Adolf Hitler

Hitler, Adolf (1889–1945), Austrian-born dictator of Germany, founder of the Nazi party. Drafted in World War I, he was wounded and awarded the Iron Cross. He blamed the German defeat in the war on Jews and Communists, and in 1920 helped to found the National Socialist (Nazi) Workers Party. In 1923, after an abortive coup against the Bavarian government (the “beer hall putsch”), he served 9 months in prison. There he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), an anti-Semitic, anti-Communist diatribe outlining his strategy for remaking Germany and becoming a conquering power throughout Europe. The Nazi party grew rapidly after the outbreak of economic depression in 1929, becoming the largest single party in the country. Although the Nazis never won a national election, their paramilitary street violence made them a powerful force. In 1933 Hitler was named chancellor, and in 1934 he secured his position by liquidating potential opponents within the party. The opposition was crushed, all other parties were outlawed, concentration camps were established, trade unions were eliminated or placed under state control, and anti-Semitism became state policy, enacted into law. In the meantime, a war economy was established. Hitler had the main responsibility for German war strategy, and despite a failed military coup against him in 1944, he remained in complete control of the German armed forces and insisted on fighting on in the face of defeat. He committed suicide in Apr. 1945 in his bunker in Berlin, as Soviet troops entered the city.

See also: Holocaust; Nazism; World War II.