Adolf Hitler's Birth Anniversary

 

Adolf Hitler, born on 20 April 1889, was an Austrian-born German politician who rose to power as the dictator of Germany, leading the country from 1933 to 1945. He was the head of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, commonly known as the Nazi Party. Hitler's aggressive policies initiated World War II and he was a key figure in the execution of the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of approximately six million Jews and millions of others.

Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary, and in 1913, he relocated to Germany. He served in the German Army during World War I, being awarded the Iron Cross for bravery twice, and subsequently joined the German Workers' Party, which he transformed into the Nazi Party and took control of in 1921.

His attempt to overthrow the government in the 1923 Munich Beer Hall Putsch failed, resulting in his imprisonment. During his imprisonment, he wrote Mein Kampf, outlining his political ideology. Once released, Hitler gained popularity by promoting anti-Semitic and anti-communist sentiments. His charismatic oratory backed by Nazi propaganda found a receptive audience in Germany during the Great Depression.

In 1933, Hitler ascended to the role of chancellor of Germany and quickly established himself as the Führer, consolidating his power. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the Great Depression and the removal of restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I.

Hitler's ambitions included the expansion of German living space, or Lebensraum, particularly in Eastern Europe, which precipitated the start of World War II. This aggressive foreign policy is considered to be the primary cause of the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He directed large-scale rearmament and on September 1st, 1939 invaded Poland, resulting in British and French declarations of war on Germany.

In June 1941, Hitler ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union. By the end of 1941, German forces and the European Axis powers occupied most of Europe and North Africa. Failure to defeat the Soviet Union, who ultimately battled back to Berlin, and the entry of the United States into the war forced Germany onto the defensive and ultimately its defeat.

Throughout the war, Hitler's strategic decisions were responsible for the loss of countless lives and the widespread devastation across Europe. 29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European theatre. This number of deaths was unprecedented and it constitutes the deadliest conflict in human history.

He was supported in this endeavour by such other leading members of the Nazi party as Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and Reinhard Heydrich. Most of these figures died during the war, such as Heydrich, or committed suicide towards the end, such as Goebbels, or afterwards, such as Himmler and Göring.

As Germany's prospects deteriorated, Hitler became increasingly isolated, coordinating his military campaigns from a bunker in Berlin. In his final days, with Soviet and Allied forces advancing, Hitler chose to marry Eva Braun, his partner of many years. On 30 April 1945, they both committed suicide in their Berlin bunker.