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{{Redirect|Hitler}}
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{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Adolf Hitler
| nationality =
{{plainlist |
* Austrian citizen until 7 April 1925{{sfn|NS-Archiv, 7 April 1925}}
* Citizen of [[Free State of Brunswick|Brunswick]] after 25 February 1932
* Citizen of the [[Nazi Germany|German Reich]] after 1934
}}
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S33882, Adolf Hitler retouched.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Adolf Hitler in 1937
| birth_date = {{birth date|1889|4|20|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Braunau am Inn]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1945|4|30|1889|4|20|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Berlin]], [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]
| death_cause = Suicide
| party = [[Nazi Party|National Socialist German Workers' Party]] (1921–45)
| otherparty = [[German Workers' Party]] (1920–21)
| religion = See: ''[[Religious views of Adolf Hitler]]''
| spouse = [[Eva Braun]] <br /> (29–30 April 1945)
| parents = {{plainlist|
* [[Alois Hitler]] (father)
* [[Klara Hitler|Klara Pölzl]] (mother)
}}
| occupation = Politician
| country = Germany
| office = [[Führer|Führer of Germany]]
| deputy =
{{plainlist |
* [[Rudolf Hess]] ''(1933–41)''
* ''Position vacant''
}}
| term_start = 2 August 1934
| term_end = 30 April 1945
| predecessor = [[Paul von Hindenburg]] <br /> (as President)
| successor = [[Karl Dönitz]] <br /> (as President)
| office2 = [[Chancellor of Germany#Chancellor of Nazi Germany (1933–1945)|Reich Chancellor of Germany]]
| term_start2 = 30 January 1933
| term_end2 = 30 April 1945
| president2 = [[Paul von Hindenburg]] ''(until 1934)''
| deputy2 =
{{plainlist |
* [[Franz von Papen]] ''(1933–34)''
* ''Position vacant''
}}
| predecessor2 = [[Kurt von Schleicher]]
| successor2 = [[Joseph Goebbels]]
| office3 = Leader of the [[Nazi Party]]
| deputy3 = [[Rudolf Hess]]
| term_start3 = 29 June 1921
| term_end3 = 30 April 1945
| predecessor3 = [[Anton Drexler]]
| successor3 = [[Martin Bormann]]
| signature = Hitler Signature2.svg
| footnotes =
| allegiance = {{flag|German Empire}}
| branch = {{flagdeco|German Empire|naval}} ''[[Bavarian Army]]''
| unit = {{unbulleted list | 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment | ''[[Reichswehr]]'' intelligence}}
| serviceyears = 1914–20
| rank = {{unbulleted list | ''[[Gefreiter]]'' | ''Verbindungsmann''}}
| battles = [[World War I]]
| awards =
{{plainlist |
* [[Iron Cross|Iron Cross First Class]]
* [[Iron Cross Second Class]]
* [[Wound Badge]]
}}
}}

'''Adolf Hitler''' ({{IPA-de|ˈadɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ|lang}}; 20 April 1889&nbsp;– 30 April 1945) was an [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian]]-born [[Germans|German]] politician who was the leader of the [[Nazi Party]] ({{lang-de|Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei}} (NSDAP); National Socialist German Workers Party). He was [[Chancellor of Germany#Chancellor of the Third Reich (1933–1945)|chancellor of Germany]] from 1933 to 1945 and [[dictator]] of [[Nazi Germany]] (as ''[[Führer|Führer und Reichskanzler]]'') from 1934 to 1945. Hitler was at the centre of Nazi Germany, [[European theatre of World War II|World War II in Europe]], and [[the Holocaust]].

[[Military career of Adolf Hitler|Hitler was a decorated veteran of World War I]]. He joined the [[German Workers' Party]] (precursor of the NSDAP) in 1919, and became leader of the NSDAP in 1921. In 1923, he attempted [[Beer Hall Putsch|a coup in Munich]] to seize power. The failed coup resulted in Hitler's imprisonment, during which time he wrote his memoir, ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' (''My Struggle''). After his release in 1924, Hitler gained popular support by attacking the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and promoting [[Pan-Germanism]], [[antisemitism]], and [[anti-communism]] with charismatic oratory and [[Nazi propaganda]]. Hitler frequently denounced international [[capitalism]] and [[communism]] as being part of a [[Jewish]] conspiracy.

