family, died in 1960.
			=== In propaganda ===
	The most prominent, and longest-living direct descendants of Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was Adolf's nephew ]. With his wife Phyllis, he eventually moved to ], ], and had four sons. None of William Hitler's children have yet had any children of their own.
			{{See also|Adolf Hitler in popular culture|List of speeches given by Adolf Hitler}}
			] ({{Circa|1941}})]]
			Hitler exploited documentary films and newsreels to inspire a ]. He was involved and appeared in a series of propaganda films throughout his political career, many made by ], regarded as a pioneer of modern filmmaking.{{sfn|''The Daily Telegraph'', 2003}} Hitler's propaganda film appearances include:
	Over the years various investigative reporters have attempted to track down other distant relatives of the Führer; many are now alleged to be living inconspicuous lives and have long since changed their last name.
			* {{lang|de|]}} (''Victory of Faith'', 1933)
	]]]
			* {{lang|de|]}} (''Triumph of the Will'', 1935)
			* {{lang|de|]}} (''Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces'', 1935)
			* '']'' (1938)
			== See also ==
	*], mistress and then wife
	*], father		* ]
			* ]
	*], mother
	*], sister		* ]
			* ]&nbsp;– chief aide
	*], half-brother
			* ]&nbsp;– Hitler's superior in army intelligence 1919–1920
	*], sister-in-law
			* ]&nbsp;– personal valet
	*], nephew
	*], nephew		* ]
			* ]
	*], half-sister
			* ]
	*], grandmother
			* ]&nbsp;– also known as a "Hitler moustache", a style of facial hair
	*], presumed grandfather
	*], maternal great-grandfather, presumed great uncle and possibly Hitler's true paternal grandfather
	*], niece and rumoured mistress
			== Notes ==
	==People associated with Hitler==
			{{notelist
	{{main|List of Nazi Party leaders and officials|List of former Nazis influential after 1945}}
			| refs =30em
	*], Adolf Hitler's secretary
			{{efn
	*], sister of philosopher ] and Hitler supporter
			| name = Realschule
	*], Hitler's lawyer and later senior Nazi official in occupied Poland
			| The successor institution to the ''Realschule'' in Linz is ].
	*], Minister of Propaganda
			}}
	*], Reichsmarschall, Commander of the Luftwaffe, founder of the Gestapo.
			{{efn
	*], Hitler's deputy as party leader, best known for his flight to Scotland to negotiate peace in 1941
			| name = libel suit
	*], chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the ])
			| Hitler also won settlement from a ] suit against the socialist paper the ''Münchener Post'', which had questioned his lifestyle and income. {{harvnb|Kershaw|2008|p=99}}.
	*], leader of the SS, key figure in the Holocaust and the "Final Solution"
			}}
	*], official photographer from 1920 to 1945
			{{efn
	*], military officer, knew Hitler since 1923
			| name = recent scholarship
	*], military Field Marshal during World War II
			| For a summary of recent scholarship on Hitler's central role in the Holocaust, see {{harvnb|McMillan|2012}}.
	*], close friend and roommate in Vienna
			}}
	*], Hitler's ] school teacher
			{{efn
	*], friend and filmmaker who documented the Nazi party
			| name = will and marriage
	*], the famous "Desert Fox", Field Marshal forced to commit suicide by Hitler
			| {{harvnb|MI5, ''Hitler's Last Days''}}: "Hitler's will and marriage" on the website of ], using the sources available to Trevor-Roper (a World War II MI5 agent and historian/author of ''The Last Days of Hitler''), records the marriage as taking place after Hitler had dictated his last will and testament.
	*], leader of the SA and internal critic, killed in the ] (1934)
			}}
	*], Hitler's personal architect, Minister of armaments. Close friend of Hitler's
			}}
	*], famous architect who served before Speer
	*], head of the Wagner family and close friend of Hitler's
			== Citations ==
	==Hitler in various media==
			{{Reflist|22em}}
	{{commonscat|Adolf Hitler}}
	{{seealso|Hitler in popular culture}}
	===Movie clip===		== Bibliography ==
			=== Printed ===
	{{multi-video start}}
			{{refbegin|30em}}
	{{multi-video item|filename=Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden.ogg|title=Hitler at Berchtesgaden |description= Video clips of Hitler at his mountain retreat in ], ].|format=]}}
			* {{cite book
	{{multi-video end}}
			| last = Aigner
			| first = Dietrich
	===Hitler's Oratory and Rallies===
			| editor1-last = Koch
	{{main|List of Adolf Hitler speeches}}
			| editor1-first = H. W.
	Hitler was a gifted ] who captivated many with his beating of the lectern and growling, emotional speech. Hitler honed his skills by giving speeches to soldiers during 1919 and 1920. He had an ability to tell people what they wanted to hear (the stab-in-the-back, the Jewish-Marxists, Versailles). Over time Hitler perfected his delivery by rehearsing in front of mirrors and carefully choreographing his display of emotions with the message he was trying to convey.<ref> Hitler also spoke extensively in Munich's beer halls. by A. E. Frauenfeld. Calvin College</ref><ref> by Dr. Joseph Goebbels. Calvin College</ref>
			| title = Aspects of the Third Reich
			| year = 1985
			| publisher = MacMillan
			| location = London
			| chapter = Hitler's ultimate aims&nbsp;– a programme of world dominion?
			| isbn = 978-0-312-05726-8
			| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/aspectsofthirdre001933
			| url-access = registration
			| url = https://archive.org/details/aspectsofthirdre001933
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last1 = Doyle
			| first1 = D
			| title = Adolf Hitler's medical care
			| journal = Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
			| date = February 2005
			| volume = 35
			| issue = 1
			| pages = 75–82
			| pmid = 15825245
			}}
			* {{cite book| last = Bauer
			| first = Yehuda
			| title = Rethinking the Holocaust
			| publisher = Yale University Press
			| location = New Haven
			| year = 2000
			| page =
			| isbn = 978-0-300-08256-2
			| url = https://archive.org/details/rethinkingholoca00baue/page/5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Beevor
			| first = Antony
			| author-link = Antony Beevor
			| title = Berlin: The Downfall 1945
			| year = 2002
			| publisher = Viking-Penguin Books
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-670-03041-5
			| title-link = Berlin: The Downfall 1945
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Bendersky
			| first = Joseph W
			| title = A History of Nazi Germany: 1919–1945
			| year = 2000
			| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield
			| location = Lanham
			| isbn = 978-1-4422-1003-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Bloch
			| first = Michael
			| title = Ribbentrop
			| location = New York
			| publisher = Crown Publishing
			| year = 1992
			| isbn = 978-0-517-59310-3
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Bonney
			| first = Richard
			| author-link = Richard Bonney
			| title = The Nazi Master Plan, Annex 4: The Persecution of the Christian Churches
			| journal = Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion
			| year = 2001
			| url = http://www.leics.gov.uk/the_nazi_master_plan.pdf
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060120/http://www.leics.gov.uk/the_nazi_master_plan.pdf
			| url-status = dead
			| archive-date = 4 March 2016
			| access-date = 19 April 2020
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Bracher
			| first = Karl Dietrich
			| author-link = Karl Dietrich Bracher
			| year = 1970
			| title = The German Dictatorship
			| translator = Jean Steinberg
			| location = New York
			| publisher = ]
			| isbn = 978-0-14-013724-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Bullock
			| first = Alan
			| author-link = Alan Bullock
			| title = Hitler: A Study in Tyranny
			| location = London
			| publisher = Penguin Books
			| year = 1962
			| orig-year = 1952
			| isbn = 978-0-14-013564-0
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Bullock
			| first = Alan
			| title = Hitler: A Study in Tyranny
			| year = 1999
			| orig-year = 1952
			| publisher = Konecky & Konecky
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-1-56852-036-0
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Butler
			| first1 = Ewan
			| last2 = Young
			| first2 = Gordon
			| title = The Life and Death of Hermann Göring
			| publisher = ]
			| location = Newton Abbot, Devon
			| year = 1989
			| isbn = 978-0-7153-9455-7
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Carr
			| first = William
			| title = Arms, Autarky and Aggression
			| publisher = Edward Arnold
			| location = London
			| year = 1972
			| isbn = 978-0-7131-5668-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Conway
			| first = John S.
			| author-link = John S. Conway (historian)
			| title = The Nazi Persecution of the Churches 1933–45
			| year = 1968
			| location = London
			| publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson
			| isbn = 978-0-297-76315-4
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Crandell
			| first = William F.
			| title = Eisenhower the Strategist: The Battle of the Bulge and the Censure of Joe McCarthy
			| journal = Presidential Studies Quarterly
			| year = 1987
			| volume = 17
			| issue = 3
			| pages = 487–501
			| jstor = 27550441
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Deighton
			| first = Len
			| author-link = Len Deighton
			| title = Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain
			| publisher = Random House
			| location = New York
			| year = 2008
			| isbn = 978-1-84595-106-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Del Testa
			| first1 = David W
			| last2 = Lemoine
			| first2 = Florence
			| last3 = Strickland
			| first3 = John
			| title = Government Leaders, Military Rulers, and Political Activists
			| year= 2003
			| publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group
			| location = Westport
			| page = 83
			| isbn = 978-1-57356-153-2
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Dollinger
			| first = Hans
			| title = The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan: A Pictorial History of the Final Days of World War II
			| isbn = 978-0-517-12399-7
			| year = 1995
			| orig-year = 1965
			| publisher = Gramercy
			| location = New York
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Dorland
			| first = Michael
			| title = Cadaverland: Inventing a Pathology of Catastrophe for Holocaust Survival: The Limits of Medical Knowledge and Memory in France
			| publisher = University Press of New England
			| series = Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry series
			| location = Waltham, Mass
			| year = 2009
			| isbn = 978-1-58465-784-2
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Downing
			| first = David
			| title = The Nazi Death Camps
			| year = 2005
			| publisher = Gareth Stevens
			| location = Pleasantville, NY
			| series = World Almanac Library of the Holocaust
			| isbn = 978-0-8368-5947-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Ellis
			| first = John
			| title = World War II Databook: The Essential Facts and Figures for All the Combatants
			| year = 1993
			| publisher = Aurum
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-1-85410-254-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Evans
			| first = Richard J.
			| author-link = Richard J. Evans
			| title = The Coming of the Third Reich
			| year = 2003
			| publisher = ]
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-14-303469-8
			| title-link = The Coming of the Third Reich
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Evans
			| first = Richard J.
			| title = The Third Reich in Power
			| year = 2005
			| publisher = ]
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-14-303790-3
			| title-link = The Third Reich in Power
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Evans
			| first = Richard J.
			| title = The Third Reich At War
			| year = 2008
			| publisher = ]
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-14-311671-4
			| title-link = The Third Reich At War
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fest
			| first = Joachim C.
			| author-link = Joachim Fest
			| title = The Face of the Third Reich
			| location = London
			| publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson
			| year = 1970
			| isbn = 978-0-297-17949-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fest
			| first = Joachim C.
			| title = Hitler
			| location = London
			| publisher = Weidenfeld & Nicolson
			| year = 1974
			| orig-year = 1973
			| isbn = 978-0-297-76755-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fest
			| first = Joachim C.
			| title = Hitler
			| year = 1977
			| orig-year = 1973
			| publisher = Penguin
			| location = Harmondsworth
			| isbn = 978-0-14-021983-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fest
			| first = Joachim
			| year = 2004
			| title = Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich
			| publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-374-13577-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fischer
			| first = Klaus P.
			| title = Nazi Germany: A New History
			| location = London
			| publisher = Constable and Company
			| year = 1995
			| isbn = 978-0-09-474910-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fromm
			| first = Erich
			| author-link = Erich Fromm
			| title = The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness
			| year = 1977
			| orig-year = 1973
			| publisher = Penguin Books
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-14-004258-0
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Fulda
			| first = Bernhard
			| title = Press and Politics in the Weimar Republic
			| year = 2009
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| location = Oxford
			| isbn = 978-0-19-954778-4
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Gellately
			| first = Robert
			| author-link = Robert Gellately
			| title = Reviewed work(s): Vom Generalplan Ost zum Generalsiedlungsplan by Czeslaw Madajczyk. Der "Generalplan Ost". Hauptlinien der nationalsozialistischen Planungs- und Vernichtungspolitik by ]; Sabine Schleiermacher
			| journal = Central European History
			| volume = 29
			| issue = 2
			| year = 1996
			| pages = 270–274
			| doi = 10.1017/S0008938900013170
			| issn = 0008-9389}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Gellately
			| first = Robert
			| title = Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany
			| year = 2001
			| publisher = Princeton University Press
			| location = Princeton, NJ
			| isbn = 978-0-691-08684-2
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Ghaemi
			| first = Nassir
			| title = A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness
			| year = 2011
			| publisher = Penguin Publishing Group
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-1-101-51759-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Goeschel
			| first = Christian
			| title = Mussolini and Hitler: The Forging of the Fascist Alliance
			| year = 2018
			| publisher = Yale University Press
			| location = New Haven; London
			| isbn = 978-0-300-17883-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Goldhagen
			| first = Daniel
			| author-link = Daniel Goldhagen
			| title = Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust
			| year = 1996
			| publisher = Knopf
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-679-44695-8
			| title-link = Hitler's Willing Executioners
			}}
			* {{cite book| last = Haffner
			| first = Sebastian
			| author-link = Sebastian Haffner
			| title = The Meaning of Hitler
			| year = 1979
			| publisher = Harvard University Press
			| location = Cambridge, MA
			| isbn = 978-0-674-55775-8
			| url = https://archive.org/details/meaningofhitler00haff
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Hakim
			| first = Joy
			| author-link = Joy Hakim
			| series = ]
			| title = War, Peace, and All That Jazz
			| volume = 9
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| year = 1995
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-19-509514-2
			}}
			* {{cite book| last1 = Halperin
			| first1 = Samuel William
			| title = Germany Tried Democracy: A Political History of the Reich from 1918 to 1933
			| publisher = W.W. Norton
			| location = New York
			| year = 1965
			| orig-year = 1946
			| isbn = 978-0-393-00280-5
			| url = https://archive.org/details/germanytrieddemo00halp
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Hamann
			| first = Brigitte
			| title = Hitler's Vienna: A Portrait of the Tyrant as a Young Man
			| publisher = Tauris Parke Paperbacks
			| location = London; New York
			| year = 2010
			| orig-year = 1999
			| others = Trans. Thomas Thornton
			| isbn = 978-1-84885-277-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Hancock
			| first = Ian
			| author-link = Ian Hancock
			| editor1-last = Stone
			| editor1-first = Dan
			| title = The Historiography of the Holocaust
			| year = 2004
			| publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
			| location = New York; Basingstoke
			| isbn = 978-0-333-99745-1
			| chapter = Romanies and the Holocaust: A Reevaluation and an Overview
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Heck
			| first = Alfons
			| author-link = Alfons Heck
			| title = A Child of Hitler: Germany In The Days When God Wore A Swastika
			| orig-year = 1985
			| year = 2001
			| publisher = Renaissance House
			| location = Phoenix, AZ
			| isbn = 978-0-939650-44-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Heston
			| first1 = Leonard L.
			| last2 = Heston
			| first2 = Renate
			| title = The Medical Casebook of Adolf Hitler: His Illnesses, Doctors, and Drugs
			| year = 1980
			| orig-year = 1979
			| publisher = Stein and Day
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-8128-2718-7
			| url-access = registration
			| url = https://archive.org/details/medicalcasebooko0000hest
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Hildebrand
			| first = Klaus
			| author-link = Klaus Hildebrand
			| title = The Foreign Policy of the Third Reich
			| location = London
			| publisher = Batsford
			| year = 1973
			| isbn = 978-0-7134-1126-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Hitler
			| first = Adolf
			| title = Mein Kampf
			| location = Boston
			| publisher = Houghton Mifflin
			| year = 1999
			| orig-year = 1925
			| others = Trans. ]
			| isbn = 978-0-395-92503-4
			| title-link = Mein Kampf
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Hitler
			| first1 = Adolf
			| last2 = Trevor-Roper
			| first2 = Hugh
			| author2-link = Hugh Trevor-Roper
			| title = Hitler's Table-Talk, 1941–1945: Hitler's Conversations Recorded by Martin Bormann
			| location = Oxford
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| year = 1988
			| orig-year = 1953
			| isbn = 978-0-19-285180-2
			| title-link = Hitler's Table Talk
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Hitler
			| first = Adolf
			| title = Hitler's Table Talk, 1941–1944
			| location = London
			| publisher = Enigma
			| year = 2000
			| orig-year = 1941–1944
			| isbn = 978-1-929631-05-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Jetzinger
			| first = Franz
			| author-link = Franz Jetzinger
			| title = Hitler's Youth
			| year = 1976
			| orig-year = 1956
			| publisher = Greenwood Press
			| location = Westport, Conn
			| isbn = 978-0-8371-8617-7
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Joachimsthaler
			| first = Anton
			|author-link = Anton Joachimsthaler
			| others = Trans. Helmut Bögler
			| title = The Last Days of Hitler: The Legends, the Evidence, the Truth
			| year = 1999
			| orig-year = 1995
			| publisher = Brockhampton Press
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-1-86019-902-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kee
			| first = Robert
			| author-link = Robert Kee
			| title = Munich: The Eleventh Hour
			| publisher = Hamish Hamilton
			| location = London
			| year = 1988
			| isbn = 978-0-241-12537-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Keegan
			| first = John
			| author-link = John Keegan
			| title = The Mask of Command: A Study of Generalship
			| publisher = Pimlico
			| location = London
			| year = 1987
			| isbn = 978-0-7126-6526-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Keller
			| first = Gustav
			| title= Der Schüler Adolf Hitler: die Geschichte eines lebenslangen Amoklaufs
			| trans-title = The Student Adolf Hitler: The Story of a Lifelong Rampage
			| publisher = LIT
			| language = de
			| location = Münster
			| year = 2010
			| isbn = 978-3-643-10948-4
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kellogg
			| first = Michael
			| title = The Russian Roots of Nazism White Émigrés and the Making of National Socialism, 1917–1945
			| publisher = Cambridge University Press
			| location = Cambridge
			| year = 2005
			| isbn = 978-0-521-84512-0
			}}
			* {{cite book| last = Kershaw
			| first = Ian
			| author-link = Ian Kershaw
			| title = Hitler: 1889–1936: Hubris
			| location = New York
			| publisher = ]
			| year = 1999
			| orig-year = 1998
			| isbn = 978-0-393-04671-7
			| url = https://archive.org/details/hitlerhubris00kers
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kershaw
			| first = Ian
			| title = Hitler, 1936–1945: Nemesis
			| location = New York; London
			| publisher = W. W. Norton & Company
			| year = 2000b
			| isbn = 978-0-393-32252-1
			| url = https://archive.org/details/hitler193645neme00kers
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kershaw
			| first = Ian
			| title = Hitler: A Biography
			| publisher = W. W. Norton & Company
			| location = New York
			| year = 2008
			| isbn = 978-0-393-06757-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kershaw
			| first = Ian
			| title = The End: Hitler's Germany, 1944–45
			| year = 2012
			| publisher = Penguin
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-14-101421-0
			| edition = Paperback
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Koch
			| first = H. W.
			| title = Operation Barbarossa&nbsp;– The Current State of the Debate
			| journal = ]
			| volume = 31
			| issue = 2
			| date = June 1988
			| pages = 377–390
			| doi = 10.1017/S0018246X00012930
			| s2cid = 159848116
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kolb
			| first = Eberhard
			| author-link = Eberhard Kolb
			| title = The Weimar Republic
			| orig-year = 1984
			| year = 2005
			| isbn = 978-0-415-34441-8
			| publisher = Routledge
			| location = London; New York
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kolb
			| first = Eberhard
			| year = 1988
			| orig-year = 1984
			| title = The Weimar Republic
			| location = New York
			| publisher = Routledge
			| isbn = 978-0-415-09077-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kressel
			| first = Neil J.
			| title = Mass Hate: The Global Rise Of Genocide And Terror
			| year = 2002
			| publisher = Basic Books
			| location = Boulder
			| isbn = 978-0-8133-3951-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kubizek
			| first = August
			| title = The Young Hitler I Knew
			| author-link = August Kubizek
			| year = 2006
			| orig-year = 1953
			| publisher = MBI
			| location = St. Paul, MN
			| isbn = 978-1-85367-694-9
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Kurowski
			| first = Franz
			| author-link = Franz Kurowski
			| title = The Brandenburger Commandos: Germany's Elite Warrior Spies in World War II
			| publisher = Stackpole Books
			| series = Stackpole Military History series
			| location = Mechanicsburg, PA
			| year = 2005
			| isbn = 978-0-8117-3250-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Langer
			| first = Walter C.
			| author-link = Walter Charles Langer
			| title = The Mind of Adolf Hitler: The Secret Wartime Report
			| year = 1972
			| orig-year = 1943
			| publisher = Basic Books
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-465-04620-1
			| title-link = The Mind of Adolf Hitler
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Lichtheim
			| first = George
			| author-link = George Lichtheim
			| title = Europe In The Twentieth Century
			| location = London
			| publisher = Sphere Books
			| year = 1974
			| isbn = 978-0-351-17192-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Linge
			| first1 = Heinz
			| author-link1 = Heinz Linge
			| others = Intro. ]
			| title = With Hitler to the End: The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Valet
			| year = 2009
			| orig-year = 1980
			| publisher = Skyhorse Publishing
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-1-60239-804-7
			| url = https://archive.org/details/withhitlertoendm00ling
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Longerich
			| first = Peter
			| author-link = Peter Longerich
			| title = The Unwritten Order: Hitler's Role in the Final Solution
			| year = 2005
			| publisher = History Press
			| isbn = 978-0-7524-3328-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Maiolo
			| first = Joseph
			| title = The Royal Navy and Nazi Germany 1933–39: Appeasement and the Origins of the Second World War
			| year = 1998
			| publisher = Macmillan Press
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-333-72007-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Manvell
			| first1 = Roger
			| author1-link = Roger Manvell
			| last2 = Fraenkel
			| first2 = Heinrich
			| author2-link = Heinrich Fraenkel
			| title = Heinrich Himmler: The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo
			| year = 2007
			| orig-year = 1965
			| publisher = Greenhill; Skyhorse
			| location = London; New York
			| isbn = 978-1-60239-178-9
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Maser
			| first = Werner
			| title = Hitler: Legend, Myth, Reality
			| year = 1973
			| publisher = Allen Lane
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-7139-0473-4
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Marrus
			| first = Michael
			| author-link = Michael Marrus
			| title = The Holocaust in History
			| location = Toronto
			| publisher = Key Porter
			| year = 2000
			| isbn = 978-0-299-23404-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = McGovern
			| first = James
			| title = Martin Bormann
			| publisher = William Morrow
			| location = New York
			| year = 1968
			| oclc = 441132
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = McNab
			| first = Chris
			| title = The Third Reich
			| publisher = Amber Books
			| location = London
			| year = 2009
			| isbn = 978-1-906626-51-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Megargee
			| first = Geoffrey P.
			| author-link = Geoffrey P. Megargee
			| title = War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941
			| location = Lanham, Md
			| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield
			| year = 2007
			| isbn = 978-0-7425-4482-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Messerschmidt
			| first = Manfred
			| title = Germany and the Second World War
			| volume = 1
			| chapter = Foreign Policy and Preparation for War
			| location = Oxford
			| publisher = Clarendon Press
			| year = 1990
			| editor1-last = Deist
			| editor1-first = Wilhelm
			| isbn = 978-0-19-822866-0
			| title-link = Germany and the Second World War
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Mitcham
			| first = Samuel W.
			| author-link = Samuel W. Mitcham
			| title = Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich
			| year = 1996
			| publisher = Praeger
			| location = Westport, Conn
			| isbn = 978-0-275-95485-7
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Mineau
			| first = André
			| title = Operation Barbarossa: Ideology and Ethics Against Human Dignity
			| year = 2004
			| publisher = Rodopi
			| location = Amsterdam; New York
			| isbn = 978-90-420-1633-0
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Murray
			| first = Williamson
			| author-link = Williamson Murray
			| title = The Change in the European Balance of Power
			| publisher = Princeton University Press
			| location = Princeton
			| year = 1984
			| isbn = 978-0-691-05413-1
			| url = https://archive.org/details/changeineuropean0000murr
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Murray
			| first1 = Williamson
			| last2 = Millett
			| first2 = Allan R.
			| title = A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War
			| year = 2001
			| orig-year = 2000
			| publisher = Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
			| location = Cambridge, MA
			| isbn = 978-0-674-00680-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Naimark
			| first = Norman M.
			| year = 2002
			| title = Fires of Hatred: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe
			| publisher = Harvard University Press
			| location = Cambridge, MA
			| isbn = 978-0-674-00994-3
			| url = https://archive.org/details/firesofhatred00norm
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Nicholls
			| first = David
			| title = Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion
			| year = 2000
			| publisher = University of North Carolina Press
			| isbn = 978-0-87436-965-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Niewyk
			| first1 = Donald L.
			| last2 = Nicosia
			| first2 = Francis R.
			| title = The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust
			| year = 2000
			| publisher = Columbia University Press
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-231-11200-0
			| url = https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = O'Donnell
			| first = James P.
			| author-link = James P. O'Donnell
			| title = The Bunker
			| publisher = Da Capo Press
			| location = New York
			| year = 2001
			| orig-year = 1978
			| isbn = 978-0-306-80958-3
			| title-link = The Bunker (book)
			}}
			* {{cite book| last1 = Overy
			| first1 = Richard
			| last2 = Wheatcroft
			| first2 = Andrew
			| author-link1 = Richard Overy
			| title = The Road To War
			| publisher = Macmillan
			| location = London
			| year = 1989
			| isbn = 978-0-14-028530-7
			| url = https://archive.org/details/roadtowar00over
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Overy
			| first = Richard
			| editor1-last = Lukes
			| editor1-first = Igor
			| editor2-last = Goldstein
			| editor2-first = Erik
			| title = The Munich Crisis, 1938: Prelude to World War II
			| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/munichcrisis193800igor
			| chapter-url-access = registration
			| year = 1999
			| publisher = Frank Cass
			| location = London; Portland, OR
			| chapter = Germany and the Munich Crisis: A Mutilated Victory?
			| oclc = 40862187
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Overy, ''The Munich Crisis''|1999|p=207}}
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Overy
			| first = Richard
			| editor1-last = Martel
			| editor1-first = Gordon
			| title = The Origins of the Second World War Reconsidered
			| year = 1999
			| publisher = Routledge
			| location = London
			| chapter = Misjudging Hitler
			| isbn = 978-0-415-16324-8
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Overy, ''Origins of WWII Reconsidered''|1999}}
			| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/originsofsecondw00gord_0
			}}
			* {{cite book| last = Overy
			| first = Richard
			| title = The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia
			| publisher = Penguin Books
			| location = London
			| year = 2005
			| isbn = 978-0-393-02030-4
			| url = https://archive.org/details/dictators00rich
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Overy
			| first = Richard
			| chapter = Hitler As War Leader
			| title = Oxford Companion to World War II
			| editor1-last = Dear
			| editor1-first = I. C. B.
			| editor2-last = Foot
			| editor2-first = M. R. D.
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| location = Oxford
			| year = 2005
			| isbn = 978-0-19-280670-3
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Overy|2005a}}
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Payne
			| first = Robert
			| author-link = Pierre Stephen Robert Payne
			| title = The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
			| publisher = Hippocrene Books
			| location = New York
			| year = 1990
			| orig-year = 1973
			| isbn = 978-0-88029-402-7
			}}
			* {{Cite book
			| last=Pinkus
			| first=Oscar
			| title=The War Aims and Strategies of Adolf Hitler
			| publisher=McFarland & Company
			| year=2005
			| isbn=978-0-7864-2054-4
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Plating
			| first = John D.
			| title = The Hump: America's Strategy for Keeping China in World War II
			| year = 2011
			| publisher = Texas A&M University Press
			| location = College Station
			| series = Williams-Ford Texas A&M University military history series, no. 134
			| isbn = 978-1-60344-238-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Plesch
			| first = Daniel
			| title = Human Rights After Hitler: The Lost History of Prosecuting Axis War Crimes
			| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_pmPDgAAQBAJ
			| year = 2017
			| publisher = Georgetown University Press
			| isbn = 978-1-62616-431-4
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Proctor
			| first = Robert
			| year = 1999
			| title = The Nazi War on Cancer
			| url = https://archive.org/details/naziwaroncancer00proc
			| url-access = registration
			| publisher = ]
			| location = Princeton, New Jersey
			| isbn = 978-0-691-07051-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Read
			| first = Anthony
			| author-link = Anthony Read
			| year = 2004
			| title = The Devil's Disciples: The Lives and Times of Hitler's Inner Circle
			| location = London
			| publisher = Pimlico
			| isbn = 978-0-7126-6416-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Redlich
			| first = Fritz R.
			| title = Hitler: Diagnosis of a Destructive Prophet
			| date = 2000
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-19-513631-9
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Rees
			| first = Laurence
			| author-link = Laurence Rees
			| title = The Nazis: A Warning from History
			| location = New York
			| publisher = New Press
