Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was born on the 20th April 1889, in Braunau-am-Inn. He left school at 16 with no qualifications and struggled to make a living as a painter in Vienna.

In 1913, he moved to Munich and became a member in the German army, where he was wounded. In 1919 he joined the fascist German Workers' Party (DAP).

He played to the indignation of right-wingers, promising extremist 'remedies' to Germany's post-war problems which he and many others blamed on Jews and Bolsheviks.

By 1921 he was the unquestioned leader of what was now the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party).

In 1923, Hitler attempted an unsuccessful in Munich and was imprisoned for nine months. On his release he began to rebuild the Nazi Party and used new techniques of mass communication to get his message across.

The Nazis grew stronger and in the 1932 elections, Hitler became the largest party in the German parliament. In January 1933, he became chancellor of a coalition government. He quickly took power and began to organise anti-Jewish laws. He also began the process of German militarisation and expanding territory that would eventually lead to World War Two. He united with Italy and later with Japan.

Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 began World War Two. After military successes in Denmark, Norway and Western Europe, but after failing to subdue Britain in 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Jewish populations of the countries conquered by the Nazis were rounded up and killed.

In December 1941, Hitler declared war on America. The war on the eastern front used up Germany's resources and in June 1944, the British and Americans landed in France. With Soviet troops positioned to take the German capital, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin on 30 April 1945.