Hitler's Nazi Party became the largest elected party in the German [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]], leading to his appointment as chancellor in 1933. Following [[German federal election, March 1933|fresh elections]] won by his coalition, the Reichstag passed the [[Enabling Act of 1933|Enabling Act]], which began the process of transforming the [[Weimar Republic]] into the Third Reich, a [[Single-party state|single-party]] dictatorship based on the [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] and [[autocratic]] ideology of [[Nazism|National Socialism]]. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a [[New Order (Nazism)|New Order]] to counter what he saw as the injustice of the post–World War I international order dominated by Britain and France. His first six years in power resulted in rapid economic recovery from the [[Great Depression]], the denunciation of restrictions imposed on Germany after World War I, and the annexation of territories that were home to millions of ethnic Germans – actions which gave him significant popular support.

Hitler actively sought ''[[Lebensraum]]'' ("living space") for the [[Nazism and race|German people]]. His 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 1 September 1939 [[invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]], resulting in British and French declarations of war on Germany. In June 1941, Hitler ordered an [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]]. By the end of 1941 German forces and their [[Axis powers|European Allies]] occupied most of Europe and [[North African Campaign|North Africa]]. Failure to defeat the Soviets and the entry of the United States into the war forced Germany onto the defensive and it suffered a series of escalating defeats. In the final days of the war, during the [[Battle of Berlin]] in 1945, Hitler married his long-time lover, [[Eva Braun]]. On 30 April 1945, less than two days later, the two [[Death of Adolf Hitler|committed suicide]] to avoid capture by the [[Red Army]], and their corpses were burned.

Under Hitler's leadership and [[Nazism and race|racially motivated ideology]], the Nazi regime was responsible for the [[genocide]] of at least 5.5 million Jews and [[Holocaust victims|millions of other victims]] whom he and his followers deemed [[Untermensch|racially inferior]]. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European Theatre of World War II. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in the history of warfare.

==Early years==

===Ancestry===
Hitler's father, [[Alois Hitler|Alois Hitler, Sr.]] (1837–1903), was the [[illegitimacy|illegitimate]] child of [[Maria Schicklgruber|Maria Anna Schicklgruber]].{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=24}} Because the baptismal register did not show the name of his father, Alois initially bore his mother's surname, ''Schicklgruber''. In 1842, [[Johann Georg Hiedler]] married Alois's mother, Maria Anna. After she died in 1847 and Johann Georg Hiedler in 1856, Alois was brought up in the family of Hiedler's brother, [[Johann Nepomuk Hiedler]].{{sfn|Maser|1973|p=4}} In 1876, Alois was legitimated and the baptismal register changed by a priest to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois's father (recorded as ''Georg Hitler'').{{sfn|Maser|1973|p=15}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=5}} Alois then assumed the surname ''Hitler'',{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=5}} also spelled as ''Hiedler'', ''Hüttler'', or ''Huettler''. The ''Hitler'' surname is probably based on "one who lives in a hut" ([[German language|Standard German]] ''Hütte'' for ''hut'') or on "shepherd" (Standard German ''hüten'' for ''to guard''); alternatively, it might be derived from the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] words ''Hidlar'' or ''Hidlarcek'' (''small cottager'' or ''small holder'').{{sfn|Jetzinger|1976|p=32}}

Nazi official [[Hans Frank]] suggested that Alois's mother had been employed as a housekeeper for a [[Jewish]] family in [[Graz]] and that the family's 19-year-old son, [[Leopold Frankenberger]], had fathered Alois.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1999|p= }} Because no Frankenberger was registered in Graz during that period, and no record of Leopold Frankenberger's existence has been produced,{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=50}} historians dismiss the claim that Alois's father was Jewish.{{sfn|Toland|1992|pp=246–247}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=8–9}}

===Childhood and education===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0322-506, Adolf Hitler, Kinderbild retouched.jpg|upright|thumb|Adolf Hitler as an infant (c.&nbsp;1889–90).]]
Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in [[Braunau am Inn]], a town in [[Austria-Hungary]] (in present day [[Austria]]), close to the border with the [[German Empire]].{{sfn|House of Responsibility}} He was the fourth of six children to Alois Hitler and [[Klara Pölzl]] (1860–1907). Hitler's older siblings—Gustav, Ida, and Otto—died in infancy.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=6–9}} When Hitler was three, the family moved to [[Passau]], Germany.{{sfn|Rosmus|2004|p=33}} There he acquired the distinctive [[Bavarian language|lower Bavarian dialect]], rather than [[Austrian German]], which marked his speech throughout his life.{{sfn|Keller|2010|p=15}}{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Kubizek|2006|p=37}} In 1894 the family relocated to [[Leonding]] (near [[Linz]]), and in June 1895, Alois retired to a small landholding at Hafeld, near [[Lambach]], where he farmed and kept bees. Hitler attended ''[[Volksschule]]'' (a state-owned school) in nearby [[Fischlham]].{{sfn|Kubizek|2006|p=92}}{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=6}}