			| year = 1997
			| isbn = 978-0-563-38704-6
			| title-link = The Nazis: A Warning from History
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Rißmann
			| first = Michael
			| title = Hitlers Gott. Vorsehungsglaube und Sendungsbewußtsein des deutschen Diktators
			| location = Zürich München
			| publisher = Pendo
			| year = 2001
			| isbn = 978-3-85842-421-1
			| language = de
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Roberts
			| first = G.
			| title = Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953
			| location = New Haven
			| publisher = Yale University Press
			| year = 2006
			| isbn = 978-0-300-11204-7
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Roberts
			| first = J. M.
			| author-link = John Roberts (historian)
			| title = A History of Europe
			| location = Oxford
			| publisher = Helicon
			| year = 1996
			| isbn = 978-1-85986-178-3
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Roberts
			| first = Martin
			| title = The New Barbarism&nbsp;– A Portrait of Europe 1900–1973
			| year = 1975
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-19-913225-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Robertson
			| first = Esmonde M.
			| title = Hitler's Pre-War Policy and Military Plans: 1933–1939
			| publisher = Longmans
			| location = London
			| year = 1963
			| oclc = 300011871
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Robertson
			| first = E. M.
			| editor1-first = Koch
			| editor1-last = H. W.
			| title = Aspects of the Third Reich
			| year = 1985
			| publisher = Macmillan
			| location = London
			| chapter = Hitler Planning for War and the Response of the Great Powers
			| isbn = 978-0-312-05726-8
			| chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/aspectsofthirdre001933
			| url-access = registration
			| url = https://archive.org/details/aspectsofthirdre001933
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Rosenbaum
			| first = Ron
			| author-link = Ron Rosenbaum
			| title = Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil
			| year = 1999
			| publisher = Harper Perennial
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-06-095339-3
			| title-link = Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Rosmus
			| first = Anna Elisabeth
			| year = 2004
			| title = Out of Passau: Leaving a City Hitler Called Home
			| publisher = University of South Carolina Press
			| location = Columbia, S.C
			| isbn = 978-1-57003-508-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Rothwell
			| first = Victor
			| title = The Origins of the Second World War
			| year = 2001
			| publisher = Manchester University Press
			| location = Manchester
			| isbn = 978-0-7190-5957-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Rummel
			| first = Rudolph
			| author-link = Rudolph Rummel
			| title = Death by Government
			| year = 1994
			| publisher = Transaction
			| location = New Brunswick, NJ
			| isbn = 978-1-56000-145-4
			| url-access = registration
			| url = https://archive.org/details/deathby_rum_1994_00_3431
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Ryschka
			| first = Birgit
			| title = Constructing and Deconstructing National Identity: Dramatic Discourse in Tom Murphy's the Patriot Game and Felix Mitterer's in Der Löwengrube
			| date = 2008
			| publisher = Peter Lang
			| location = Frankfurt am Main; New York
			| isbn = 978-3-631-58111-7
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Sereny
			| first = Gitta
			| author-link = Gitta Sereny
			| orig-year = 1995
			| year = 1996
			| title = Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth
			| publisher = Vintage
			| location = New York; Toronto
			| isbn = 978-0-679-76812-8
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Shirer
			| first = William L.
			| author-link = William L. Shirer
			| title = The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
			| publisher = Simon & Schuster
			| location = New York
			| year = 1960
			| isbn = 978-0-671-62420-0
			| title-link = The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Snyder
			| first = Timothy
			| author-link = Timothy D. Snyder
			| title = Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
			| publisher = Basic Books
			| location = New York
			| year = 2010
			| isbn = 978-0-465-00239-9
			| title-link = Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Speer
			| first = Albert
			| author-link = Albert Speer
			| orig-year = 1969
			| year = 1971
			| title = Inside the Third Reich
			| publisher = Avon
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-380-00071-5
			| title-link = Inside the Third Reich
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Steigmann-Gall
			| first = Richard
			| author-link = Richard Steigmann-Gall
			| title = The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945
			| location = Cambridge; New York
			| publisher = Cambridge University Press
			| year = 2003
			| isbn = 978-0-521-82371-5
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Steinberg
			| first = Jonathan
			| title = The Third Reich Reflected: German Civil Administration in the Occupied Soviet Union, 1941–4
			| journal = The English Historical Review
			| date = June 1995
			| volume = 110
			| issue = 437
			| pages = 620–651
			| oclc = 83655937
			| doi = 10.1093/ehr/CX.437.620
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Steiner
			| first = John Michael
			| title = Power Politics and Social Change in National Socialist Germany: A Process of Escalation into Mass Destruction
			| year = 1976
			| publisher = Mouton
			| location = The Hague
			| isbn = 978-90-279-7651-2
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Stolfi
			| first = Russel
			| title = Barbarossa Revisited: A Critical Reappraisal of the Opening Stages of the Russo-German Campaign (June–December 1941)
			| journal = ]
			| date = March 1982
			| volume = 54
			| issue = 1
			| pages = 27–46
			| doi = 10.1086/244076
			| hdl = 10945/44218
			| s2cid = 143690841
			| url = https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/382c/d6a81460b3aaeb43190bb0095b2d16b6900b.pdf
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200210201749/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/382c/d6a81460b3aaeb43190bb0095b2d16b6900b.pdf
			| url-status = dead
			| archive-date = 10 February 2020
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Tames
			| first = Richard
			| title = Dictatorship
			| publisher = Heinemann Library
			| location = Chicago
			| year = 2008
			| isbn = 978-1-4329-0234-6
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Le Tissier
			| first = Tony
			| title = Race for the Reichstag
			| publisher = Pen & Sword
			| location = Barnsley
			| year = 2010
			| orig-year = 1999
			| isbn = 978-1-84884-230-4
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Toland
			| first = John
			| author-link = John Toland (author)
			| title = Adolf Hitler
			| publisher = Ballantine Books
			| location = New York; Toronto
			| year = 1976
			| isbn = 978-0-345-25899-1
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Toland
			| first = John
			| title = Adolf Hitler
			| publisher = Anchor Books
			| location = New York
			| year = 1992
			| orig-year = 1976
			| isbn = 978-0-385-42053-2
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Vinogradov
			| first = V. K.
			| title = Hitler's Death: Russia's Last Great Secret from the Files of the KGB
			| publisher = Chaucer Press
			| location = London
			| year = 2005
			| isbn = 978-1-904449-13-3
			| url-access = registration
			| url = https://archive.org/details/hitlersdeathruss0000vino
			}}
			* {{cite book| last = Waite
			| first = Robert G. L.
			| author-link = Robert G. L. Waite
			| year = 1993
			| orig-year = 1977
			| title = The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler
			| publisher = Da Capo Press
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-0-306-80514-1
			| url = https://archive.org/details/psychopathicgoda00wait_0
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Weber
			| first = Thomas
			| title = Hitler's First War: Adolf Hitler, The Men of the List Regiment, and the First World War
			| year = 2010
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| location = Oxford; New York
			| isbn = 978-0-19-923320-5
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Weinberg
			| first = Gerhard
			| title = Hitler's Image of the United States
			| journal = The American Historical Review
			| date = December 1964
			| volume = 69
			| issue = 4
			| pages = 1006–1021
			| doi = 10.2307/1842933
			| jstor = 1842933
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Weinberg
			| first = Gerhard
			| author-link = Gerhard Weinberg
			| title = The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany Diplomatic Revolution in Europe 1933–1936
			| publisher = University of Chicago Press
			| location = Chicago, Illinois
			| year = 1970
			| isbn = 978-0-226-88509-4
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Weinberg
			| first = Gerhard
			| title = The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany Starting World War II
			| publisher = University of Chicago Press
			| year = 1980
			| isbn = 978-0-226-88511-7
			| location = Chicago, Illinois
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Weinberg
			| first = Gerhard
			| title = Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History
			| year = 1995
			| publisher = Cambridge University Press
			| location = Cambridge
			| chapter = Hitler and England, 1933–1945: Pretense and Reality
			| isbn = 978-0-521-47407-8
			| url-access = registration
			| url = https://archive.org/details/germanyhitlerwor0000wein
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Weinberg
			| first = Gerhard
			| title = Hitler's Foreign Policy 1933–1939: The Road to World War II
			| year = 2010
			| orig-year = 2005
			| publisher = Enigma
			| location = New York
			| isbn = 978-1-929631-91-9
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last1 = Weir
			| first1 =Todd H.
			| last2 = Greenberg
			| first2 = Udi
			| editor1-last = Rossol
			| editor1-first = Nadine
			| editor2-last = Ziemann
			| editor2-first = Benjamin
			| editor2-link = Benjamin Ziemann
			| chapter = Religious Cultures and Confessional Politics
			| title = The Oxford Handbook of the Weimar Republic
			| year = 2022
			| publisher = Oxford University Press
			| location = Oxford; New York
			| isbn = 978-0-19-884577-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Welch
			| first = David
			| title = Hitler: Profile of a Dictator
			| year = 2001
			| publisher = Routledge
			| location = London
			| isbn = 978-0-415-25075-7
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Wheeler-Bennett
			| first = John
			| author-link = John Wheeler-Bennett
			| title = The Nemesis of Power
			| location = London
			| publisher = Macmillan
			| year = 1967
			| isbn = 978-1-4039-1812-3
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Wilt
			| first = Alan
			| author-link = Alan F. Wilt
			| title = Hitler's Late Summer Pause in 1941
			| journal = Military Affairs
			| date = December 1981
			| volume = 45
			| issue = 4
			| pages = 187–191
			| doi = 10.2307/1987464
			| jstor = 1987464
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Winkler
			| first = Heinrich August
			| others = Sager, Alexander (trans.)
			| title = Germany: The Long Road West. Vol. 2, 1933–1990
			| publisher = ]
			| location = New York
			| year = 2007
			| isbn = 978-0-19-926598-5
			}}
			* {{cite book
			| last = Ziemke
			| first = Earl F.
			| title = Battle for Berlin: End of the Third Reich
			| series = Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II
			| volume = Battle Book #6
			| publisher = ]
			| location = London
			| year = 1969<!--pre isbn-->
			| oclc = 23899
			}}
			{{refend}}
			=== Online ===
	His combination of barnyard racism and reactionary nationalism was a toxic brew. Especially deadly was his equation of Jews and Marxists, a confusion that won over many moderate Germans.
			{{refbegin|30em}}
			* {{cite web
	Hitler's oratory also needs to be appreciated in the context of the massive Nazi rallies. Carefully staged by Albert Speer, these rallies sparked a process of self-persuasion for the participants. ]'s ''Triumph of the Will'' chillingly presents the 1934 ].
			| title = 1933&nbsp;– Day of Potsdam
			| website = ]
	Hitler and Goebbels toned down their racism as Hitler gained electoral strength. In areas where antisemitism was strong they used code words (railing against "Bolshevists" with most people understanding that he meant "Jews"), and they ignored antisemitism in areas where it wasn't already strong. Many Germans were, as they said, "Nazi, but. . ." meaning that they thought Hitler had abandoned his shrill racism.
			| url = http://www.potsdam.de/cms/beitrag/10000945/33981/
			| access-date = 13 June 2011
	===Recording of Hitler in private conversation===
			| ref = {{sfnRef|City of Potsdam}}
	Hitler visited Finnish ] ] on ] ]. During the visit an engineer of the Finnish broadcasting company ], Thor Damen, recorded Hitler and Mannerheim in conversation, something which had to be done secretly as Hitler never allowed recordings of him off-guard. Today the recording is the only known recording of Hitler not speaking in an official tone. The recording captures 11 and a half minutes of the two leaders in private conversation. Hitler speaks in a slightly excited, but still intellectually detached manner during this talk (the speech has been compared to that of the working class). The majority of the recording is a monologue by Hitler (as most conversations with Hitler were). In the recording, Hitler admits to underestimating the Soviet Union's ability to conduct war (some English transcripts exist ).
			| date = December 2004
	*
			| archive-date = 6 June 2012
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120606032402/http://www.potsdam.de/cms/beitrag/10000945/33981/
	===Documentaries during the Third Reich===
			| url-status = dead
	Hitler appeared in and was involved to varying degrees with a series of films by the pioneering filmmaker ] via ] (UFA):
			}}
	*'']'' (''The Victory of Faith'', 1933).
			* {{cite web
	*'']'' (''Triumph of the Will'', 1934), co-produced by Hitler.
			| last = Bazyler
	*'']'' (''Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces'', 1935).
			| first = Michael J.
	*'']'' (1938).
			| title = Holocaust Denial Laws and Other Legislation Criminalizing Promotion of Nazism
			| date = 25 December 2006
	Hitler was the central figure of the first three films; they focused on the ] of the respective years and are considered propaganda films. Hitler also featured prominently in the ''Olympia'' film. Whether the latter is a propaganda film or a true documentary is still a subject of controversy, but it nonetheless perpetuated and spread the propagandistic message of the 1936 ] depicting Nazi Germany as a prosperous and peaceful country.<ref></ref> As a prominent politician, Hitler was also featured in many ].
			| website = ]
			| url = http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/insights/pdf/bazyler.pdf
	===Television===
			| access-date = 7 January 2013
	Hitler's attendance at various public functions including the 1936 Olympic games, and ] appeared in live Television broadcasts made between 1935 &mdash; 1939. These events along with other programming highlighting activity by public officials were often repeated in public viewing rooms.<ref></ref>
			}}
			* {{Cite web
	===Documentaries post Third Reich===
			|title=Nazism
	* '']'' (1974) is a ] series which contains much information about Hitler and Nazi Germany, including an interview with his secretary, ].
			|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Nazisma
	* ''Adolf Hitler's Last Days'', from the BBC series "Secrets of World War II" tells the story about Hitler's last days during World War II.
			|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228205817/https://www.britannica.com/event/Nazism
	*'']'' (2002) is an exclusive 90 minute interview with Traudl Junge, Hitler's final trusted secretary. Made by Austrian Jewish director André Heller shortly before Junge's death from lung cancer, Junge recalls the last days in the Berlin bunker. Clips used in ''Downfall''.
			|archive-date=28 February 2024
	* ''Undergångens arkitektur'' (Architecture of Doom) (1989) documentary about the National Socialist aesthetic as envisioned by Hitler.
			|website=Britannica
			|ref={{sfnRef|Britannica: Nazism}}
	===Dramatizations===
			}}
	* '']'' (1973) is a movie depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's death, starring Sir Alec Guinness.
			* {{citation
	* '']'' (1978) by James O'Donnell, describing the last days in the ] from ] to ]. Made into the TV movie '']'' (1981), starring Anthony Hopkins.
			| title = Der Hitler-Prozeß vor dem Volksgericht in München
	* '']'' (2003) is a two-part TV series about the early years of Adolf Hitler and his rise to power (up to 1933). Stars ].
			| trans-title = The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich
	* '']'' ''(Downfall)'' (2004) is a German movie about the last days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, starring ]. This film is partly based on the autobiography of ], a favorite secretary of Hitler's. In 2002 Junge said she felt great guilt for "...liking the greatest criminal ever to have lived."
			| language = de
	*'s ''(Hitler, A Film From Germany)'', 1977. Originally presented on German television, this is a 7-hour work in 4 parts: The Grail; A German Dream; The End Of Winter's Tale; We, Children Of Hell. The director uses documentary clips, photographic backgrounds, puppets, theatrical stages, and other elements from almost all the visual arts, with the "actors" addressing directly the audience/camera, in order to approach and expand on this most taboo subject of European history of the 20th century.
			| year = 1924
	*] is a 2002 ], that depicts a friendship between art dealer Max Rothman (who is Jewish) and a young Adolf Hitler as a failed painter in ].
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Munich Court, 1924}}
			}}
	===Further reading===
			* {{cite news
	{{main|List of Adolf Hitler books}}
			| last = Diver
	Many books have been written about Adolf Hitler with his life and legacy thoroughly researched. See ] for an extensive ] of books related to Adolf Hitler.
			| first = Krysia
			| title = Journal reveals Hitler's dysfunctional family
	==See also==
			| date = 4 August 2005
	{{further|]}}
			| newspaper = ]
			| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/04/research.secondworldwar
	==References==
			| access-date = 23 May 2018
	{{reflist|2}}
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| title = Documents: Bush's Grandfather Directed Bank Tied to Man Who Funded Hitler
			| date = 17 October 2003
			| website = Fox News
			| url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/10/17/documents-bush-grandfather-directed-bank-tied-to-man-who-funded-hitler/
			| access-date = 1 December 2014
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Fox News, 2003}}
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141124052936/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/10/17/documents-bush-grandfather-directed-bank-tied-to-man-who-funded-hitler/
			| agency = Associated Press
			| archive-date = 24 November 2014
			| url-status = dead
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| title = Eingabe der Industriellen an Hindenburg vom November 1932
			| trans-title = Letter of the industrialists to Hindenburg, November 1932
			| work = Glasnost–Archiv
			| url = http://www.glasnost.de/hist/ns/eingabe.html
			| access-date = 16 October 2011
			| language = de
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Letter to Hindenburg, 1932}}
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| last = Evans
			| first = Richard J.
			| title = Hitler's First War, by Thomas Weber
			| newspaper = ]
			| date = 22 June 2011
			| publisher = Phillip Crawley
			| url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/hitlers-first-war-by-thomas-weber/article4261721/
			| access-date = 19 April 2020
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = Frauenfeld
			| first = A. E
			| title = The Power of Speech
			| work = German Propaganda Archive
			| publisher = ]
			| date = August 1937
			| url = http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/machtrede.htm
			| access-date = 1 December 2014
			}}
			* {{cite magazine
			|title=Germany: Second Revolution?
			|date=2 July 1934
			|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,754321,00.html
			|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417000456/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C754321-2%2C00.html
			|magazine=]
			|access-date=15 April 2013
			|archive-date=17 April 2008
			|ref={{sfnRef|''Time'', 1934}}
			|url-status=dead
			}}
			* {{citation
			|last = Glantz
			|first = David
			|author-link = David Glantz
			|title = The Soviet-German War 1941–45: Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay
			|publisher = Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, ]
			|format = PDF
			|location = Clemson, SC
			|date = 11 October 2001
			|url = http://sti.clemson.edu/publications-mainmenu-38/commentaries-mainmenu-211/cat_view/33-strom-thurmond-institute/153-sti-publications-by-subject-area/158-history
			|access-date = 12 June 2017
			|url-status = dead
			|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170722130850/http://sti.clemson.edu/publications-mainmenu-38/commentaries-mainmenu-211/cat_view/33-strom-thurmond-institute/153-sti-publications-by-subject-area/158-history
			|archive-date = 22 July 2017
			}}
			* {{citation
			| last = Goebbels
			| first = Joseph
			| title = The Führer as a Speaker
			| publisher = ]
			| year = 1936
			| url = http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ahspeak.htm
			| access-date = 1 December 2014
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| last = Gunkel
			| first = Christoph
			| title = Medicating a Madman: A Sober Look at Hitler's Health
			| journal = Spiegel Online International
			| date = 4 February 2010
			| url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/medicating-a-madman-a-sober-look-at-hitler-s-health-a-675991.html
			| access-date = 12 December 2013
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| last = Hinrichs
			| first = Per
			| work = Spiegel Online
			| title = Des Führers Pass: Hitlers Einbürgerung
			| trans-title = The Führer's Passport: Hitler's Naturalisation
			| date = 10 March 2007
			| language = de
			| url = http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/zeitgeschichte/hitlers-einbuergerung-des-fuehrers-pass-a-470844.html
			| access-date = 1 December 2014
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| title = Hitler's Last Days
			| publisher = MI5 Security Service
			| website = mi5.gov.uk
			| url = https://www.mi5.gov.uk/hitlers-last-days
			| access-date = 19 April 2020
			| ref = {{sfnRef|MI5, ''Hitler's Last Days''}}
			}}
			* {{cite AV media
			| people = Hoffman, David (creator, writer)
			| year = 1989
			| title = How Hitler Lost the War
			| medium = television documentary
			| url = https://ew.com/article/1993/06/11/how-hitler-lost-war/
			| access-date = 19 April 2020
			| location = US
			| publisher = Varied Directions
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Hoffman|1989}}
			}}
			* {{cite encyclopedia
			| title = Introduction to the Holocaust
			| encyclopedia = Holocaust Encyclopedia
			| publisher = ]
			| url = https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust
			| access-date = 19 April 2020
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Holocaust Memorial Museum}}
			}}
			* {{cite AV media
			| people = Jones, Bill (creator, director)
			| year = 1989
			| title = The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler
			| medium = television documentary
			| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8onbm_8bcgQ
			| access-date = 27 April 2016
			| location = England
			| publisher = ]
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Jones|1989}}
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = Kotanko
			| first = Florian
			| title = House of Responsibility
			| website = House of Responsibility – Braunau am Inn
			| publisher = HRB News
			| url = https://www.hrb.at/?path=languages%2Fenglish%2Fbody.php
			| access-date = 19 April 2020
			| ref = {{sfnRef|House of Responsibility}}
			| archive-date = 1 August 2020
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200801184911/https://www.hrb.at/?path=languages%2Fenglish%2Fbody.php
			| url-status = dead
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| title = Leni Riefenstahl
			| date = 10 September 2003
			| work = ]
			| location = London
			| issn = 0307-1235
			| oclc = 49632006
			| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1440991/Leni-Riefenstahl.html?pageNum=3
			| access-date = 10 May 2013
			| ref = {{sfnRef|''The Daily Telegraph'', 2003}}
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Longerich
			| first = Heinz Peter
			| author-link = Peter Longerich
			| title = Hitler's Role in the Persecution of the Jews by the Nazi Regime
			| at = 15. Hitler and the Mass Shootings of Jews During the War Against Russia
			| journal = Holocaust Denial on Trial
			| publisher = Emory University
			| location = Atlanta
			| year = 2003
			| url = http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/15.html
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120722085727/http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/15
			| archive-date = 22 July 2012
			| access-date = 31 July 2013
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Longerich, Chapter 15|2003}}
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Longerich
			| first = Heinz Peter
			| title = Hitler's Role in the Persecution of the Jews by the Nazi Regime
			| at = 17. Radicalisation of the Persecution of the Jews by Hitler at the Turn of the Year 1941–1942
			| journal = Holocaust Denial on Trial
			| publisher = Emory University
			| location = Atlanta
			| year = 2003
			| url = http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/17
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090709111759/http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/17
			| archive-date = 9 July 2009
			| access-date = 31 July 2013
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Longerich, Chapter 17|2003}}
			}}
			* {{cite magazine
			|title=Man of the Year
			|magazine=Time
			|date=2 January 1939
			|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760539-1,00.html
			|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418055132/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760539-1,00.html
			|access-date=31 December 2019
			|archive-date=18 April 2019
			|url-status=live
			|ref={{sfnRef|''Time'', January 1939}}
			}}
			* {{cite AV media
			|people=Martin, Jonathan (creator, writer)
			|year=2008
			|title=World War II In HD Colour
			|medium=television documentary
			|url=http://www.worldmediarights.com/index.php?hidAction=series&sid=8&name=World_War_Two_-_World_War_II_in_Colour_and_HD
			|access-date=27 August 2014
			|location=US
			|publisher=World Media Rights
			|ref={{sfnRef|Martin|2008}}
			|url-status=dead
			|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228033513/http://www.worldmediarights.com/index.php?hidAction=series&sid=8&name=World_War_Two_-_World_War_II_in_Colour_and_HD
			|archive-date=28 February 2015
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = McMillan
			| first = Dan
			| title = Review of Fritz, Stephen G., ''Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East''
			| work = H-Genocide, H-Net Reviews
			| date = October 2012
			| url = http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=35868
			| access-date = 16 October 2012
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| title = Parkinson's part in Hitler's downfall
			| work = BBC News
			| date = 29 July 1999
			| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/406713.stm
			| access-date = 13 June 2011
			| ref = {{sfnRef|BBC News, 1999}}
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = Phayer
			| first = Michael
			| title = The Response of the Catholic Church to National Socialism
			| year = 2000
			| website = The Churches and Nazi Persecution
			| publisher = Yad Vashem
			| url = http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/courses/life_lessons/pdfs/lesson8_4.pdf
			| access-date = 22 May 2013
			| archive-date = 20 January 2019
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190120033233/https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/courses/life_lessons/pdfs/lesson8_4.pdf
			| url-status = dead
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| title = Poles: Victims of the Nazi Era: The Invasion and Occupation of Poland
			| website = ushmm.org
			| publisher = United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
			| url = http://www.ushmm.org/education/resource/poles/poles.php
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130303110620/http://www.ushmm.org/education/resource/poles/poles.php
			| archive-date = 3 March 2013
			| access-date = 1 December 2014
			| ref = {{sfnRef|US Holocaust Memorial Museum}}
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = Porter
			| first = Tom
			| title = Adolf Hitler 'Took Cocktail of Drugs' Reveal New Documents
			| website = IB Times
			| date = 24 August 2013
			| url = http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/hitler-drugs-new-documentary-cocaine-501230
			| access-date = 22 November 2015
			}}
			* {{cite journal
			| last = Redlich
			| first = Fritz C.
			| date = 22 March 1993
			| title = A New Medical Diagnosis of Adolf Hitler: Giant Cell Arteritis—Temporal Arteritis
			| journal = Arch Intern Med
			| volume = 153
			| issue = 6
			| pages = 693–697
			| doi = 10.1001/archinte.1993.00410060005001
			| pmid = 8447705
			}}
			* {{cite AV media
			| people = ] (writer, director) ] (writer, consultant)
			| year = 2012
			| title = The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler
			| medium = television documentary
			| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p01pm
			| access-date = 6 September 2014
			| location = UK
			| publisher = BBC
			| ref = {{sfnRef|Rees|Kershaw|2012}}
			}}
			* {{cite news
			| last = Sharkey
			| first = Joe
			| title = Word for Word/The Case Against the Nazis; How Hitler's Forces Planned To Destroy German Christianity
			| newspaper = The New York Times
			| date = 13 January 2002
			| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/weekinreview/word-for-word-case-against-nazis-hitler-s-forces-planned-destroy-german.html
			| access-date = 7 June 2011
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| author = Staff
			| title = Hitler really did have only one testicle, German researcher claims
			| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/19/hitler-really-did-have-only-one-testicle-german-researcher-claims
			| website = The Guardian
			| access-date = 14 June 2022
			| language = en
			| date = 19 December 2015
			| ref = {{sfnRef|''The Guardian'', 2015}}
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = Weber
			| first = Thomas
			| title = New Evidence Uncovers Hitler's Real First World War Story
			| publisher = Immediate Media Company
			| website = BBC History Magazine
			| location = UK
			| date = 2010a
			| access-date = 19 November 2016
			| url = http://www.historyextra.com/oup/new-evidence-uncovers-hitlers-real-first-world-war-story
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121121002315/http://www.historyextra.com/oup/new-evidence-uncovers-hitlers-real-first-world-war-story
			| archive-date = 21 November 2012
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last = Wilson
			| first = Bee
			| title = Mein Diat&nbsp;– Adolf Hitler's diet
			| publisher =
			| website = New Statesman
			| location = UK
			| date = 9 October 1998
			| access-date =
			| url = https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-21238666/mein-diat
			| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131213032448/http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-21238666/mein-diat
			| archive-date = 13 December 2013
			| url-status =
			}}
			* {{cite web
			| last=Zialcita
			| first=Paolo
			| title=Hitler's Birth Home In Austria Will Become A Police Station
			| website=NPR
			| year=2019
			| url=https://www.npr.org/2019/11/20/781248111/hitlers-birth-home-in-austria-will-become-a-police-station
			| access-date=29 May 2020
			}}
			{{refend}}
	==External links==		==External links==
	{{sisterlinks|Adolf Hitler}}		{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|date=12 October 2021|EN-Adolf Hitler-article.ogg}}
			* {{Internet Archive|id=Hitler-OSS-CIA|name=A psychological analysis of Adolf Hitler}}
	* How Hitler has been viewed over the years.
			* {{OL author|OL108070A}}
	*
	*{{imdb name|id=0386944|name=Adolf Hitler}}		* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Adolf Hitler}}
			* {{20th Century Press Archives|FID=pe/007921}}
	* written by Dr. Henry A. Murray for the wartime ]
	* - Watch color footage of Hitler during WWII
	* (full text)
	* The world's only recording of Adolf Hitler's natural speech. More of the subject:
	*
	* (Sydney Morning Herald March 11, 2006)
			{{Adolf Hitler}}
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			{{navboxes|list=
			{{Fascism}}
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			{{Time Persons of the Year}}
			{{Chancellors of Germany}}
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			{{Heads of State of Germany}}
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	{{Final occupants of the Führerbunker}}		{{Final occupants of the Führerbunker}}
			{{Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century}}
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	|NAME=Hitler, Adolf
	|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
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Latest revision as of 23:40, 24 December 2024

Dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 "Hitler" and "The Führer" redirect here. For other uses, see Hitler (disambiguation) and Führer (disambiguation).

Adolf Hitler
Official portrait, 1938
Führer of Germany
In office 2 August 1934 – 30 April 1945
Preceded by	Paul von Hindenburg (as President)
Succeeded by	Karl Dönitz (as President)
Chancellor of Germany
In office 30 January 1933 – 30 April 1945
President	Paul von Hindenburg (1933–1934)
Vice Chancellor	Franz von Papen (1933–1934)
Preceded by	Kurt von Schleicher
Succeeded by	Joseph Goebbels
Führer of the Nazi Party
In office 29 July 1921 – 30 April 1945
Deputy	Rudolf Hess (1933–1941)
Preceded by	Anton Drexler (Party Chairman)
Succeeded by	Martin Bormann (Party Minister)
Personal details
Born	(1889-04-20)20 April 1889 Braunau am Inn, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary
Died	30 April 1945(1945-04-30) (aged 56) Führerbunker, Berlin, Nazi Germany
Cause of death	Suicide by gunshot
Citizenship	Austria (until 1925) Stateless (1925–1932) Germany (from 1932)
Political party	Nazi Party (from 1920)
Other political affiliations	German Workers' Party (1919–1920)
Spouse	Eva Braun ​ ​(m. 1945; died 1945)​
Parents	Alois Hitler Klara Pölzl
Relatives	Hitler family
Cabinet	Hitler cabinet
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	Imperial German Army Bavarian Army Reichswehr
Years of service	1914–1920
Rank	Gefreiter
Commands	German Army (from 1941) Army Group A (1942)
Wars	World War I Western Front First Battle of Ypres Battle of the Somme  (WIA) Battle of Arras Battle of Passchendaele World War II
Awards	List of awards
Adolf Hitler's voice Hitler's last recorded speech Recorded January 1945

