Adolf Hitler (born April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria—died April 30, 1945, in Berlin, Germany) was the leader of the Nazi Party (from 1920/21) and served as both chancellor (Kanzler) and Führer of Germany from 1933 to 1945. His ideology centered on two core beliefs: territorial expansion and racial supremacy. These views led directly to the invasion of Poland, which triggered World War II, and to the Holocaust—the systematic extermination of six million Jews and millions of other victims.
Hitler’s father, Alois (born 1837), was born out of wedlock. Initially using his mother’s surname, Schicklgruber, he legally adopted the name Hitler in 1876. Adolf Hitler never used any other surname.
Early Life
After Alois retired from the customs service, Adolf spent much of his youth in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria—a city he loved and hoped to be buried in. Alois died in 1903, leaving sufficient financial support for the family. While Adolf feared and disliked his father, he was deeply attached to his mother, who passed away after a long illness in 1907. With mixed academic performance, Hitler did not progress beyond secondary school. After leaving, he visited Vienna and returned to Linz, dreaming of becoming an artist. He later moved to Vienna, living a lonely and impoverished life, painting postcards and advertisements while failing twice to gain admission to the Academy of Fine Arts.
He exhibited early characteristics that later defined his personality: isolation, secrecy, and a disdain for cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic environments, which he associated with the city of Vienna.
In 1913, Hitler relocated to Munich. When screened for Austrian military service in 1914, he was deemed unfit for combat. However, with the outbreak of World War I, he successfully requested to join the German army and served in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. Deployed to Belgium, he fought in the First Battle of Ypres, was wounded in 1916, and gassed in 1918. He remained on the front lines as a headquarters runner, earning both the Iron Cross, Second Class (1914), and the rare Iron Cross, First Class (1918). He welcomed war as an escape from the monotony of civilian life and embraced its discipline and camaraderie.
Rise to Power
After Germany’s defeat, Hitler returned to Munich and began political work in 1919. As an army political agent, he joined the German Workers’ Party in September that year. By 1920, he was overseeing the party’s propaganda and left the army to focus fully on party activities. That year, the party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party). Bavaria, in particular, was fertile ground for radical ideas, and former soldiers and Freikorps members flocked to Munich, many joining the Nazi Party. Among them was Ernst Röhm, who helped organize the party’s paramilitary wing—the SA (Sturmabteilung)—and protected Hitler’s rise.
Recognizing an opportunity, Hitler exploited the disarray within the party to gain leadership. In July 1921, he was appointed party leader, wielding near-total control. Through relentless propaganda and public speaking, he built a loyal following, including future infamous figures like Dietrich Eckart, Alfred Rosenberg, Rudolf Hess, Hermann Göring, and Julius Streicher.
In 1923, Hitler and General Erich Ludendorff attempted a coup in Munich—the Beer Hall Putsch. The failed uprising led to Hitler’s arrest and trial for treason, during which he used the publicity to his advantage. Sentenced to five years, he served only nine months in relative comfort at Landsberg Prison, where he began dictating Mein Kampf, outlining his ideology and future plans for Germany.
Hitler’s racial theories promoted inequality and exalted the so-called Aryan race. He envisioned the German Volk as the pinnacle of humanity, asserting that the state existed solely to serve this ideal. Democracy was rejected as inherently flawed, as it assumed the equality of individuals—something Hitler vehemently denied. He believed that only the Führer could embody the will of the people and guide the nation.
For Hitler, Marxism—and by extension, Judaism—posed the greatest threats to his vision. He saw the Jew not merely as an economic rival but as the embodiment of all societal ills, describing them in Mein Kampf as cultural destroyers and parasites. His antisemitism became more systematic and rationalized over time, culminating in the genocidal policies of the Nazi regime.
Political Strategy and National Influence
Following Hitler’s release from prison, internal party conflicts and national stability slowed the Nazi movement. However, the Great Depression in 1929 reignited economic hardship, fueling political instability. Hitler allied with nationalist Alfred Hugenberg, using media and industrialist backing to broaden his platform and financial resources. This allowed him to appeal to various social classes and build a truly national movement.
Despite bans on his public speeches in many German states, Hitler consolidated control over the party, eventually sidelining internal rivals like Gregor Strasser. By 1930, Nazi electoral success surged. In 1932, he challenged President Hindenburg, winning 36.8% of the vote in the runoff. Though the Nazi vote declined slightly in late 1932, Hitler’s backroom dealings with conservative elites led to his appointment as chancellor on January 30, 1933.
Dictatorship and Consolidation of Power
Once in office, Hitler moved swiftly to consolidate absolute power. The Reichstag fire in February 1933 provided a pretext to suspend civil liberties. The subsequent Enabling Act, passed in March, granted Hitler legislative authority. By mid-year, all opposition parties and trade unions had been banned.
Though Hitler maintained conservative alliances to stabilize his rule, he feared Röhm and the SA’s growing power. In June 1934, he ordered the “Night of the Long Knives,” a purge that eliminated Röhm and other rivals. The army approved of the action, and following President Hindenburg’s death on August 2, 1934, Hitler combined the roles of chancellor and president, becoming supreme commander of the armed forces. Soldiers now swore personal allegiance to him.
Aided by propaganda, economic recovery (coinciding with global trends), and brutal repression, Hitler’s regime garnered mass support, with 90% backing in a plebiscite.
Domestic Policy and Foreign Ambitions
Hitler left the detailed administration of the Nazi state to his subordinates, intentionally creating overlapping authorities to prevent any single individual from challenging his control. His focus remained on foreign policy. As outlined in Mein Kampf, his primary goal was to unite all ethnic Germans and expand eastward into Poland and the Soviet Union, territories he believed rightfully belonged to the German people.
He viewed Britain as a potential ally if it refrained from interfering in European affairs, while France remained Germany’s historical adversary. Italy, under Mussolini, was seen as a natural partner in his fascist vision for Europe.