The move to Hafeld coincided with the onset of intense father-son conflicts caused by Hitler's refusal to conform to the strict discipline of his school.{{sfn|Fromm|1977|pp=493–498}} Alois Hitler's farming efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and in 1897 the family moved to Lambach. The eight-year-old Hitler took singing lessons, sang in the church choir, and even considered becoming a priest.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=10–11}} In 1898 the family returned permanently to Leonding. The death of his younger brother [[Edmund Hitler|Edmund]], who died from measles in 1900, deeply affected Hitler. He changed from a confident, outgoing, conscientious student to a morose, detached, sullen boy who constantly fought with his father and teachers.{{sfn|Payne|1990|p=22}}
[[File:Klara Hitler.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Hitler's mother, [[Klara Hitler|Klara]]]]
Alois had made a successful career in the customs bureau and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=9}} Hitler later dramatised an episode from this period when his father took him to visit a customs office, depicting it as an event that gave rise to an unforgiving antagonism between father and son, who were both strong-willed.{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=8}}{{sfn|Keller|2010|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|Fest|1977|p=32}} Ignoring his son's desire to attend a classical high school and become an artist, Alois sent Hitler to the ''[[Realschule]]'' in Linz in September 1900.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=8}} Hitler rebelled against this decision, and in ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' revealed that he intentionally did poorly in school, hoping that once his father saw "what little progress I was making at the technical school he would let me devote myself to my dream".{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=10}}

Like many Austrian Germans, Hitler began to develop [[German nationalism|German nationalist]] ideas from a young age.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=163–164}} He expressed loyalty only to [[German Empire|Germany]], despising the declining [[Habsburg Monarchy]] and its rule over an ethnically variegated empire.{{sfn|Bendersky|2000|p=26}}{{sfn|Ryschka|2008|p=35}} Hitler and his friends used the German greeting "Heil", and sang the "[[Deutschlandlied]]" instead of the [[Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser#Austria-Hungary|Austrian Imperial anthem]].{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=13}}

After Alois's sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler's performance at school deteriorated and his mother allowed him to leave.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=10}} He enrolled at the ''Realschule'' in [[Steyr]] in September 1904, where his behaviour and performance showed some improvement.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=19}} In 1905, after passing a repeat of the final exam, Hitler left the school without any ambitions for further education or clear plans for a career.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=20}}

===Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich===
[[File:Hitler house in Leonding.jpg|thumb|The house in [[Leonding]] where Hitler spent his early adolescence (photo taken c. 1984)]]

From 1905, Hitler lived a [[bohemianism|bohemian]] life in [[Vienna]], financed by orphan's benefits and support from his mother. He worked as a casual labourer and eventually as a [[Paintings by Adolf Hitler|painter]], selling watercolours of Vienna's sights. [[Academy of Fine Arts Vienna|Vienna's Academy of Fine Arts]] rejected him in 1907 and again in 1908, citing "unfitness for painting".{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=20}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=30–31}} The director recommended that Hitler study architecture, which was also an interest, but he lacked academic credentials as he had not finished secondary school.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=31}} On 21 December 1907, his mother died of breast cancer at the age of 47. After the academy's second rejection, Hitler ran out of money and was forced to live in homeless shelters and men's hostels.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|pp=30–33}} At the time Hitler lived there, Vienna was a hotbed of religious prejudice and [[racism]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=26}} Fears of being overrun by immigrants from the East were widespread, and the populist mayor, [[Karl Lueger]], exploited the rhetoric of virulent [[antisemitism]] for political effect. [[Georg Ritter von Schönerer|Georg Schönerer]]'s [[Pan-Germanism|pan-Germanic]] antisemitism had a strong following in the [[Mariahilf|Mariahilf district]], where Hitler lived.{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=243–246}} Hitler read local newspapers, such as the ''Deutsches Volksblatt'', that fanned prejudice and played on Christian fears of being swamped by an influx of eastern Jews.{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=341–345}} Hostile to what he saw as "Catholic Germanophobia", he developed an admiration for [[Martin Luther]].{{sfn|Hamann|2010|p=350}}
[[File:The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich - Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich|The Alter Hof in Munich]]''. Watercolour by Adolf Hitler, 1914]]
The origin and first expression of Hitler's antisemitism have been difficult to locate.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=60–67}} Hitler states in ''Mein Kampf'' that he first became an antisemite in Vienna.{{sfn|Hitler|1999|p=52}} His close friend, [[August Kubizek]], claimed that Hitler was a "confirmed antisemite" before he left Linz.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=25}} Several sources provide strong evidence that Hitler had Jewish friends in his hostel and in other places in Vienna.{{sfn|Hamann|2010|pp=347–359}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=64}} Historian [[Richard J. Evans]] states that "historians now generally agree that his notorious, murderous anti-Semitism emerged well after Germany's defeat [in World War I], as a product of the paranoid [[Stab-in-the-back myth|"stab-in-the-back" explanation]] for the catastrophe".{{sfn|Evans|2011}}

Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to [[Munich]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=27}} Historians believe he left Vienna to evade conscription into the Austrian army.{{sfn|Weber|2010|p=13}} Hitler later claimed that he did not wish to serve the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] because of the mixture of races in its army.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=27}} After he was deemed unfit for service—he failed his physical exam in [[Salzburg]] on 5 February 1914—he returned to Munich.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=27, footnote}}

===World War I===
{{Main|Military career of Adolf Hitler}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1974-082-44, Adolf Hitler im Ersten Weltkrieg.jpg|thumb|Hitler (''far right, seated'') with his army comrades of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (c.&nbsp;1914–18)]]
At the outbreak of [[World War I]], Hitler was living in Munich and volunteered to serve in the [[Bavarian Army]] as an Austrian citizen.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=90}} Posted to the [[6th Bavarian Reserve Division|Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16]] (1st Company of the List Regiment),{{sfn|Weber|2010|pp=12–13}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=90}} he served as a dispatch [[runner (soldier)|runner]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in France and Belgium,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=53}} spending nearly half his time well behind the front lines.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=54}}{{sfn|Weber|2010|p=100}} He was present at the [[First Battle of Ypres]], the [[Battle of the Somme]], the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]], and the [[Battle of Passchendaele]], and was wounded at the Somme.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}} He was decorated for bravery, receiving the [[Iron Cross]], Second Class, in 1914.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=30}} On a recommendation by Lieutenant [[Hugo Gutmann]], Hitler's Jewish superior, he received the Iron Cross First Class on 4 August 1918, a decoration rarely awarded to one of Hitler's ''[[Gefreiter]]'' rank. {{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=59}}{{sfn|Weber|2010a}} He received the [[Wound Badge|Black Wound Badge]] on 18 May 1918.{{sfn|Steiner|1976|p=392}}

[[File:Hitler 1914 1918.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Adolf Hitler as a soldier during the First World War (1914–1918)]]
During his service at headquarters, Hitler pursued his artwork, drawing cartoons and instructions for an army newspaper. During the Battle of the Somme in October 1916, he was wounded in the left thigh when a shell exploded in the dispatch runners' dugout.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=57}} Hitler spent almost two months in hospital at [[Beelitz]], returning to his regiment on 5 March 1917.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=58}} On 15 October 1918, he was temporarily blinded in a [[mustard gas]] attack and was hospitalised in [[Pasewalk]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=59, 60}} While there, Hitler learnt of Germany's defeat, and—by his own account—on receiving this news, he suffered a second bout of blindness.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=97, 102}}

Hitler described the war as "the greatest of all experiences", and was praised by his commanding officers for his bravery.{{sfn|Keegan|1987|pp=238–240}} His wartime experience reinforced his German patriotism and he was shocked by Germany's capitulation in November 1918.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=60}} His bitterness over the collapse of the war effort began to shape his ideology.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=61, 62}} Like other German nationalists, he believed the ''Dolchstoßlegende'' ([[stab-in-the-back myth]]), which claimed that the German army, "undefeated in the field", had been "stabbed in the back" on the [[home front]] by civilian leaders and [[Marxism|Marxists]], later dubbed the "November criminals".{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=61–63}}

The [[Treaty of Versailles]] stipulated that Germany must relinquish several of its territories and [[demilitarisation|demilitarise]] the [[Rhineland]]. The treaty imposed economic sanctions and levied heavy reparations on the country. Many Germans perceived the treaty—especially [[Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles|Article 231]], which declared Germany responsible for the war—as a humiliation.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=96}} The Versailles Treaty and the economic, social, and political conditions in Germany after the war were later exploited by Hitler for political gain.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=80, 90, 92}}

==Entry into politics==
{{Main|Political views of Adolf Hitler}}
[[File:Hitler's DAP membership card.png|thumb|A copy of Adolf Hitler's [[German Workers' Party]] (DAP) membership card]]
After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=61}} With no formal education or career prospects, he remained in the army.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=109}} In July 1919 he was appointed ''Verbindungsmann'' (intelligence agent) of an ''Aufklärungskommando'' (reconnaissance commando) of the ''[[Reichswehr]]'', assigned to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the [[German Workers' Party]] (DAP). While monitoring the activities of the DAP, Hitler was attracted to the founder [[Anton Drexler]]'s antisemitic, nationalist, [[anti-capitalist]], and anti-Marxist ideas.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}} Drexler favoured a strong active government, a non-Jewish version of [[socialism]], and solidarity among all members of society. Impressed with Hitler's oratorical skills, Drexler invited him to join the DAP. Hitler accepted on 12 September 1919,{{sfn|Stackelberg|2007|p=9}} becoming the party's 55th member.{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=67}}