This article is part of a series aboutAdolf Hitler
Personal Family Military career Political views Religious views Health possible monorchism Psychopathography Sexuality Wealth and income Vegetarianism Bodyguard Private library Columbus Globe for State and Industry Leaders Origin theories Rise to power Naturalization Beer Hall Putsch Reichstag fire Enabling Act of 1933 Führer of Germany Nazi Germany Cabinet Economy German rearmament World War II Anschluss Occupation of Czechoslovakia Western Front Eastern Front Death (assassination attempts conspiracy theories) Last will and testament Crimes against humanity Nuremberg Laws The Holocaust Final Solution Electoral campaigns 1930 March 1932 July 1932 November 1932 March 1933 November 1933 Works Paintings Mein Kampf Hitlers Zweites Buch Speeches Bibliography Image and legacy Oaths Hitler Oath Historiography Cult of personality In popular culture Eponymous streets Killing baby Hitler
v t e

Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was a German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. His invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 marked the start of the Second World War. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.

Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna in the first decade of the 1900s before moving to Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I, receiving the Iron Cross. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and in 1921 was appointed leader of the Nazi Party. In 1923, he attempted to seize governmental power in a failed coup in Munich and was sentenced to five years in prison, serving just over a year of his sentence. While there, he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf (My Struggle). After his early release in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting pan-Germanism, antisemitism, and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and Nazi propaganda. He frequently denounced communism as being part of an international Jewish conspiracy.

By November 1932, the Nazi Party held the most seats in the Reichstag, but not a majority. No political parties were able to form a majority coalition in support of a candidate for chancellor. Former chancellor Franz von Papen and other conservative leaders convinced President Paul von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor on 30 January 1933. Shortly thereafter, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act of 1933, which began the process of transforming the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party dictatorship based on the totalitarian and autocratic ideology of Nazism. Upon Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934, Hitler succeeded him, becoming simultaneously the head of state and government, with absolute power. Domestically, Hitler implemented numerous racist policies and sought to deport or kill German Jews. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the Great Depression, the abrogation of restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I, and the annexation of territories inhabited by millions of ethnic Germans, which initially gave him significant popular support.

One of Hitler's key goals was Lebensraum (lit. 'living space') for the German people in Eastern Europe, and his aggressive, expansionist foreign policy is considered the primary cause of World War II in Europe. He directed large-scale rearmament and, on 1 September 1939, invaded Poland, causing Britain and France to declare war on Germany. In June 1941, Hitler ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union. In December 1941, he declared war on the United States. By the end of 1941, German forces and the European Axis powers occupied most of Europe and North Africa. These gains were gradually reversed after 1941, and in 1945 the Allied armies defeated the German army. On 29 April 1945, he married his longtime partner, Eva Braun, in the Führerbunker in Berlin. The couple committed suicide the next day to avoid capture by the Soviet Red Army. In accordance with Hitler's wishes, their corpses were burned.

The historian and biographer Ian Kershaw described Hitler as "the embodiment of modern political evil". Under Hitler's leadership and racist ideology, the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of an estimated six million Jews and millions of other victims, whom he and his followers deemed Untermenschen (lit. 'subhumans') or socially undesirable. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the deliberate killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European theatre. The number of civilians killed during World War II was unprecedented in warfare, and the casualties constitute the deadliest conflict in history.

Ancestry

See also: Hitler family and Origin theories of Adolf Hitler

Hitler's father, Alois Hitler (1837–1903), was the illegitimate child of Maria Schicklgruber. The baptismal register did not show the name of his father, and Alois initially bore his mother's surname, "Schicklgruber". In 1842, Johann Georg Hiedler married Alois's mother. Alois was brought up in the family of Hiedler's brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler. In 1876, Alois was made legitimate and his baptismal record annotated by a priest to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois's father (recorded as "Georg Hitler"). Alois then assumed the surname "Hitler", also spelled "Hiedler", "Hüttler", or "Huettler". The name is probably based on the German word Hütte (lit. 'hut'), and has the meaning "one who lives in a hut".

Nazi official Hans Frank suggested that Alois's mother had been employed as a housekeeper by a Jewish family in Graz, and that the family's 19-year-old son Leopold Frankenberger had fathered Alois, a claim that came to be known as the Frankenberger thesis. No Frankenberger was registered in Graz during that period, no record has been produced of Leopold Frankenberger's existence, so historians dismiss the claim that Alois's father was Jewish.

Early years

Childhood and education

Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary (present-day Austria), close to the border with the German Empire. He was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and his third wife, Klara Pölzl. Three of Hitler's siblings—Gustav, Ida, and Otto—died in infancy. Also living in the household were Alois's children from his second marriage: Alois Jr. (born 1882) and Angela (born 1883). When Hitler was three, the family moved to Passau, Germany. There he acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian dialect, rather than Austrian German, which marked his speech throughout his life. The family returned to Austria and settled in Leonding in 1894, and in June 1895 Alois retired to Hafeld, near Lambach, where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler attended Volksschule (a state-funded primary school) in nearby Fischlham.

The move to Hafeld coincided with the onset of intense father-son conflicts caused by Hitler's refusal to conform to the strict discipline of his school. Alois tried to browbeat his son into obedience, while Adolf did his best to be the opposite of whatever his father wanted. Alois would also beat his son, although his mother tried to protect him from regular beatings.

Alois Hitler's farming efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and in 1897 the family moved to Lambach. The eight-year-old Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church choir, and even considered becoming a priest. In 1898, the family returned permanently to Leonding. Hitler was deeply affected by the death of his younger brother Edmund in 1900 from measles. Hitler changed from a confident, outgoing, conscientious student to a morose, detached boy who constantly fought with his father and teachers. Paula Hitler recalled how Adolf was a teenage bully who would often slap her.

Alois had made a successful career in the customs bureau and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Hitler later dramatised an episode from this period when his father took him to visit a customs office, depicting it as an event that gave rise to an unforgiving antagonism between father and son, who were both strong-willed. Ignoring his son's desire to attend a classical high school and become an artist, Alois sent Hitler to the Realschule in Linz in September 1900. Hitler rebelled against this decision, and in Mein Kampf states that he intentionally performed poorly in school, hoping that once his father saw "what little progress I was making at the technical school he would let me devote myself to my dream".

Hitler's father, Alois, c. 1900Hitler's mother, Klara, 1870s

Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler began to develop German nationalist ideas from a young age. He expressed loyalty only to Germany, despising the declining Habsburg monarchy and its rule over an ethnically diverse empire. Hitler and his friends used the greeting "Heil", and sang the "Deutschlandlied" instead of the Austrian Imperial anthem. After Alois's sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler's performance at school deteriorated and his mother allowed him to leave. He enrolled at the Realschule in Steyr in September 1904, where his behaviour and performance improved. In 1905, after passing a repeat of the final exam, Hitler left the school without any ambitions for further education or clear plans for a career.

Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich

See also: Paintings by Adolf Hitler

In 1907, Hitler left Linz to live and study fine art in Vienna, financed by orphan's benefits and support from his mother. He applied for admission to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna but was rejected twice. The director suggested Hitler should apply to the School of Architecture, but he lacked the necessary academic credentials because he had not finished secondary school.

On 21 December 1907, his mother died of breast cancer at the age of 47; Hitler was 18 at the time. In 1909, Hitler ran out of money and was forced to live a bohemian life in homeless shelters and the Meldemannstraße dormitory. He earned money as a casual labourer and by painting and selling watercolours of Vienna's sights. During his time in Vienna, he pursued a growing passion for architecture and music, attending ten performances of Lohengrin, his favourite Wagner opera.

In Vienna, Hitler was first exposed to racist rhetoric. Populists such as mayor Karl Lueger exploited the city's prevalent anti-Semitic sentiment, occasionally also espousing German nationalist notions for political benefit. German nationalism was even more widespread in the Mariahilf district, where Hitler then lived. Georg Ritter von Schönerer became a major influence on Hitler, and he developed an admiration for Martin Luther. Hitler read local newspapers that promoted prejudice and utilised Christian fears of being swamped by an influx of Eastern European Jews as well as pamphlets that published the thoughts of philosophers and theoreticians such as Houston Stewart Chamberlain, Charles Darwin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gustave Le Bon, and Arthur Schopenhauer. During his life in Vienna, Hitler also developed fervent anti-Slavic sentiments.

The origin and development of Hitler's anti-Semitism remains a matter of debate. His friend August Kubizek claimed that Hitler was a "confirmed anti-Semite" before he left Linz. However, historian Brigitte Hamann describes Kubizek's claim as "problematical". While Hitler states in Mein Kampf that he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna, Reinhold Hanisch, who helped him sell his paintings, disagrees. Hitler had dealings with Jews while living in Vienna. Historian Richard J. Evans states that "historians now generally agree that his notorious, murderous anti-Semitism emerged well after Germany's defeat , as a product of the paranoid "stab-in-the-back" explanation for the catastrophe".

Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to Munich, Germany. When he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian Army, he journeyed to Salzburg on 5 February 1914 for medical assessment. After he was deemed unfit for service, he returned to Munich. Hitler later claimed that he did not wish to serve the Habsburg Empire because of the mixture of races in its army and his belief that the collapse of Austria-Hungary was imminent.

World War I

Main article: Military career of Adolf Hitler

In August 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, Hitler was living in Munich and voluntarily enlisted in the Bavarian Army. According to a 1924 report by the Bavarian authorities, allowing Hitler to serve was most likely an administrative error, because as an Austrian citizen, he should have been returned to Austria. Posted to the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (1st Company of the List Regiment), he served as a dispatch runner on the Western Front in France and Belgium, spending nearly half his time at the regimental headquarters in Fournes-en-Weppes, well behind the front lines. In 1914, he was present at the First Battle of Ypres and in that year was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross, Second Class.

During his service at headquarters, Hitler pursued his artwork, drawing cartoons and instructions for an army newspaper. During the Battle of the Somme in October 1916, he was wounded in the left thigh when a shell exploded in the dispatch runners' dugout. Hitler spent almost two months recovering in hospital at Beelitz, returning to his regiment on 5 March 1917. He was present at the Battle of Arras of 1917 and the Battle of Passchendaele. He received the Black Wound Badge on 18 May 1918. Three months later, in August 1918, on a recommendation by Lieutenant Hugo Gutmann, his Jewish superior, Hitler received the Iron Cross, First Class, a decoration rarely awarded at Hitler's Gefreiter rank. On 15 October 1918, he was temporarily blinded in a mustard gas attack and was hospitalised in Pasewalk. While there, Hitler learned of Germany's defeat, and, by his own account, suffered a second bout of blindness after receiving this news.

Hitler described his role in World War I as "the greatest of all experiences", and was praised by his commanding officers for his bravery. His wartime experience reinforced his German patriotism, and he was shocked by Germany's capitulation in November 1918. His displeasure with the collapse of the war effort began to shape his ideology. Like other German nationalists, he believed the Dolchstoßlegende (stab-in-the-back myth), which claimed that the German army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" on the home front by civilian leaders, Jews, Marxists, and those who signed the armistice that ended the fighting—later dubbed the "November criminals".

The Treaty of Versailles stipulated that Germany had to relinquish several of its territories and demilitarise the Rhineland. The treaty imposed economic sanctions and levied heavy reparations on the country. Many Germans saw the treaty as an unjust humiliation. They especially objected to Article 231, which they interpreted as declaring Germany responsible for the war. The Versailles Treaty and the economic, social, and political conditions in Germany after the war were later exploited by Hitler for political gain.

