Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was the Chancellor (from 1933) and later Fuhrer (from 1934) of Germany. He was leader of the Nazi Party and led Germany through the Second World War, which he initiated by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. His role in the Holocaust makes him widely regarded as one of the most brutal genocidal dictators of modern history, similar to Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung. His far-right nationalist and anti-semitic ideas were spread throughout Germany and Europe as leader of the Nazi Party.

Hitler before the Nazi Party

Born in Austria, Hitler moved to Germany in 1913, and served as a soldier in World War One, even being decorated for his efforts. After World War One, he was one of a large group of Germans who believed the Treaty of Versailles had stabbed the German people in the back, the idea of Dolchstoss. In 1919, a year after the end of the war, Hitler joined the German Workers Party (DAP - Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), which in 1921 became the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) in 1921, of which Hitler was leader. At this time, the NSDAP was a very small, populist right-wing political party based around the idea of reclaiming power in Germany from the Weimar Government, taking revenge for the Dolchstoss.

Hitler's Role in The Munich Putsch

In 1923, Adolf Hitler, alongside approximately 2,000 NSDAP members and former high ranking German officers such as Eric Ludendorff (the leader of the Ludendorff Offensive), stormed the Feldherrnhalle in Munich, in southern Germany on 8 November 1923. The aim was to seize power in Munich, one of Germany's largest cities and was key in raising Hitler's profile across Germany. The coup was unsuccessful, but can be seen as planting the seed which would see the NSDAP, or Nazi Party, grow across Germany. It is considered by many to be a success for Hitler, as although he failed to seize power, his following widely publicised, 24-day trial for treason saw him able to widely spread his nationalist ideas throughout the nation.

Hitler in Prison

Having been sentenced to 5 years in prison for treason, Hitler began writing Mein Kampf, or My Struggle, describing Hitler's reasoning for his beliefs and outlines his political ideology and plans for the future after his release. Volume One of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume Two a year later, selling slowly before his future rise to power in Germany in 1933. Hitler was released from prison just 9 months later in 1924.