At the DAP, Hitler met [[Dietrich Eckart]], one of the party's founders and a member of the occult [[Thule Society]].{{sfn|Fest|1970|p=21}} Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging ideas with him and introducing him to a wide range of Munich society.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=94, 95, 100}} To increase its appeal, the DAP changed its name to the ''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' ([[National Socialist German Workers Party]]&nbsp;– NSDAP).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=87}} Hitler designed the party's banner of a [[swastika]] in a white circle on a red background.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=88}}

Hitler was discharged from the army on 31 March 1920 and began working full-time for the NSDAP.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=93}} The party headquarters was in Munich, a major hotbed of anti-government German nationalists determined to crush Marxism and undermine the [[Weimar Republic]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=81}} In February 1921—already highly effective at speaking to large audiences—he spoke to a crowd of over 6,000.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=89}} To publicise the meeting, two truckloads of party supporters drove around Munich waving swastika flags and throwing leaflets. Hitler soon gained notoriety for his rowdy [[polemic]] speeches against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians, and especially against Marxists and Jews.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=89–92}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10460, Adolf Hitler, Rednerposen.jpg|left|thumb|Hitler poses for the camera ]]

In June 1921, while Hitler and Eckart were on a fundraising trip to [[Berlin]], a mutiny broke out within the NSDAP in Munich. Members of its executive committee wanted to merge with the rival [[German Socialist Party]] (DSP).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=100, 101}} Hitler returned to Munich on 11 July and angrily tendered his resignation. The committee members realised that the resignation of their leading public figure and speaker would mean the end of the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=102}} Hitler announced he would rejoin on the condition that he would replace Drexler as party chairman, and that the party headquarters would remain in Munich.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=103}} The committee agreed, and he rejoined the party on 26 July as member 3,680. Even then, Hitler still faced some opposition within the NSDAP: Opponents of Hitler in the leadership had [[Hermann Esser]] expelled from the party and printed 3,000 copies of a pamphlet attacking Hitler as a traitor to the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=103}}{{efn|name=libel suit}} In the following days, Hitler spoke to several packed houses and defended himself and Esser, to thunderous applause. His strategy proved successful, and at a general membership meeting, he was granted absolute powers as party chairman, with only one vote against.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=83, 103}}

Hitler's vitriolic beer hall speeches began attracting regular audiences. He became adept at using [[populism|populist]] themes, including the use of [[scapegoat]]s, who were blamed for his listeners' economic hardships.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=376}}{{sfn|Frauenfeld|1937}}{{sfn|Goebbels|1936}} Psychiatrist [[Carl Jung]] commented in 1938 that Hitler is the "first man to tell every German what he has been thinking and feeling all along in his unconscious about German fate, especially since the defeat in the World War".{{sfn|Knickerbocker|1941|p=46}} Hitler used personal magnetism and an understanding of crowd psychology to advantage while engaged in public speaking.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=105–106}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=377}} Historians have noted the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups.{{sfn|Kressel|2002|p=121}} The historian [[Alfons Heck]], a former member of the Hitler Youth describes the reaction to a speech by Hitler:

{{quotation|We erupted into a frenzy of nationalistic pride that bordered on hysteria. For minutes on end, we shouted at the top of our lungs, with tears streaming down our faces: ''Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil!'' From that moment on, I belonged to Adolf Hitler body and soul."{{sfn|Heck|2001|p=23}}|Alfons Heck}}

Although Hitler's oratory skills and personal traits were generally received well by large crowds and at official events, some who met Hitler privately noted that his appearance and demeanour failed to make a lasting impression.{{sfn|Larson|2011|p=157}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=367}}

Early followers included [[Rudolf Hess]], former air force ace [[Hermann Göring]], and army captain [[Ernst Röhm]]. Röhm became head of the Nazis' paramilitary organisation, the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA, "Stormtroopers"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. A critical influence on his thinking during this period was the ''[[Aufbau Vereinigung]]'',{{sfn|Kellogg|2005|p=275}} a conspiratorial group of [[White émigré|White Russian]] exiles and early National Socialists. The group, financed with funds channelled from wealthy industrialists, introduced Hitler to the idea of a Jewish conspiracy, linking international finance with [[Bolshevism]].{{sfn|Kellogg|2005|p=203}}