Entry into politics

Main article: Political views of Adolf Hitler

After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich. Without formal education or career prospects, he remained in the Army. In July 1919, he was appointed Verbindungsmann (intelligence agent) of an Aufklärungskommando (reconnaissance unit) of the Reichswehr, assigned to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the German Workers' Party (DAP). At a DAP meeting on 12 September 1919, Party Chairman Anton Drexler was impressed by Hitler's oratorical skills. He gave him a copy of his pamphlet My Political Awakening, which contained anti-Semitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist, and anti-Marxist ideas. On the orders of his army superiors, Hitler applied to join the party, and within a week was accepted as party member 555 (the party began counting membership at 500 to give the impression they were a much larger party).

Hitler made his earliest known written statement about the Jewish question in a 16 September 1919 letter to Adolf Gemlich (now known as the Gemlich letter). In the letter, Hitler argues that the aim of the government "must unshakably be the removal of the Jews altogether". At the DAP, Hitler met Dietrich Eckart, one of the party's founders and a member of the occult Thule Society. Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging ideas with him and introducing him to a wide range of Munich society. To increase its appeal, the DAP changed its name to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), now known as the "Nazi Party"). Hitler designed the party's banner of a swastika in a white circle on a red background.

Hitler was discharged from the Army on 31 March 1920 and began working full-time for the party. The party headquarters was in Munich, a centre for anti-government German nationalists determined to eliminate Marxism and undermine the Weimar Republic. In February 1921—already highly effective at crowd manipulation—he spoke to a crowd of over 6,000. To publicise the meeting, two truckloads of party supporters drove around Munich waving swastika flags and distributing leaflets. Hitler soon gained notoriety for his rowdy polemic speeches against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians, and especially against Marxists and Jews.

In June 1921, while Hitler and Eckart were on a fundraising trip to Berlin, a mutiny broke out within the Nazi Party in Munich. Members of its executive committee wanted to merge with the Nuremberg-based German Socialist Party (DSP). Hitler returned to Munich on 11 July and angrily tendered his resignation. The committee members realised that the resignation of their leading public figure and speaker would mean the end of the party. Hitler announced he would rejoin on the condition that he would replace Drexler as party chairman, and that the party headquarters would remain in Munich. The committee agreed, and he rejoined the party on 26 July as member 3,680. Hitler continued to face some opposition within the Nazi Party. Opponents of Hitler in the leadership had Hermann Esser expelled from the party, and they printed 3,000 copies of a pamphlet attacking Hitler as a traitor to the party. In the following days, Hitler spoke to several large audiences and defended himself and Esser, to thunderous applause. His strategy proved successful, and at a special party congress on 29 July, he was granted absolute power as party chairman, succeeding Drexler, by a vote of 533 to 1.

Hitler's vitriolic beer hall speeches began attracting regular audiences. A demagogue, he became adept at using populist themes, including the use of scapegoats, who were blamed for his listeners' economic hardships. Hitler used personal magnetism and an understanding of crowd psychology to his advantage while engaged in public speaking. Historians have noted the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Alfons Heck, a former member of the Hitler Youth, recalled:

We erupted into a frenzy of nationalistic pride that bordered on hysteria. For minutes on end, we shouted at the top of our lungs, with tears streaming down our faces: Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil! From that moment on, I belonged to Adolf Hitler body and soul.

Early followers included Rudolf Hess, former air force ace Hermann Göring, and army captain Ernst Röhm. Röhm became head of the Nazis' paramilitary organisation, the Sturmabteilung (SA, "Stormtroopers"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. A critical influence on Hitler's thinking during this period was the Aufbau Vereinigung, a conspiratorial group of White Russian exiles and early Nazis. The group, financed with funds channelled from wealthy industrialists, introduced Hitler to the idea of a Jewish conspiracy, linking international finance with Bolshevism.

The programme of the Nazi Party was laid out in their 25-point programme on 24 February 1920. This did not represent a coherent ideology, but was a conglomeration of received ideas which had currency in the völkisch Pan-Germanic movement, such as ultranationalism, opposition to the Treaty of Versailles, distrust of capitalism, as well as some socialist ideas. For Hitler, the most important aspect of it was its strong anti-Semitic stance. He also perceived the programme as primarily a basis for propaganda and for attracting people to the party.

Beer Hall Putsch and Landsberg Prison

Main article: Beer Hall Putsch

In 1923, Hitler enlisted the help of World War I General Erich Ludendorff for an attempted coup known as the "Beer Hall Putsch". The Nazi Party used Italian Fascism as a model for their appearance and policies. Hitler wanted to emulate Benito Mussolini's "March on Rome" of 1922 by staging his own coup in Bavaria, to be followed by a challenge to the government in Berlin. Hitler and Ludendorff sought the support of Staatskommissar (State Commissioner) Gustav Ritter von Kahr, Bavaria's de facto ruler. However, Kahr, along with Police Chief Hans Ritter von Seisser and Reichswehr General Otto von Lossow, wanted to install a nationalist dictatorship without Hitler.

On 8 November 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting of 3,000 people organised by Kahr in the Bürgerbräukeller, a beer hall in Munich. Interrupting Kahr's speech, he announced that the national revolution had begun and declared the formation of a new government with Ludendorff. Retiring to a back room, Hitler, with his pistol drawn, demanded and subsequently received the support of Kahr, Seisser, and Lossow. Hitler's forces initially succeeded in occupying the local Reichswehr and police headquarters, but Kahr and his cohorts quickly withdrew their support. Neither the Army nor the state police joined forces with Hitler. The next day, Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government, but police dispersed them. Sixteen Nazi Party members and four police officers were killed in the failed coup.

Hitler fled to the home of Ernst Hanfstaengl and by some accounts contemplated suicide. He was depressed but calm when arrested on 11 November 1923 for high treason. His trial before the special People's Court in Munich began in February 1924, and Alfred Rosenberg became temporary leader of the Nazi Party. On 1 April, Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Landsberg Prison. There, he received friendly treatment from the guards, and was allowed mail from supporters and regular visits by party comrades. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, he was released from jail on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections. Including time on remand, Hitler served just over one year in prison.

While at Landsberg, Hitler dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf (lit. 'My Struggle'); originally titled Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice) at first to his chauffeur, Emil Maurice, and then to his deputy, Rudolf Hess. The book, dedicated to Thule Society member Dietrich Eckart, was an autobiography and exposition of his ideology. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race. Throughout the book, Jews are equated with "germs" and presented as the "international poisoners" of society. According to Hitler's ideology, the only solution was their extermination. While Hitler did not describe exactly how this was to be accomplished, his "inherent genocidal thrust is undeniable", according to Ian Kershaw.

Published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, Mein Kampf sold 228,000 copies between 1925 and 1932. One million copies were sold in 1933, Hitler's first year in office. Shortly before Hitler was eligible for parole, the Bavarian government attempted to have him deported to Austria. The Austrian federal chancellor rejected the request on the specious grounds that his service in the German Army made his Austrian citizenship void. In response, Hitler formally renounced his Austrian citizenship on 7 April 1925.

Rebuilding the Nazi Party

At the time of Hitler's release from prison, politics in Germany had become less combative and the economy had improved, limiting Hitler's opportunities for political agitation. As a result of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, the Nazi Party and its affiliated organisations were banned in Bavaria. In a meeting with the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Heinrich Held, on 4 January 1925, Hitler agreed to respect the state's authority and promised that he would seek political power only through the democratic process. The meeting paved the way for the ban on the Nazi Party to be lifted on 16 February.

However, after an inflammatory speech he gave on 27 February, Hitler was barred from public speaking by the Bavarian authorities, a ban that remained in place until 1927. To advance his political ambitions in spite of the ban, Hitler appointed Gregor Strasser, Otto Strasser, and Joseph Goebbels to organise and enlarge the Nazi Party in northern Germany. Gregor Strasser steered a more independent political course, emphasising the socialist elements of the party's programme.

The stock market in the United States crashed on 24 October 1929. The impact in Germany was dire: millions became unemployed and several major banks collapsed. Hitler and the Nazi Party prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to repudiate the Versailles Treaty, strengthen the economy, and provide jobs.

Rise to power

Main article: Adolf Hitler's rise to power

Nazi Party election results

Election	Total votes	% votes	Reichstag seats	Notes
May 1924	1,918,300	6.5	32	Hitler in prison
December 1924	907,300	3.0	14	Hitler released from prison
May 1928	810,100	2.6	12
September 1930	6,409,600	18.3	107	After the financial crisis
July 1932	13,745,000	37.3	230	After Hitler was candidate for presidency
November 1932	11,737,000	33.1	196
March 1933	17,277,180	43.9	288	Only partially free during Hitler's term as chancellor of Germany

Brüning administration

The Great Depression provided a political opportunity for Hitler. Germans were ambivalent about the parliamentary republic, which faced challenges from right- and left-wing extremists. The moderate political parties were increasingly unable to stem the tide of extremism, and the German referendum of 1929 helped to elevate Nazi ideology. The elections of September 1930 resulted in the break-up of a grand coalition and its replacement with a minority cabinet. Its leader, chancellor Heinrich Brüning of the Centre Party, governed through emergency decrees from President Paul von Hindenburg. Governance by decree became the new norm and paved the way for authoritarian forms of government. The Nazi Party rose from obscurity to win 18.3 per cent of the vote and 107 parliamentary seats in the 1930 election, becoming the second-largest party in parliament.

Hitler made a prominent appearance at the trial of two Reichswehr officers, Lieutenants Richard Scheringer and Hanns Ludin, in late 1930. Both were charged with membership in the Nazi Party, at that time illegal for Reichswehr personnel. The prosecution argued that the Nazi Party was an extremist party, prompting defence lawyer Hans Frank to call on Hitler to testify. On 25 September 1930, Hitler testified that his party would pursue political power solely through democratic elections, which won him many supporters in the officer corps.

Brüning's austerity measures brought little economic improvement and were extremely unpopular. Hitler exploited this by targeting his political messages specifically at people who had been affected by the inflation of the 1920s and the Depression, such as farmers, war veterans, and the middle class.

Although Hitler had terminated his Austrian citizenship in 1925, he did not acquire German citizenship for almost seven years. This meant that he was stateless, legally unable to run for public office, and still faced the risk of deportation. On 25 February 1932, the interior minister of Brunswick, Dietrich Klagges, who was a member of the Nazi Party, appointed Hitler as administrator for the state's delegation to the Reichsrat in Berlin, making Hitler a citizen of Brunswick, and thus of Germany.

Hitler ran against Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential elections. A speech to the Industry Club in Düsseldorf on 27 January 1932 won him support from many of Germany's most powerful industrialists. Hindenburg had support from various nationalist, monarchist, Catholic, and republican parties, and some Social Democrats. Hitler used the campaign slogan "Hitler über Deutschland" ("Hitler over Germany"), a reference to his political ambitions and his campaigning by aircraft. He was one of the first politicians to use aircraft travel for campaigning and used it effectively. Hitler came in second in both rounds of the election, garnering more than 35 per cent of the vote in the final election. Although he lost to Hindenburg, this election established Hitler as a strong force in German politics.

Appointment as chancellor

The absence of an effective government prompted two influential politicians, Franz von Papen and Alfred Hugenberg, along with several other industrialists and businessmen, to write a letter to Hindenburg. The signers urged Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties", which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people".

Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor after two further parliamentary elections—in July and November 1932—had not resulted in the formation of a majority government. Hitler headed a short-lived coalition government formed by the Nazi Party (which had the most seats in the Reichstag) and Hugenberg's party, the German National People's Party (DNVP). On 30 January 1933, the new cabinet was sworn in during a brief ceremony in Hindenburg's office. The Nazi Party gained three posts: Hitler was named chancellor, Wilhelm Frick Minister of the Interior, and Hermann Göring Minister of the Interior for Prussia. Hitler had insisted on the ministerial positions as a way to gain control over the police in much of Germany.

Reichstag fire and March elections

Main article: Reichstag fire

As chancellor, Hitler worked against attempts by the Nazi Party's opponents to build a majority government. Because of the political stalemate, he asked Hindenburg to again dissolve the Reichstag, and elections were scheduled for early March. On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire. Göring blamed a communist plot, as Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was found in incriminating circumstances inside the burning building. Until the 1960s, some historians, including William L. Shirer and Alan Bullock, thought the Nazi Party itself was responsible; according to Ian Kershaw, writing in 1998, the view of nearly all modern historians is that van der Lubbe set the fire alone.

At Hitler's urging, Hindenburg responded by signing the Reichstag Fire Decree of 28 February, drafted by the Nazis, which suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. The decree was permitted under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order. Activities of the German Communist Party (KPD) were suppressed, and some 4,000 KPD members were arrested.

In addition to political campaigning, the Nazi Party engaged in paramilitary violence and the spread of anti-communist propaganda in the days preceding the election. On election day, 6 March 1933, the Nazi Party's share of the vote increased to 43.9 per cent, and the party acquired the largest number of seats in parliament. Hitler's party failed to secure an absolute majority, necessitating another coalition with the DNVP.

Day of Potsdam and the Enabling Act

Main article: Enabling Act of 1933

On 21 March 1933, the new Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony at the Garrison Church in Potsdam. This "Day of Potsdam" was held to demonstrate unity between the Nazi movement and the old Prussian elite and military. Hitler appeared in a morning coat and humbly greeted Hindenburg.

To achieve full political control despite not having an absolute majority in parliament, Hitler's government brought the Ermächtigungsgesetz (Enabling Act) to a vote in the newly elected Reichstag. The Act—officially titled the Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich ("Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich")—gave Hitler's cabinet the power to enact laws without the consent of the Reichstag for four years. These laws could (with certain exceptions) deviate from the constitution.

Since it would affect the constitution, the Enabling Act required a two-thirds majority to pass. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to arrest all 81 Communist deputies (in spite of their virulent campaign against the party, the Nazis had allowed the KPD to contest the election) and prevent several Social Democrats from attending.

On 23 March 1933, the Reichstag assembled at the Kroll Opera House under turbulent circumstances. Ranks of SA men served as guards inside the building, while large groups outside opposing the proposed legislation shouted slogans and threats towards the arriving members of parliament. After Hitler verbally promised Centre party leader Ludwig Kaas that Hindenburg would retain his power of veto, Kaas announced the Centre Party would support the Enabling Act. The Act passed by a vote of 444–94, with all parties except the Social Democrats voting in favour. The Enabling Act, along with the Reichstag Fire Decree, transformed Hitler's government into a de facto legal dictatorship.

Dictatorship

At the risk of appearing to talk nonsense I tell you that the National Socialist movement will go on for 1,000 years! ... Don't forget how people laughed at me 15 years ago when I declared that one day I would govern Germany. They laugh now, just as foolishly, when I declare that I shall remain in power!

— Adolf Hitler to a British correspondent in Berlin, June 1934

Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his allies began to suppress the remaining opposition. The Social Democratic Party was made illegal, and its assets were seized. While many trade union delegates were in Berlin for May Day activities, SA stormtroopers occupied union offices around the country. On 2 May 1933, all trade unions were forced to dissolve, and their leaders were arrested. Some were sent to concentration camps. The German Labour Front was formed as an umbrella organisation to represent all workers, administrators, and company owners, thus reflecting the concept of Nazism in the spirit of Hitler's Volksgemeinschaft ("people's community").

By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. This included the Nazis' nominal coalition partner, the DNVP; with the SA's help, Hitler forced its leader, Hugenberg, to resign on 29 June. On 14 July 1933, the Nazi Party was declared the only legal political party in Germany. The demands of the SA for more political and military power caused anxiety among military, industrial, and political leaders. In response, Hitler purged the entire SA leadership in the Night of the Long Knives, which took place from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Hitler targeted Ernst Röhm and other SA leaders who, along with a number of Hitler's political adversaries (such as Gregor Strasser and former chancellor Kurt von Schleicher), were rounded up, arrested, and shot. While the international community and some Germans were shocked by the killings, many in Germany believed Hitler was restoring order.

Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. On the previous day, the cabinet had enacted the Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich. This law stated that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of president would be abolished, and its powers merged with those of the chancellor. Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government and was formally named as Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor of the Reich), although Reichskanzler was eventually dropped. With this action, Hitler eliminated the last legal remedy by which he could be removed from office.

As head of state, Hitler became commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Immediately after Hindenburg's death, at the instigation of the leadership of the Reichswehr, the traditional loyalty oath of soldiers was altered to affirm loyalty to Hitler personally, by name, rather than to the office of commander-in-chief (which was later renamed to supreme commander) or the state. On 19 August, the merger of the presidency with the chancellorship was approved by 88 per cent of the electorate voting in a plebiscite.

In early 1938, Hitler used blackmail to consolidate his hold over the military by instigating the Blomberg–Fritsch affair. Hitler forced his War Minister, Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, to resign by using a police dossier that showed that Blomberg's new wife had a record for prostitution. Army commander Colonel-General Werner von Fritsch was removed after the Schutzstaffel (SS) produced allegations that he had engaged in a homosexual relationship. Both men had fallen into disfavour because they objected to Hitler's demand to make the Wehrmacht ready for war as early as 1938. Hitler assumed Blomberg's title of Commander-in-Chief, thus taking personal command of the armed forces. He replaced the Ministry of War with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), headed by General Wilhelm Keitel. On the same day, sixteen generals were stripped of their commands and 44 more were transferred; all were suspected of not being sufficiently pro-Nazi. By early February 1938, twelve more generals had been removed.

Hitler took care to give his dictatorship the appearance of legality. Many of his decrees were explicitly based on the Reichstag Fire Decree and hence on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. The Reichstag renewed the Enabling Act twice, each time for a four-year period. While elections to the Reichstag were still held (in 1933, 1936, and 1938), voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and pro-Nazi "guests" which received well over 90 per cent of the vote. These sham elections were held in far-from-secret conditions; the Nazis threatened severe reprisals against anyone who did not vote or who voted against.

