Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was the Austrian-born dictator of Nazi Germany and the central figure behind some of the 20th century’s greatest catastrophes. Originally a failed artist and World War I veteran, he rose to power in the 1920s and 1930s by exploiting economic turmoil, nationalist resentment, and widespread antisemitism. As leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), he became Chancellor in 1933 and quickly established a totalitarian regime that launched World War II and orchestrated the Holocaust, resulting in the systematic murder of six million Jews and millions of other victims.