Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (1889-1936) was the Chancellor and Fuhrer of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1936, as well as the leader of the Nazi Party from 1921 until his death as a result of Helmut Hirsch's famous assassination of him in Nuremberg.

Hitler was born in the German-speaking regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and moved to Germany in 1913. During the First World War he served in the German army as a soldier, and upon its completion, he went on to serve as an undercover agent in the surveillance of Marxist organizations. As such he had the opportunity to convene a meeting of the German Workers' Party, a tiny association whose ideas he liked. Through his rhetorical talent, he advanced up to being appointed as chairman, while the name of the party was already changed to the "National Socialist German Workers' Party". Hitler led a failed military coup attempt against the Bavarian government, was imprisoned, and spent eight months in prison, which he used to write "Maine Kampf". After his release he rebuilt the party, subjecting it to his absolute control as the "Fuhrer", or leader. Against the backdrop of the global economic crisis that hit the German Republic hard, the Nazi party gained power and broad support.

In January 1933, after the party received about a third of the votes in the parliamentary elections, the Nazis came to power, and Hitler was appointed Chancellor. He gradually eliminated crumbling German democracy, and after the death of German President Hindenburg in 1935, became a dictator. As ruler of Germany, Hitler instituted a tyrannical and authoritarian rule, while creating tremendous propaganda that was supposed to prepare Germany for total war, to undo the territorial losses of World War I, fulfill pan-Germanism and eradicate communism. During the short period of his reign Hitler had already begun the processes leading up to the war he wanted: In 1935 a general conscription was introduced in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, and in 1936, the military presence in the Rhine was renewed, a substantial breach of the treaty.

However, conflicts within his party led to Hitler's defeat when Strasser's successors, his political rival, managed to assassinate him with explosives deposited in two suitcases placed near him. Following his death, Himmler became the party's Fuhrer but was considered "lackluster" compared to Hitler.

* Adolf Hitler portrait created by Lecon Basin a member of the TRO artist team.