Nazi Germany

Main article: Nazi Germany

Economy and culture

Main article: Economy of Nazi Germany

In August 1934, Hitler appointed Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht as Minister of Economics, and in the following year, as Plenipotentiary for War Economy in charge of preparing the economy for war. Reconstruction and rearmament were financed through Mefo bills, printing money, and seizing the assets of people arrested as enemies of the State, including Jews. The number of unemployed fell from six million in 1932 to fewer than one million in 1936. Hitler oversaw one of the largest infrastructure improvement campaigns in German history, leading to the construction of dams, autobahns, railroads, and other civil works. Wages were slightly lower in the mid to late 1930s compared with wages during the Weimar Republic, while the cost of living increased by 25 per cent. The average work week increased during the shift to a war economy; by 1939, the average German was working between 47 and 50 hours a week.

Hitler's government sponsored architecture on an immense scale. Albert Speer, instrumental in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, was placed in charge of the proposed architectural renovations of Berlin. Despite a threatened multi-nation boycott, Germany hosted the 1936 Olympic Games. Hitler officiated at the opening ceremonies and attended events at both the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Summer Games in Berlin.

Rearmament and new alliances

Main articles: Axis powers, Tripartite Pact, and German re-armament

In a meeting with German military leaders on 3 February 1933, Hitler spoke of "conquest for Lebensraum in the East and its ruthless Germanisation" as his ultimate foreign policy objectives. In March, Prince Bernhard Wilhelm von Bülow, secretary at the Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), issued a statement of major foreign policy aims: Anschluss with Austria, the restoration of Germany's national borders of 1914, rejection of military restrictions under the Treaty of Versailles, the return of the former German colonies in Africa, and a German zone of influence in Eastern Europe. Hitler found Bülow's goals to be too modest. In speeches during this period, he stressed what he termed the peaceful goals of his policies and a willingness to work within international agreements. At the first meeting of his cabinet in 1933, Hitler prioritised military spending over unemployment relief.

Germany withdrew from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference in October 1933. In January 1935, over 90 per cent of the people of the Saarland, then under League of Nations administration, voted to unite with Germany. That March, Hitler announced an expansion of the Wehrmacht to 600,000 members—six times the number permitted by the Versailles Treaty – including development of an air force (Luftwaffe) and an increase in the size of the navy (Kriegsmarine). Britain, France, Italy, and the League of Nations condemned these violations of the Treaty but did nothing to stop it. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) of 18 June allowed German tonnage to increase to 35 per cent of that of the British navy. Hitler called the signing of the AGNA "the happiest day of his life", believing that the agreement marked the beginning of the Anglo-German alliance he had predicted in Mein Kampf. France and Italy were not consulted before the signing, directly undermining the League of Nations and setting the Treaty of Versailles on the path towards irrelevance.

Germany reoccupied the demilitarised zone in the Rhineland in March 1936, in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Hitler also sent troops to Spain to support Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War after receiving an appeal for help in July 1936. At the same time, Hitler continued his efforts to create an Anglo-German alliance. In August 1936, in response to a growing economic crisis caused by his rearmament efforts, Hitler ordered Göring to implement a Four Year Plan to prepare Germany for war within the next four years. The plan envisaged an all-out struggle between "Judeo-Bolshevism" and German Nazism, which in Hitler's view required a committed effort of rearmament regardless of the economic costs.

In October 1936, Count Galeazzo Ciano, foreign minister of Mussolini's government, visited Germany, where he signed a Nine-Point Protocol as an expression of rapprochement and had a personal meeting with Hitler. On 1 November, Mussolini declared an "axis" between Germany and Italy. On 25 November, Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. Britain, China, Italy, and Poland were also invited to join the Anti-Comintern Pact, but only Italy signed in 1937. Hitler abandoned his plan of an Anglo-German alliance, blaming "inadequate" British leadership. At a meeting in the Reich Chancellery with his foreign ministers and military chiefs that November, Hitler restated his intention of acquiring Lebensraum for the German people. He ordered preparations for war in the East, to begin as early as 1938 and no later than 1943. In the event of his death, the conference minutes, recorded as the Hossbach Memorandum, were to be regarded as his "political testament". He felt that a severe decline in living standards in Germany as a result of the economic crisis could only be stopped by military aggression aimed at seizing Austria and Czechoslovakia. Hitler urged quick action before Britain and France gained a permanent lead in the arms race. In early 1938, in the wake of the Blomberg–Fritsch affair, Hitler asserted control of the military-foreign policy apparatus, dismissing Neurath as foreign minister and appointing himself as War Minister. From early 1938 onwards, Hitler was carrying out a foreign policy ultimately aimed at war.

World War II

Early diplomatic successes

Alliance with Japan

See also: Germany–Japan relations

In February 1938, on the advice of his newly appointed foreign minister, the strongly pro-Japanese Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler ended the Sino-German alliance with the Republic of China to instead enter into an alliance with the more modern and powerful Empire of Japan. Hitler announced German recognition of Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria, and renounced German claims to their former colonies in the Pacific held by Japan. Hitler ordered an end to arms shipments to China and recalled all German officers working with the Chinese Army. In retaliation, Chinese General Chiang Kai-shek cancelled all Sino-German economic agreements, depriving the Germans of many Chinese raw materials.

Austria and Czechoslovakia

On 12 March 1938, Hitler announced the unification of Austria with Nazi Germany in the Anschluss. Hitler then turned his attention to the ethnic German population of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. On 28–29 March 1938, Hitler held a series of secret meetings in Berlin with Konrad Henlein of the Sudeten German Party, the largest of the ethnic German parties of the Sudetenland. The men agreed that Henlein would demand increased autonomy for Sudeten Germans from the Czechoslovakian government, thus providing a pretext for German military action against Czechoslovakia. In April 1938 Henlein told the foreign minister of Hungary that "whatever the Czech government might offer, he would always raise still higher demands ... he wanted to sabotage an understanding by any means because this was the only method to blow up Czechoslovakia quickly". In private, Hitler considered the Sudeten issue unimportant; his real intention was a war of conquest against Czechoslovakia.

In April, Hitler ordered the OKW to prepare for Fall Grün (Case Green), the code name for an invasion of Czechoslovakia. As a result of intense French and British diplomatic pressure, on 5 September Czechoslovakian President Edvard Beneš unveiled the "Fourth Plan" for constitutional reorganisation of his country, which agreed to most of Henlein's demands for Sudeten autonomy. Henlein's party responded to Beneš' offer by instigating a series of violent clashes with the Czechoslovakian police that led to the declaration of martial law in certain Sudeten districts.

Germany was dependent on imported oil; a confrontation with Britain over the Czechoslovakian dispute could curtail Germany's oil supplies. This forced Hitler to call off Fall Grün, originally planned for 1 October 1938. On 29 September, Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, and Mussolini attended a one-day conference in Munich that led to the Munich Agreement, which handed over the Sudetenland districts to Germany.

Chamberlain was satisfied with the Munich conference, calling the outcome "peace for our time", while Hitler was angered about the missed opportunity for war in 1938; he expressed his disappointment in a speech on 9 October in Saarbrücken. In Hitler's view, the British-brokered peace, although favourable to the ostensible German demands, was a diplomatic defeat which spurred his intent of limiting British power to pave the way for the eastern expansion of Germany. As a result of the summit, Hitler was selected Time magazine's Man of the Year for 1938. In late 1938 and early 1939, the continuing economic crisis caused by rearmament forced Hitler to make major defence cuts. In his "Export or die" speech of 30 January 1939, he called for an economic offensive to increase German foreign exchange holdings to pay for raw materials such as high-grade iron needed for military weapons.

On 14 March 1939, under threat from Hungary, Slovakia declared independence and received protection from Germany. The next day, in violation of the Munich Agreement and possibly as a result of the deepening economic crisis requiring additional assets, Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to invade the Czech rump state, and from Prague Castle he proclaimed the territory a German protectorate.

Start of World War II

See also: Causes of World War II

In private discussions in 1939, Hitler declared Britain the main enemy to be defeated and that Poland's obliteration was a necessary prelude for that goal. The eastern flank would be secured and land would be added to Germany's Lebensraum. Offended by the British "guarantee" on 31 March 1939 of Polish independence, he said, "I shall brew them a devil's drink". In a speech in Wilhelmshaven for the launch of the battleship Tirpitz on 1 April, he threatened to denounce the Anglo-German Naval Agreement if the British continued to guarantee Polish independence, which he perceived as an "encirclement" policy. Poland was to either become a German satellite state or it would be neutralised in order to secure the Reich's eastern flank and prevent a possible British blockade.

Hitler initially favoured the idea of a satellite state, but upon its rejection by the Polish government, he decided to invade and made this the main foreign policy goal of 1939. On 3 April, Hitler ordered the military to prepare for Fall Weiss ("Case White"), the plan for invading Poland on 25 August. In a Reichstag speech on 28 April, he renounced both the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact. Historians such as William Carr, Gerhard Weinberg, and Ian Kershaw have argued that one reason for Hitler's rush to war was his fear of an early death. He had repeatedly claimed that he must lead Germany into war before he got too old, as his successors might lack his strength of will. Hitler was concerned that a military attack against Poland could result in a premature war with Britain. Hitler's foreign minister and former Ambassador to London, Joachim von Ribbentrop, assured him that neither Britain nor France would honour their commitments to Poland. Accordingly, on 22 August 1939 Hitler ordered a military mobilisation against Poland.

This plan required tacit Soviet support, and the non-aggression pact (the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact) between Germany and the Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, included a secret agreement to partition Poland between the two countries. Contrary to Ribbentrop's prediction that Britain would sever Anglo-Polish ties, Britain and Poland signed the Anglo-Polish alliance on 25 August 1939. This, along with news from Italy that Mussolini would not honour the Pact of Steel, prompted Hitler to postpone the attack on Poland from 25 August to 1 September. Hitler unsuccessfully tried to manoeuvre the British into neutrality by offering them a non-aggression guarantee on 25 August; he then instructed Ribbentrop to present a last-minute peace plan with an impossibly short time limit in an effort to blame the imminent war on British and Polish inaction.

On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded western Poland under the pretext of having been denied claims to the Free City of Danzig and the right to extraterritorial roads across the Polish Corridor, which Germany had ceded under the Versailles Treaty. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September, surprising Hitler and prompting him to angrily ask Ribbentrop, "Now what?" France and Britain did not act on their declarations immediately, and on 17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.

The fall of Poland was followed by what contemporary journalists dubbed the "Phoney War" or Sitzkrieg ("sitting war"). Hitler instructed the two newly appointed Gauleiters of north-western Poland, Albert Forster of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia and Arthur Greiser of Reichsgau Wartheland, to Germanise their areas, with "no questions asked" about how this was accomplished. In Forster's area, ethnic Poles merely had to sign forms stating that they had German blood. In contrast, Greiser agreed with Himmler and carried out an ethnic cleansing campaign towards Poles. Greiser soon complained that Forster was allowing thousands of Poles to be accepted as "racial" Germans and thus endangered German "racial purity". Hitler refrained from getting involved. This inaction has been advanced as an example of the theory of "working towards the Führer", in which Hitler issued vague instructions and expected his subordinates to work out policies on their own.

Another dispute pitched one side represented by Heinrich Himmler and Greiser, who championed ethnic cleansing in Poland, against another represented by Göring and Hans Frank (governor-general of occupied Poland), who called for turning Poland into the "granary" of the Reich. On 12 February 1940, the dispute was initially settled in favour of the Göring–Frank view, which ended the economically disruptive mass expulsions. On 15 May 1940, Himmler issued a memo entitled "Some Thoughts on the Treatment of Alien Population in the East", calling for the expulsion of the entire Jewish population of Europe into Africa and the reduction of the Polish population to a "leaderless class of labourers". Hitler called Himmler's memo "good and correct", and, ignoring Göring and Frank, implemented the Himmler–Greiser policy in Poland.

On 9 April, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway. On the same day Hitler proclaimed the birth of the Greater Germanic Reich, his vision of a united empire of Germanic nations of Europe in which the Dutch, Flemish, and Scandinavians were joined into a "racially pure" polity under German leadership. In May 1940, Germany attacked France, and conquered Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium. These victories prompted Mussolini to have Italy join forces with Hitler on 10 June. France and Germany signed an armistice on 22 June. Kershaw notes that Hitler's popularity within Germany—and German support for the war—reached its peak when he returned to Berlin on 6 July from his tour of Paris. Following the unexpected swift victory, Hitler promoted twelve generals to the rank of field marshal during the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony.

Britain, whose troops were forced to evacuate France by sea from Dunkirk, continued to fight alongside other British dominions in the Battle of the Atlantic. Hitler made peace overtures to the new British leader, Winston Churchill, and upon their rejection he ordered a series of aerial attacks on Royal Air Force airbases and radar stations in southeast England. On 7 September the systematic nightly bombing of London began. The German Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force in what became known as the Battle of Britain. By the end of September, Hitler realised that air superiority for the invasion of Britain (in Operation Sea Lion) could not be achieved, and ordered the operation postponed. The nightly air raids on British cities intensified and continued for months, including London, Plymouth, and Coventry.

On 27 September 1940, the Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin by Saburō Kurusu of Imperial Japan, Hitler, and Italian foreign minister Ciano, and later expanded to include Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, thus yielding the Axis powers. Hitler's attempt to integrate the Soviet Union into the anti-British bloc failed after inconclusive talks between Hitler and Molotov in Berlin in November, and he ordered preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union.

In early 1941, German forces were deployed to North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East. In February, German forces arrived in Libya to bolster the Italian presence. In April, Hitler launched the invasion of Yugoslavia, quickly followed by the invasion of Greece. In May, German forces were sent to support Iraqi forces fighting against the British and to invade Crete.

Path to defeat

On 22 June 1941, contravening the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, over three million Axis troops attacked the Soviet Union. This offensive (codenamed Operation Barbarossa) was intended to destroy the Soviet Union and seize its natural resources for subsequent aggression against the Western powers. The action was also part of the overall plan to obtain more living space for German people; and Hitler thought a successful invasion would force Britain to negotiate a surrender. The invasion conquered a huge area, including the Baltic republics, Belarus, and West Ukraine. By early August, Axis troops had advanced 500 km (310 miles) and won the Battle of Smolensk. Hitler ordered Army Group Centre to temporarily halt its advance to Moscow and divert its Panzer groups to aid in the encirclement of Leningrad and Kiev. His generals disagreed with this change, having advanced within 400 km (250 miles) of Moscow, and his decision caused a crisis among the military leadership. The pause provided the Red Army with an opportunity to mobilise fresh reserves; historian Russel Stolfi considers it to be one of the major factors that caused the failure of the Moscow offensive, which was resumed in October 1941 and ended disastrously in December. During this crisis, Hitler appointed himself as head of the Oberkommando des Heeres.

On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the American fleet based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Four days later, Hitler declared war against the United States. On 18 December 1941, Himmler asked Hitler, "What to do with the Jews of Russia?", to which Hitler replied, "als Partisanen auszurotten" ("exterminate them as partisans"). Israeli historian Yehuda Bauer has commented that the remark is probably as close as historians will ever get to a definitive order from Hitler for the genocide carried out during the Holocaust.

In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the Second Battle of El Alamein, thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the Suez Canal and the Middle East. Overconfident in his own military expertise following the earlier victories in 1940, Hitler became distrustful of his Army High Command and began to interfere in military and tactical planning, with damaging consequences. In December 1942 and January 1943, Hitler's repeated refusal to allow their withdrawal at the Battle of Stalingrad led to the almost total destruction of the 6th Army. Over 200,000 Axis soldiers were killed and 235,000 were taken prisoner. Thereafter came a decisive strategic defeat at the Battle of Kursk. Hitler's military judgement became increasingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated, as did Hitler's health.

Following the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, Mussolini was removed from power by King Victor Emmanuel III after a vote of no confidence of the Grand Council of Fascism. Marshal Pietro Badoglio, placed in charge of the government, soon surrendered to the Allies. Throughout 1943 and 1944, the Soviet Union steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the Eastern Front. On 6 June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France in one of the largest amphibious operations in history, Operation Overlord. Many German officers concluded that defeat was inevitable and that continuing under Hitler's leadership would result in the complete destruction of the country.

Between 1939 and 1945, there were numerous plans to assassinate Hitler, some of which proceeded to significant degrees. The most well-known and significant, the 20 July plot of 1944, came from within Germany and was at least partly driven by the increasing prospect of a German defeat in the war. Part of Operation Valkyrie, the plot involved Claus von Stauffenberg planting a bomb in one of Hitler's headquarters, the Wolf's Lair at Rastenburg. Hitler narrowly survived because staff officer Heinz Brandt moved the briefcase containing the bomb behind a leg of the heavy conference table, which deflected much of the blast. Later, Hitler ordered savage reprisals resulting in the execution of more than 4,900 people. Hitler was put on the United Nations War Crimes Commission's first list of war criminals in December 1944, after determining that Hitler could be held criminally responsible for the acts of the Nazis in occupied countries. By March 1945, at least seven indictments had been filed against him.

Defeat and death

Main article: Death of Adolf Hitler

By late 1944, both the Red Army and the Western Allies were advancing into Germany. Recognising the strength and determination of the Red Army, Hitler decided to use his remaining mobile reserves against the American and British armies, which he perceived as far weaker. On 16 December, he launched the Ardennes Offensive to incite disunity among the Western Allies and perhaps convince them to join his fight against the Soviets. After some temporary successes, the offensive failed. With much of Germany in ruins in January 1945, Hitler spoke on the radio: "However grave as the crisis may be at this moment, it will, despite everything, be mastered by our unalterable will." Acting on his view that Germany's military failures meant it had forfeited its right to survive as a nation, Hitler ordered the destruction of all German industrial infrastructure before it could fall into Allied hands. Minister for Armaments Albert Speer was entrusted with executing this scorched earth policy, but he secretly disobeyed the order. Hitler's hope to negotiate peace with the United States and Britain was encouraged by the death of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 April 1945, but contrary to his expectations, this caused no rift among the Allies.