===Beer Hall Putsch===
{{Main|Beer Hall Putsch}}
In 1923 Hitler enlisted the help of World War I General [[Erich Ludendorff]] for an attempted coup known as the "[[Beer Hall Putsch]]". The NSDAP used [[Italian Fascism]] as a model for their appearance and policies. Hitler wanted to emulate [[Benito Mussolini]]'s "[[March on Rome]]" (1922) by staging his own coup in Bavaria, to be followed by a challenge to the government in Berlin. Hitler and Ludendorff sought the support of ''Staatskommissar'' (state commissioner) [[Gustav Ritter von Kahr]], Bavaria's de facto ruler. However, Kahr, along with Police Chief [[Hans Ritter von Seisser]] and Reichswehr General [[Otto von Lossow]], wanted to install a nationalist dictatorship without Hitler.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=126}}

On 8 November 1923 Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting of 3,000 people organised by Kahr in the [[Bürgerbräukeller]], a beer hall in Munich. Interrupting Kahr's speech, he announced that the national revolution had begun and declared the formation of a new government with Ludendorff.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=128}} Retiring to a back room, Hitler, with handgun drawn, demanded and got the support of Kahr, Seisser, and Lossow.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=128}} Hitler's forces initially succeeded in occupying the local Reichswehr and police headquarters, but Kahr and his cohorts quickly withdrew their support. Neither the army nor the state police joined forces with Hitler.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=129}} The next day, Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the [[Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria)|Bavarian War Ministry]] to overthrow the Bavarian government, but police dispersed them.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=130–131}} [[List of Nazis who died in the Beer Hall Putsch|Sixteen NSDAP members]] and four police officers were killed in the failed coup.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=73–74}}

[[File:Mein Kampf dust jacket.jpeg|thumb|[[Dust jacket]] of ''Mein Kampf'' (1926–27)]]
Hitler fled to the home of [[Ernst Hanfstaengl]] and by some accounts contemplated suicide.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=132}} He was depressed but calm when arrested on 11 November 1923 for [[high treason]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=131}} His trial before the special [[People's Court (Bavaria)|People's Court]] in Munich began in February 1924,{{sfn|Munich Court, 1924}} and [[Alfred Rosenberg]] became temporary leader of the NSDAP. On 1 April, Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at [[Landsberg Prison]].{{sfn|Fulda|2009|pp=68–69}} There, he received friendly treatment from the guards, and he was allowed mail from supporters and regular visits by party comrades. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, he was released from jail on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=239}} Including time on remand, Hitler served just over one year in prison.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=121}}

While at Landsberg, Hitler dictated most of the first volume of ''Mein Kampf'' (''My Struggle''; originally entitled ''Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice'') to his deputy, Rudolf Hess.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=121}} The book, dedicated to Thule Society member Dietrich Eckart, was an autobiography and exposition of his ideology. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race. Some passages implied [[genocide]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=148–149}} Published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, it sold 228,000 copies between 1925 and 1932. One million copies were sold in 1933, Hitler's first year in office.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=80–81}}

===Rebuilding the NSDAP===
At the time of Hitler's release from prison, politics in Germany had become less combative and the economy had improved, limiting Hitler's opportunities for political agitation. As a result of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, the NSDAP and its affiliated organisations were banned in Bavaria. In a meeting with Prime Minister of Bavaria [[Heinrich Held]] on 4 January 1925, Hitler agreed to respect the authority of the state and promised that he would seek political power only through the democratic process. The meeting paved the way for the ban on the NSDAP to be lifted on 16 February.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=158, 161, 162}} Hitler was barred from public speaking by the Bavarian authorities, a ban that remained in place until 1927.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=162, 166}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=129}} To advance his political ambitions in spite of the ban, Hitler appointed [[Gregor Strasser]], [[Otto Strasser]], and [[Joseph Goebbels]] to organise and grow the NSDAP in northern Germany. A superb organiser, Gregor Strasser steered a more independent political course, emphasising the socialist elements of the party's programme.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=166, 167}}

The stock market in the United States [[Wall Street Crash of 1929|crashed on 24 October 1929]]. The impact in Germany was dire: millions were thrown out of work and several major banks collapsed. Hitler and the NSDAP prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to repudiate the Versailles Treaty, strengthen the economy, and provide jobs.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=136–137}}

==Rise to power==
{{Main|Adolf Hitler's rise to power}}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
|+ NSDAP election results{{sfn|Kolb|2005|pp=224–225}}
|-
! scope="col" | Election
! scope="col" | Total votes
! scope="col" | % votes
! scope="col" | Reichstag seats
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
! scope="row" | {{dts|1 May 1924|format=hide}}[[German federal election, May 1924|May 1924]]
| {{Number table sorting|1918300}}
| {{Number table sorting|6.5}}
| {{Number table sorting|32}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Hitler in prison
|-
! scope="row" | {{dts|1 Dec 1924|format=hide}}[[German federal election, December 1924|December 1924]]
| {{Number table sorting|907300}}
| {{Number table sorting|3.0}}
| {{Number table sorting|14}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Hitler released from prison
|-
! scope="row" |{{dts|1 May 1928|format=hide}}[[German federal election, 1928|May 1928]]
| {{Number table sorting|810100}}
| {{Number table sorting|2.6}}
| {{Number table sorting|12}}
| style="text-align:left;" | &nbsp;
|-
! scope="row" | {{dts|1 Sep 1930|format=hide}}[[German federal election, 1930|September 1930]]
| {{Number table sorting|6409600}}
| {{Number table sorting|18.3}}
| {{Number table sorting|107}}
| style="text-align:left;" | After the financial crisis
|-
! scope="row" | {{dts|1 Jul 1932|format=hide}}[[German federal election, July 1932|July 1932]]
| {{Number table sorting|13745000}}
| {{Number table sorting|37.3}}
| {{Number table sorting|230}}
| style="text-align:left;" | After Hitler was candidate for presidency
|-
! scope="row" | {{dts|1 Nov 1932|format=hide}}[[German federal election, November 1932|November 1932]]
| {{Number table sorting|11737000}}
| {{Number table sorting|33.1}}
| {{Number table sorting|196}}
| style="text-align:left;"|&nbsp;
|-
! scope="row" | {{dts|1 Mar 1933|format=hide}}[[German federal election, March 1933|March 1933]]
| {{Number table sorting|17277180}}
| {{Number table sorting|43.9}}
| {{Number table sorting|288}}
| style="text-align:left;" | Only partially free; During Hitler's term as chancellor of Germany
|}

===Brüning administration===
The [[Great Depression]] provided a political opportunity for Hitler. Germans were ambivalent to the [[parliamentary republic]], which faced strong challenges from right- and left-wing extremists. The moderate political parties were increasingly unable to stem the tide of extremism, and the [[German referendum, 1929|German referendum of 1929]] helped to elevate Nazi ideology.{{sfn|Kolb|1988|p=105}} The elections of September 1930 resulted in the break-up of a [[grand coalition]] and its replacement with a minority cabinet. Its leader, chancellor [[Heinrich Brüning]] of the [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]], governed through [[emergency powers|emergency decrees]] from President [[Paul von Hindenburg]]. Governance by decree would become the new norm and paved the way for [[authoritarian]] forms of government.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|p=403 ''et. seq''}} The NSDAP rose from obscurity to win 18.3 per cent of the vote and 107 parliamentary seats in the 1930 election, becoming the second-largest party in parliament.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=434–446 ''et. seq''}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 119-0289, München, Hitler bei Einweihung "Braunes Haus".jpg|thumb|left|Hitler and NSDAP treasurer [[Franz Xaver Schwarz]] at the dedication of the renovation of the Palais Barlow on [[Brienner Straße (Munich)|Brienner Straße]] in Munich into the [[Brown House, Munich|Brown House]] headquarters, December 1930]]
Hitler made a prominent appearance at the trial of two Reichswehr officers, Lieutenants Richard Scheringer and Hans Ludin, in late 1930. Both were charged with membership in the NSDAP, at that time illegal for Reichswehr personnel.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=218}} The prosecution argued that the NSDAP was an extremist party, prompting defence lawyer [[Hans Frank]] to call on Hitler to testify.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=216}} On 25 September 1930, Hitler testified that his party would pursue political power solely through democratic elections,{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|pp=218–219}} which won him many supporters in the officer corps.{{sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|1967|p=222}}

Brüning's austerity measures brought little economic improvement and were extremely unpopular.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|p=449 ''et. seq''}} Hitler exploited this by targeting his political messages specifically at people who had been affected by the inflation of the 1920s and the Depression, such as farmers, war veterans, and the middle class.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=434–436, 471}}

Hitler had formally renounced his Austrian citizenship on 7 April 1925, but at the time did not acquire German citizenship. For almost seven years he was [[Statelessness|stateless]], unable to run for public office, and faced the risk of deportation.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=130}} On 25 February 1932, the interior minister of [[Free State of Brunswick|Brunswick]], who was a member of the NSDAP, appointed Hitler as administrator for the state's delegation to the [[Reichsrat (Germany)|Reichsrat]] in Berlin, making Hitler a citizen of Brunswick,{{sfn|Hinrichs|2007}} and thus of Germany.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|p=476}}