On 20 April, his 56th and final birthday, Hitler made his last trip from the Führerbunker to the surface. In the ruined garden of the Reich Chancellery, he awarded Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth, who were now fighting the Red Army at the front near Berlin. By 21 April, Georgy Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front had broken through the defences of General Gotthard Heinrici's Army Group Vistula during the Battle of the Seelow Heights and advanced to the outskirts of Berlin. In denial about the dire situation, Hitler placed his hopes on the undermanned and under-equipped Armeeabteilung Steiner (Army Detachment Steiner), commanded by Felix Steiner. Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the salient, while the German Ninth Army was ordered to attack northward in a pincer attack.

During a military conference on 22 April, Hitler inquired about Steiner's offensive. He was informed that the attack had not been launched and that the Soviets had entered Berlin. Hitler ordered everyone but Wilhelm Keitel, Alfred Jodl, Hans Krebs, and Wilhelm Burgdorf to leave the room, then launched into a tirade against the perceived treachery and incompetence of his generals, culminating in his declaration—for the first time—that "everything is lost". He announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself.

By 23 April, the Red Army had surrounded Berlin, and Goebbels made a proclamation urging its citizens to defend the city. That same day, Göring sent a telegram from Berchtesgaden, arguing that as Hitler was isolated in Berlin, Göring should assume leadership of Germany. Göring set a deadline, after which he would consider Hitler incapacitated. Hitler responded by having Göring arrested, and in his last will and testament of 29 April, he removed Göring from all government positions. On 28 April, Hitler discovered that Himmler, who had left Berlin on 20 April, was attempting to negotiate a surrender to the Western Allies. He considered this treason and ordered Himmler's arrest. He also ordered the execution of Hermann Fegelein, Himmler's SS representative at Hitler's headquarters in Berlin, for desertion.

After midnight on the night of 28–29 April, Hitler married Eva Braun in a small civil ceremony in the Führerbunker. Later that afternoon, Hitler was informed that Mussolini had been executed by the Italian resistance movement on the previous day; this is believed to have increased his determination to avoid capture. On 30 April, Soviet troops were within five hundred metres of the Reich Chancellery when Hitler shot himself in the head and Braun bit into a cyanide capsule. In accordance with Hitler's wishes, their corpses were carried outside to the garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were placed in a bomb crater, doused with petrol, and set on fire as the Red Army shelling continued. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and Goebbels assumed Hitler's roles as head of state and chancellor respectively. On the evening of 1 May, Goebbels and his wife, Magda, committed suicide in the Reich Chancellery garden, after having poisoned their six children with cyanide.

Berlin surrendered on 2 May. The remains of the Goebbels family, General Hans Krebs (who had committed suicide that day), and Hitler's dog Blondi were repeatedly buried and exhumed by the Soviets. Hitler's and Braun's remains were alleged to have been moved as well, but this is most likely Soviet disinformation. There is no evidence that any identifiable remains of Hitler or Braun—with the exception of dental bridges—were ever found by them. While news of Hitler's death spread quickly, a death certificate was not issued until 1956, after a lengthy investigation to collect testimony from 42 witnesses. Hitler's death was entered as an assumption of death based on this testimony.

The Holocaust

Main articles: The Holocaust and Final Solution

If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevisation of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!

— Adolf Hitler, 30 January 1939 Reichstag speech

The Holocaust and Germany's war in the East were based on Hitler's long-standing view that the Jews were the enemy of the German people, and that Lebensraum was needed for Germany's expansion. He focused on Eastern Europe for this expansion, aiming to defeat Poland and the Soviet Union and then removing or killing the Jews and Slavs. The Generalplan Ost (General Plan East) called for deporting the population of occupied Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to West Siberia, for use as slave labour or to be murdered; the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or "Germanised" settlers. The goal was to implement this plan after the conquest of the Soviet Union, but when this failed, Hitler moved the plans forward. By January 1942, he had decided that the Jews, Slavs, and other deportees considered undesirable should be killed.

The genocide was organised and executed by Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich. The records of the Wannsee Conference, held on 20 January 1942 and led by Heydrich, with fifteen senior Nazi officials participating, provide the clearest evidence of systematic planning for the Holocaust. On 22 February, Hitler was recorded saying, "we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews". Similarly, at a meeting in July 1941 with leading functionaries of the Eastern territories, Hitler said that the easiest way to quickly pacify the areas would be best achieved by "shooting everyone who even looks odd". Although no direct order from Hitler authorising the mass killings has surfaced, his public speeches, orders to his generals, and the diaries of Nazi officials demonstrate that he conceived and authorised the extermination of European Jewry. During the war, Hitler repeatedly stated his prophecy of 1939 was being fulfilled, namely, that a world war would bring about the annihilation of the Jewish race. Hitler approved the Einsatzgruppen—killing squads that followed the German army through Poland, the Baltic, and the Soviet Union—and was well informed about their activities. By summer 1942, Auschwitz concentration camp was expanded to accommodate large numbers of deportees for murder or enslavement. Scores of other concentration camps and satellite camps were set up throughout Europe, with several camps devoted exclusively to extermination.

Between 1939 and 1945, the Schutzstaffel (SS), assisted by collaborationist governments and recruits from occupied countries, were responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million non-combatants, including the murders of about 6 million Jews (representing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe), and between 200,000 and 1,500,000 Romani people. The victims were killed in concentration and extermination camps and in ghettos, and through mass shootings. Many victims of the Holocaust were murdered in gas chambers or shot, while others died of starvation or disease or while working as slave labourers. In addition to eliminating Jews, the Nazis planned to reduce the population of the conquered territories by 30 million people through starvation in an action called the Hunger Plan. Food supplies would be diverted to the German army and German civilians. Cities would be razed, and the land allowed to return to forest or resettled by German colonists. Together, the Hunger Plan and Generalplan Ost would have led to the starvation of 80 million people in the Soviet Union. These partially fulfilled plans resulted in additional deaths, bringing the total number of civilians and prisoners of war who died in the democide to an estimated 19.3 million people.

Hitler's policies resulted in the killing of nearly two million non-Jewish Polish civilians, over three million Soviet prisoners of war, communists and other political opponents, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled, Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, and trade unionists. Hitler never spoke publicly about the killings and seems to have never visited the concentration camps. The Nazis embraced the concept of racial hygiene. On 15 September 1935, Hitler presented two laws—known as the Nuremberg Laws—to the Reichstag. The laws banned sexual relations and marriages between Aryans and Jews and were later extended to include "Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring". The laws stripped all non-Aryans of their German citizenship and forbade the employment of non-Jewish women under the age of 45 in Jewish households. Hitler's early eugenic policies targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities in a programme dubbed Action Brandt, and he later authorised a euthanasia programme for adults with serious mental and physical disabilities, now referred to as Aktion T4.

Leadership style

Hitler ruled the Nazi Party autocratically by asserting the Führerprinzip (leader principle). The principle relied on absolute obedience of all subordinates to their superiors; thus, he viewed the government structure as a pyramid, with himself—the infallible leader—at the apex. Rank in the party was not determined by elections—positions were filled through appointment by those of higher rank, who demanded unquestioning obedience to the will of the leader. Hitler's leadership style was to give contradictory orders to his subordinates and to place them into positions where their duties and responsibilities overlapped with those of others, to have "the stronger one the job". In this way, Hitler fostered distrust, competition, and infighting among his subordinates to consolidate and maximise his own power. His cabinet never met after 1938, and he discouraged his ministers from meeting independently. Hitler typically did not give written orders; instead, he communicated verbally, or had them conveyed through his close associate Martin Bormann. He entrusted Bormann with his paperwork, appointments, and personal finances; Bormann used his position to control the flow of information and access to Hitler.

Hitler dominated his country's war effort during World War II to a greater extent than any other national leader. He strengthened his control of the armed forces in 1938, and subsequently made all major decisions regarding Germany's military strategy. His decision to mount a risky series of offensives against Norway, France, and the Low Countries in 1940 against the advice of the military proved successful, though the diplomatic and military strategies he employed in attempts to force the United Kingdom out of the war ended in failure. Hitler deepened his involvement in the war effort by appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in December 1941; from this point forward, he personally directed the war against the Soviet Union, while his military commanders facing the Western Allies retained a degree of autonomy. Hitler's leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, with the military's defensive strategies often hindered by his slow decision-making and frequent directives to hold untenable positions. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that only his leadership could deliver victory. In the final months of the war, Hitler refused to consider peace negotiations, regarding the destruction of Germany as preferable to surrender. The military did not challenge Hitler's dominance of the war effort, and senior officers generally supported and enacted his decisions.

Personal life

Family

Main article: Hitler family See also: Sexuality of Adolf Hitler

Hitler created a public image as a celibate man without a domestic life, dedicated entirely to his political mission and the nation. He met his lover, Eva Braun, in 1929, and married her on 29 April 1945, one day before they both committed suicide. In September 1931, his half-niece, Geli Raubal, took her own life with Hitler's gun in his Munich apartment. It was rumoured among contemporaries that Geli was in a romantic relationship with him, and her death was a source of deep, lasting pain. Paula Hitler, the younger sister of Hitler and the last living member of his immediate family, died in June 1960.

Views on religion

Main article: Religious views of Adolf Hitler

Hitler was born to a practising Catholic mother and an anti-clerical father; after leaving home, Hitler never again attended Mass or received the sacraments. Albert Speer states that Hitler railed against the church to his political associates, and though he never officially left the church, he had no attachment to it. He adds that Hitler felt that in the absence of organised religion, people would turn to mysticism, which he considered regressive. According to Speer, Hitler believed that Japanese religious beliefs or Islam would have been a more suitable religion for Germans than Christianity, with its "meekness and flabbiness". Historian John S. Conway states that Hitler was fundamentally opposed to the Christian churches. According to Bullock, Hitler did not believe in God, was anticlerical, and held Christian ethics in contempt because they contravened his preferred view of "survival of the fittest". He favoured aspects of Protestantism that suited his own views, and adopted some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organisation, liturgy, and phraseology. In a 1932 speech, Hitler stated that he was not a Catholic, and declared himself a German Christian. In a conversation with Albert Speer, Hitler said, "Through me the Evangelical Church could become the established church, as in England."

Hitler viewed the church as an important politically conservative influence on society, and he adopted a strategic relationship with it that "suited his immediate political purposes". In public, Hitler often praised Christian heritage and German Christian culture, though professing a belief in an "Aryan Jesus" who fought against the Jews. Any pro-Christian public rhetoric contradicted his private statements, which described Christianity as "absurdity" and nonsense founded on lies.

According to a US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) report, "The Nazi Master Plan", Hitler planned to destroy the influence of Christian churches within the Reich. His eventual goal was the total elimination of Christianity. This goal informed Hitler's movement early on, but he saw it as inexpedient to publicly express this extreme position. According to Bullock, Hitler wanted to wait until after the war before executing this plan. Speer wrote that Hitler had a negative view of Himmler's and Alfred Rosenberg's mystical notions and Himmler's attempt to mythologise the SS. Hitler was more pragmatic, and his ambitions centred on more practical concerns.

Health

See also: Health of Adolf Hitler and Psychopathography of Adolf Hitler

Researchers have variously suggested that Hitler suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, skin lesions, irregular heartbeat, coronary sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, syphilis, giant-cell arteritis, tinnitus, and monorchism. In a report prepared for the OSS in 1943, Walter Charles Langer of Harvard University described Hitler as a "neurotic psychopath". In his 1977 book The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler, historian Robert G. L. Waite proposes that Hitler suffered from borderline personality disorder. Historians Henrik Eberle and Hans-Joachim Neumann consider that while he suffered from a number of illnesses including Parkinson's disease, Hitler did not experience pathological delusions and was always fully aware of, and therefore responsible for, his decisions.

Sometime in the 1930s, Hitler adopted a mainly vegetarian diet, avoiding all meat and fish from 1942 onwards. At social events, he sometimes gave graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make his guests shun meat. Bormann had a greenhouse constructed near the Berghof (near Berchtesgaden) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for Hitler. Hitler stopped drinking alcohol around the time he became vegetarian and thereafter only very occasionally drank beer or wine on social occasions. He was a non-smoker for most of his adult life, but smoked heavily in his youth (25 to 40 cigarettes a day); he eventually quit, calling the habit "a waste of money". He encouraged his close associates to quit by offering a gold watch to anyone able to break the habit. Hitler began using amphetamine occasionally after 1937 and became addicted to it in late 1942. Speer linked this use of amphetamine to Hitler's increasingly erratic behaviour and inflexible decision-making (for example, rarely allowing military retreats).

Prescribed 90 medications during the war years by his personal physician, Theodor Morell, Hitler took many pills each day for chronic stomach problems and other ailments. He regularly consumed amphetamine, barbiturates, opiates, and cocaine, as well as potassium bromide and atropa belladonna (the latter in the form of Doktor Koster's Antigaspills). He suffered ruptured eardrums as a result of the 20 July plot bomb blast in 1944, and 200 wood splinters had to be removed from his legs. Newsreel footage of Hitler shows tremors in his left hand and a shuffling walk, which began before the war and worsened towards the end of his life. Ernst-Günther Schenck and several other doctors who met Hitler in the last weeks of his life also formed a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Legacy

Further information: Historiography of Adolf Hitler, Consequences of Nazism, and Neo-Nazism

According to historian Joachim Fest, Hitler's suicide was likened by numerous contemporaries to a "spell" being broken. Similarly, Speer commented in Inside the Third Reich on his emotions the day after Hitler's suicide: "Only now was the spell broken, the magic extinguished." Public support for Hitler had collapsed by the time of his death, which few Germans mourned; Kershaw argues that most civilians and military personnel were too busy adjusting to the collapse of the country or fleeing from the fighting to take any interest. According to historian John Toland, Nazism "burst like a bubble" without its leader.

Kershaw describes Hitler as "the embodiment of modern political evil". "Never in history has such ruination—physical and moral—been associated with the name of one man", he adds. Hitler's political programme brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe. Germany suffered wholesale destruction, characterised as Stunde Null (Zero Hour). Hitler's policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale; according to R. J. Rummel, the Nazi regime was responsible for the democidal killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European theatre of World War II. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in the history of warfare. Historians, philosophers, and politicians often use the word "evil" to describe the Nazi regime. Many European countries have criminalised both the promotion of Nazism and Holocaust denial.

Historian Friedrich Meinecke described Hitler as "one of the great examples of the singular and incalculable power of personality in historical life". English historian Hugh Trevor-Roper saw him as "among the 'terrible simplifiers' of history, the most systematic, the most historical, the most philosophical, and yet the coarsest, cruelest, least magnanimous conqueror the world has ever known". For the historian John M. Roberts, Hitler's defeat marked the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany. In its place emerged the Cold War, a global confrontation between the Western Bloc, dominated by the United States and other NATO nations, and the Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union. Historian Sebastian Haffner asserted that without Hitler and the displacement of the Jews, the modern nation state of Israel would not exist. He contends that without Hitler, the de-colonisation of former European spheres of influence would have been postponed. Further, Haffner claimed that other than Alexander the Great, Hitler had a more significant impact than any other comparable historical figure, in that he too caused a wide range of worldwide changes in a relatively short time span.

In propaganda

See also: Adolf Hitler in popular culture and List of speeches given by Adolf Hitler

Hitler exploited documentary films and newsreels to inspire a cult of personality. He was involved and appeared in a series of propaganda films throughout his political career, many made by Leni Riefenstahl, regarded as a pioneer of modern filmmaking. Hitler's propaganda film appearances include:

• Der Sieg des Glaubens (Victory of Faith, 1933)
• Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will, 1935)
• Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht (Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces, 1935)
• Olympia (1938)

See also

• Bibliography of Adolf Hitler
• Führermuseum
• Hitler and Mannerheim recording
• Julius Schaub – chief aide
• Karl Mayr – Hitler's superior in army intelligence 1919–1920
• Karl Wilhelm Krause – personal valet
• List of Adolf Hitler's personal staff
• List of streets named after Adolf Hitler
• Paintings by Adolf Hitler
• Toothbrush moustache – also known as a "Hitler moustache", a style of facial hair

Notes

1. German pronunciation: [ˈaːdɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ]
2. Pronounced [natsi̯oˈnaːlzotsi̯aˌlɪstɪʃə ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaʁbaɪtɐpaʁˌtaɪ]
3. Officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP)
4. The position of Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and Chancellor") replaced the position of President, which was the head of state for the Weimar Republic. Hitler took this title after the death of Paul von Hindenburg, who had been serving as President. He was afterwards both head of state and head of government, with the full official title of Führer und Reichskanzler des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes ("Führer and Reich Chancellor of the German Reich and People").
5. The successor institution to the Realschule in Linz is Bundesrealgymnasium Linz Fadingerstraße.
6. Hitler also won settlement from a libel suit against the socialist paper the Münchener Post, which had questioned his lifestyle and income. Kershaw 2008, p. 99.
7. MI5, Hitler's Last Days: "Hitler's will and marriage" on the website of MI5, using the sources available to Trevor-Roper (a World War II MI5 agent and historian/author of The Last Days of Hitler), records the marriage as taking place after Hitler had dictated his last will and testament.
8. For a summary of recent scholarship on Hitler's central role in the Holocaust, see McMillan 2012.
9. Sir Richard Evans states, "it has become clear that the probable total is around 6 million."

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• A psychological analysis of Adolf Hitler at the Internet Archive
• Works by Adolf Hitler at Open Library
• Works by or about Adolf Hitler at the Internet Archive
• Newspaper clippings about Adolf Hitler in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

v t e Adolf Hitler
Politics	Führer Führerprinzip Political views Political directives List Speeches Prophecy Mein Kampf in Arabic in English Zweites Buch Last will and testament Books Nazism
Events	Military career Rise to power Hitler cabinet Nazi Germany World War II The Holocaust Assassination attempts Death conspiracy theories
Places of residence	Führer Headquarters Berghof (Kehlsteinhaus) Reich Chancellery (Führerbunker / Vorbunker) Adlerhorst Anlage Süd Felsennest Tannenberg Werwolf Wolf's Lair Wolfsschlucht I Wolfsschlucht II Special train (Führersonderzug) Civilian residences Braunau am Inn Linz Vienna (Meldemannstraße dormitory) Munich (16 Prinzregentenplatz) Obersalzberg (Kampfhäusl)
Personal life	Health possible monorchism Wealth and income Religious views Sexuality Vegetarianism Staff Bodyguard August Kubizek Stefanie Rabatsch Reinhold Hanisch Psychopathography Hitler's Table Talk Paintings 50th birthday German naturalization
Personal belongings	Hitler's Globe Private library
Perceptions	Books Cult of personality In popular culture Killing baby Hitler The Victory of Faith Triumph of the Will Hitler: The Last Ten Days The Meaning of Hitler Hitler Diaries Moloch Hitler: The Rise of Evil Downfall Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler Apocalypse: Hitler
Family	Eva Braun (wife) Alois Hitler (father) Klara Hitler (mother) Johann Georg Hiedler (grandfather) Maria Schicklgruber (grandmother) Angela Hitler (half-sister) Paula Hitler (sister) Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr. (half-nephew) Geli Raubal (half-niece) William Stuart-Houston (half-nephew) Heinz Hitler (half-nephew) Jean-Marie Loret (possible illegitimate son) Blondi (dog)
Other	Streets named after Hitler Mannerheim recording
Category

Offices and positions of Adolf Hitler

Political offices Preceded byKurt von Schleicher Chancellor of Germany 1933–1945 Succeeded byJoseph Goebbels Preceded byPaul von Hindenburgas President Führer of Germany 1934–1945 Succeeded byKarl Dönitzas President Party political offices Preceded byAnton Drexleras Chairman Führer of the National Socialist German Workers' Party 1921–1945 Succeeded byMartin Bormannas Party Minister Preceded byFranz Pfeffer von Salomon Supreme SA Leader 1930–1945 Position abolished Position established Supreme Leader of the SS 1934–1945 Military offices Preceded byPaul von Hindenburgas Supreme Commander of the Reichswehr Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht 1934–1945 Succeeded byKarl Dönitz Preceded byWalther von Brauchitsch Supreme Commander of the German Army 1941–1945 Succeeded byFerdinand Schörner Honorary titles Preceded byChiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling Time Person of the Year 1938 Succeeded byJoseph Stalin Notes and references 1. The positions of Head of State and Government were combined 1934–1945 in the office of Führer and Chancellor of Germany

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Para/semi-fascism Post-fascism Proto-fascism Red fascism Red–green–brown alliance Roman salute Sansepolcrismo Scientific racism Aryanism Nordicism Social fascism Sorelianism Synarchism Szeged Idea Trumpism Donald Trump and fascism Völkisch movement Women in Nazi Germany Category v t e Nazism Organisation Ahnenerbe Artaman League Geheime Staatspolizei Deutscher Fichte-Bund Deutsches Jungvolk Franz Eher Nachfolger Hitler Youth League of German Girls Organisation Todt NSDÄB NSDStB NSRL NSFK NSKK NSF Nazi media organizations Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte Neues Volk NS-Frauen-Warte Das Reich Das Schwarze Korps Nazi Party Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Sturmabteilung (SA) Schutzstaffel (SS) SS Gefolge Waffen-SS History Early timeline National Socialist Program Hitler's rise to power Machtergreifung Gleichschaltung German rearmament Nazi Germany Kirchenkampf Adolf Hitler's cult of personality Enabling Act of 1933 Night of the Long Knives Nuremberg rallies Nuremberg Laws Anti-Comintern Pact 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Related topics Anti-Bolshevist League Art Architecture Cinema Atsızism "Beefsteak Nazi" Economy Denordification Renordification Glossary Drang nach Osten Generalplan Ost German American Bund Horst-Wessel-Lied Political views of Adolf Hitler Nazi propaganda and the United Kingdom Racial theories Sorelianism Strasserism Women Category v t e Nazi Party Leader Anton Drexler (1919–1921) Adolf Hitler (1921–1945) Martin Bormann (1945) History Adolf Hitler's rise to power Beer Hall Putsch Brown House, Munich Denazification Enabling Act of 1933 German Workers' Party National Socialist Program Nazism Night of the Long Knives Nuremberg rallies Röhm scandal SA Thule Society Party offices Amt Rosenberg Hitler Youth Hitler's Chancellery Nazi Party Chancellery Office of Colonial Policy Office of Military Policy Office of Racial Policy Office of Foreign Affairs NSDAP/AO SS SS Education Office Publications Völkischer Beobachter Das Schwarze Korps Das Reich Innviertler Heimatblatt Arbeitertum Der Angriff Panzerbär Der Stürmer Kampfverlag Notable members Artur Axmann Houston Stewart Chamberlain Kurt Daluege Richard Walther Darré Rudolf Diels Karl Dönitz Dietrich Eckart Adolf Eichmann Hans Frank Roland Freisler Wilhelm Frick Walther Funk Joseph Goebbels Hermann Göring Ernst Hanfstaengl Rudolf Hess Reinhard Heydrich Heinrich Himmler Rudolf Höss Ernst Kaltenbrunner Robert Ley Josef Mengele Konstantin von Neurath Joachim von Ribbentrop Ernst Röhm Alfred Rosenberg Bernhard Rust Fritz Todt Baldur von Schirach Arthur Seyss-Inquart Albert Speer Gregor Strasser Otto Strasser Julius Streicher Derivatives Black Front (Strasserism) / German Social Union Deutsche Reichspartei / National Democratic Party of Germany Socialist Reich Party Related articles Adolf Hitler Schools Munich Documentation Centre National Political Institutes of Education Nazi concentration camps Nazi Germany Nazi songs Horst-Wessel-Lied Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party Samoan branch of the Nazi Party v t e Time 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Young (1929) Mohandas Gandhi (1930) Pierre Laval (1931) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932) Hugh S. Johnson (1933) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1934) Haile Selassie (1935) Wallis Simpson (1936) Chiang Kai-shek / Soong Mei-ling (1937) Adolf Hitler (1938) Joseph Stalin (1939) Winston Churchill (1940) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941) Joseph Stalin (1942) George Marshall (1943) Dwight D. Eisenhower (1944) Harry S. Truman (1945) James F. Byrnes (1946) George Marshall (1947) Harry S. Truman (1948) Winston Churchill (1949) The American Fighting-Man (1950) 1951–1975 Mohammed Mosaddeq (1951) Elizabeth II (1952) Konrad Adenauer (1953) John Foster Dulles (1954) Harlow Curtice (1955) Hungarian Freedom Fighters (1956) Nikita Khrushchev (1957) Charles de Gaulle (1958) Dwight D. Eisenhower (1959) U.S. Scientists: George Beadle / Charles Draper / John Enders / Donald A. Glaser / Joshua Lederberg / Willard Libby / Linus Pauling / Edward Purcell / Isidor Rabi / Emilio Segrè / William Shockley / Edward Teller / Charles Townes / James Van Allen / Robert Woodward (1960) John F. Kennedy (1961) Pope John XXIII (1962) Martin Luther King Jr. (1963) Lyndon B. Johnson (1964) William Westmoreland (1965) The Generation Twenty-Five and Under (1966) Lyndon B. Johnson (1967) The Apollo 8 Astronauts: William Anders / Frank Borman / Jim Lovell (1968) The Middle Americans (1969) Willy Brandt (1970) Richard Nixon (1971) Henry Kissinger / Richard Nixon (1972) John Sirica (1973) King Faisal (1974) American Women: Susan Brownmiller / Kathleen Byerly / Alison Cheek / Jill Conway / Betty Ford / Ella Grasso / Carla Hills / Barbara Jordan / Billie Jean King / Susie Sharp / Carol Sutton / Addie Wyatt (1975) 1976–2000 Jimmy Carter (1976) Anwar Sadat (1977) Deng Xiaoping (1978) Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) Ronald Reagan (1980) Lech Wałęsa (1981) The Computer (1982) Ronald Reagan / Yuri Andropov (1983) Peter Ueberroth (1984) Deng Xiaoping (1985) Corazon Aquino (1986) Mikhail Gorbachev (1987) The Endangered Earth (1988) Mikhail Gorbachev (1989) George H. W. Bush (1990) Ted Turner (1991) Bill Clinton (1992) The Peacemakers: Yasser Arafat / F. W. de Klerk / Nelson Mandela / Yitzhak Rabin (1993) Pope John Paul II (1994) Newt Gingrich (1995) David Ho (1996) Andrew Grove (1997) Bill Clinton / Ken Starr (1998) Jeff Bezos (1999) George W. Bush (2000) 2001–present Rudolph Giuliani (2001) The Whistleblowers: Cynthia Cooper / Coleen Rowley / Sherron Watkins (2002) The American Soldier (2003) George W. Bush (2004) The Good Samaritans: Bono / Bill Gates / Melinda Gates (2005) You (2006) Vladimir Putin (2007) Barack Obama (2008) Ben Bernanke (2009) Mark Zuckerberg (2010) The Protester (2011) Barack Obama (2012) Pope Francis (2013) Ebola Fighters: Dr. Jerry Brown / Dr. Kent Brantly / Ella Watson-Stryker / Foday Gollah / Salome Karwah (2014) Angela Merkel (2015) Donald Trump (2016) The Silence Breakers (2017) The Guardians: Jamal Khashoggi / Maria Ressa / Wa Lone / Kyaw Soe Oo / Staff of The Capital (2018) Greta Thunberg (2019) Joe Biden / Kamala Harris (2020) Elon Musk (2021) Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Spirit of Ukraine (2022) Taylor Swift (2023) Donald Trump (2024) v t e Chancellors of Germany (since 1867) North German Confederation Bundeskanzler (1867–1871) Otto von Bismarck German Empire Reichskanzler (1871–1918) Otto von Bismarck Leo von Caprivi Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst Bernhard von Bülow Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Georg Michaelis Georg von Hertling Prince Maximilian of Baden Weimar Republic Reichskanzler (1919–1933) Friedrich Ebert Philipp Scheidemann (as Ministerpräsident) Gustav Bauer (as Ministerpräsident, later Chancellor) Hermann Müller Constantin Fehrenbach Joseph Wirth Wilhelm Cuno Gustav Stresemann Wilhelm Marx Hans Luther Wilhelm Marx Hermann Müller Heinrich Brüning Franz von Papen Kurt von Schleicher Adolf Hitler Nazi Germany Reichskanzler (1933–1945) Adolf Hitler Joseph Goebbels Count Schwerin von Krosigk (as Leading Minister) Federal Republic Bundeskanzler (1949–present) Konrad Adenauer (CDU, 1949–1963) Ludwig Erhard (CDU, 1963–1966) Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU, 1966–1969) Willy Brandt (SPD, 1969–1974) Helmut Schmidt (SPD, 1974–1982) Helmut Kohl (CDU, 1982–1998) Gerhard Schröder (SPD, 1998–2005) Angela Merkel (CDU, 2005–2021) Olaf Scholz (SPD, 2021–present) List of chancellors v t e Members of the Hitler Cabinet Chancellor: Adolf Hitler Vice-Chancellor: Franz von Papen Deputy Führer: Rudolf Hess President of the Reichstag: Hermann Göring Armaments Fritz Todt Albert Speer Aviation Hermann Göring Church Affairs Hanns Kerrl Hermann Muhs (acting) Eastern Territories Alfred Rosenberg Economics Alfred Hugenberg Kurt Schmitt Hjalmar Schacht Hermann Göring Walther Funk Education Bernhard Rust Finance Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk Food and Agriculture Alfred Hugenberg Richard Walther Darré Herbert Backe Foreign Affairs Konstantin von Neurath Joachim von Ribbentrop Interior Wilhelm Frick Heinrich Himmler Justice Franz Gürtner Franz Schlegelberger (acting) Otto Georg Thierack Labour Franz Seldte Postal Affairs Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach Wilhelm Ohnesorge Propaganda Joseph Goebbels Reichswehr Werner von Blomberg Transport Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach Julius Dorpmüller Reichsministers without portfolio Hans Frank Wilhelm Frick Hermann Göring Rudolf Hess Konstantin Hierl Hanns Kerrl Hans Lammers Konstantin von Neurath Ernst Röhm Hjalmar Schacht Arthur Seyss-Inquart Members granted rank & authority equivalent to a Reichsminister Martin Bormann Walther von Brauchitsch Karl Dönitz Karl Hermann Frank Werner von Fritsch Wilhelm Keitel Otto Meissner Erich Raeder Reichsführer SS: Heinrich Himmler Stabschef SA: Ernst Röhm v t e Heads of State of Germany (since 1871) German Reich (1871–1945) Emperors: Wilhelm I • Frederick III • Wilhelm II Presidents: Friedrich Ebert • Paul von Hindenburg • Adolf Hitler (Führer and Reichskanzler) • Karl Dönitz Federal Republic of Germany (since 1949) Theodor Heuss Heinrich Lübke Gustav Heinemann Walter Scheel Karl Carstens Richard von Weizsäcker Roman Herzog Johannes Rau Horst Köhler Christian Wulff Joachim Gauck Frank-Walter Steinmeier East Germany (1949–1990) Wilhelm Pieck Walter Ulbricht Willi Stoph Erich Honecker Egon Krenz Manfred Gerlach Sabine Bergmann-Pohl Italics indicates acting holder v t e People killed or wounded in the 20 July plot Wounded Heinz Assmann Karl Bodenschatz Heinrich Borgmann Heinz Buchholz Walther Buhle Herbert Büchs Hermann Fegelein Otto Günsche Adolf Heusinger Adolf Hitler Alfred Jodl Wilhelm Keitel Walter Scherff Nicolaus von Below Ernst John von Freyend Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer Franz von Sonnleithner Hans-Erich Voss Heinz Waizenegger Walter Warlimont Killed Heinz Berger Heinz Brandt Günther Korten Rudolf Schmundt v t e Final occupants of the Führerbunker by date of departure (1945) 20 April Hermann Göring Heinrich Himmler 21 April Robert Ley Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer 22 April Hugo Blaschke Karl Gebhardt Christa Schroeder Johanna Wolf Eckhard Christian 23 April Albert Bormann Theodor Morell Joachim von Ribbentrop Albert Speer Julius Schaub 24 April Walter Frentz 28 April Robert Ritter von Greim Hanna Reitsch 29 April Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven Gerhard Boldt Rudolf Weiss Wilhelm Zander Heinz Lorenz Willy Johannmeyer Walter Wagner 30 April Nicolaus von Below 1 May Wilhelm Mohnke Traudl Junge Gerda Christian Constanze Manziarly Else Krüger Otto Günsche Walther Hewel Ernst-Günther Schenck Hans-Erich Voss Johann Rattenhuber Peter Högl Werner Naumann Martin Bormann Hans Baur Ludwig Stumpfegger Artur Axmann Georg Betz Heinz Linge Erich Kempka Heinrich Doose Günther Schwägermann Ewald Lindloff Hans Reisser Armin D. Lehmann Josef Ochs Heinz Krüger Werner Schwiedel Gerhard Schach Hans Fritzsche Käthe Heusermann 2 May Helmuth Weidling Hans Refior Theodor von Dufving Siegfried Knappe Rochus Misch Still present on 2 May Werner Haase Erna Flegel Helmut Kunz Fritz Tornow Liselotte Chervinska Johanna Ruf Johannes Hentschel Committed suicide Ernst-Robert Grawitz (24 April) Adolf Hitler (30 April) Eva Hitler (née Braun, 30 April) Joseph Goebbels (1 May) Magda Goebbels (1 May) Alwin-Broder Albrecht (1 May) Wilhelm Burgdorf (2 May) Hans Krebs (2 May) Franz Schädle (2 May) Killed Hermann Fegelein (executed for desertion, 28 April) Blondi (Hitler's dog, poisoned 29 April) Goebbels children (poisoned 1 May) Unknown Heinrich Müller v t e Time 100: The Most Important People of the 20th Century Leaders & revolutionaries David Ben-Gurion Winston Churchill Mahatma Gandhi Mikhail Gorbachev Adolf Hitler Ho Chi Minh Pope John Paul II Ruhollah Khomeini Martin Luther King Jr. Vladimir Lenin Nelson Mandela Mao Zedong Ronald Reagan Eleanor Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Margaret Sanger Margaret Thatcher Unknown Tiananmen Square rebel Lech Wałęsa Artists & entertainers Louis Armstrong Lucille Ball The Beatles Marlon Brando Coco Chanel Charlie Chaplin Le Corbusier Bob Dylan T. S. Eliot Aretha Franklin Martha Graham Jim Henson James Joyce Pablo Picasso Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Bart Simpson Frank Sinatra Steven Spielberg Igor Stravinsky Oprah Winfrey Builders & titans Stephen Bechtel Sr. Leo Burnett Willis Carrier Walt Disney Henry Ford Bill Gates Amadeo Giannini Ray Kroc Estée Lauder William Levitt Lucky Luciano Louis B. Mayer Charles E. Merrill Akio Morita Walter Reuther Pete Rozelle David Sarnoff Juan Trippe Sam Walton Thomas J. Watson Jr. Scientists & thinkers Leo Baekeland Tim Berners-Lee Rachel Carson Albert Einstein Philo Farnsworth Enrico Fermi Alexander Fleming Sigmund Freud Robert H. Goddard Kurt Gödel Edwin Hubble John Maynard Keynes Leakey family Jean Piaget Jonas Salk William Shockley Alan Turing Francis Crick & James Watson Ludwig Wittgenstein Wright brothers Heroes & icons Muhammad Ali The American G.I. Lady Diana Spencer Anne Frank Billy Graham Che Guevara Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay Helen Keller Kennedy family Bruce Lee Charles Lindbergh Harvey Milk Marilyn Monroe Emmeline Pankhurst Rosa Parks Pelé Jackie Robinson Andrei Sakharov Mother Teresa Bill W.

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