In 1932, Hitler ran against Hindenburg in the [[German presidential election, 1932|presidential elections]]. The viability of his candidacy was underscored by a 27 January 1932 speech to the Industry Club in [[Düsseldorf]], which won him support from many of Germany's most powerful industrialists.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=468–471}} Hindenburg had support from various nationalist, monarchist, Catholic, and [[republicanism|republican]] parties, and some [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]]. Hitler used the campaign slogan "''Hitler über Deutschland''" ("Hitler over Germany"), a reference to his political ambitions and his campaigning by aircraft.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=201}} He was one of the first politicians to use aircraft travel for political purposes, and utilised it effectively.{{sfn|Hoffman|1989}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=227}} Hitler came in second in both rounds of the election, garnering more than 35 per cent of the vote in the final election. Although he lost to Hindenburg, this election established Hitler as a strong force in German politics.{{sfn|Halperin|1965|pp=477–479}}

===Appointment as chancellor===
The absence of an effective government prompted two influential politicians, [[Franz von Papen]] and [[Alfred Hugenberg]], along with several other industrialists and businessmen, to write a letter to Hindenburg. The signers urged Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties", which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people".{{sfn|Letter to Hindenburg, 1932}}{{sfn|Fox News, 2003}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1972-026-11, Machtübernahme Hitlers.jpg|thumb|Hitler, at the window of the [[Reich Chancellery]], receives an ovation on the evening of his inauguration as [[Chancellor of Germany|chancellor]], 30&nbsp;January 1933]]
Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor after two further parliamentary elections—in July and November 1932—had not resulted in the formation of a majority government. Hitler headed a short-lived coalition government formed by the NSDAP and Hugenberg's party, the [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP). On 30 January 1933, the new cabinet was sworn in during a brief ceremony in Hindenburg's office. The NSDAP gained three posts: Hitler was named chancellor, [[Wilhelm Frick]] Minister of the Interior, and [[Hermann Göring]] Minister of the Interior for Prussia.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=184}} Hitler had insisted on the ministerial positions as a way to gain control over the police in much of Germany.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=307}}

===Reichstag fire and March elections===
As chancellor, Hitler worked against attempts by the NSDAP's opponents to build a majority government. Because of the political stalemate, he asked Hindenburg to again dissolve the Reichstag, and elections were scheduled for early March. On 27 February 1933, the [[Reichstag fire|Reichstag building was set on fire]]. Göring blamed a communist plot, because Dutch communist [[Marinus van der Lubbe]] was found in incriminating circumstances inside the burning building.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=262}} According to the British historian Sir [[Ian Kershaw]], the consensus of nearly all historians is that van der Lubbe actually set the fire.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=456–458, 731–732}} Others, including [[William L. Shirer]] and [[Alan Bullock]], are of the opinion that the NSDAP itself was responsible.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=192}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=262}} At Hitler's urging, Hindenburg responded with the [[Reichstag Fire Decree]] of 28 February, which suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. The decree was permitted under [[Article 48]] of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=194, 274}} Activities of the [[Communist Party of Germany|German Communist Party]] were suppressed, and some 4,000 communist party members were arrested.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=194}}

In addition to political campaigning, the NSDAP engaged in paramilitary violence and the spread of anti-communist propaganda in the days preceding the election. On election day, 6 March 1933, the NSDAP's share of the vote increased to 43.9 per cent, and the party acquired the largest number of seats in parliament. Hitler's party failed to secure an absolute majority, necessitating another coalition with the DNVP.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=265}}

===Day of Potsdam and the Enabling Act===
On 21 March 1933, the new Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony at the [[Garrison Church (Potsdam)|Garrison Church]] in [[Potsdam]]. This "Day of Potsdam" was held to demonstrate unity between the Nazi movement and the old [[Prussia]]n elite and military. Hitler appeared in a [[morning coat]] and humbly greeted Hindenburg.{{sfn|City of Potsdam}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=196–197}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S38324, Tag von Potsdam, Adolf Hitler, Paul v. Hindenburg.jpg|thumb|left|Paul von Hindenburg and Adolf Hitler on the Day of Potsdam, 21 March 1933]]
To achieve full political control despite not having an absolute majority in parliament, Hitler's government brought the ''Ermächtigungsgesetz'' ([[Enabling Act of 1933|Enabling Act]]) to a vote in the newly elected Reichstag. The Act gave Hitler's cabinet full legislative powers for four years and (with certain exceptions) allowed deviations from the constitution.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=198}} The bill required a two-thirds majority to pass. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to keep several Social Democratic deputies from attending; the Communists had already been banned.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=196}}

On 23 March 1933, the Reichstag assembled at the [[Kroll Opera House]] under turbulent circumstances. Ranks of SA men served as guards inside the building, while large groups outside opposing the proposed legislation shouted slogans and threats towards the arriving members of parliament.{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=269}} The position of the [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]], the third largest party in the Reichstag, was decisive. After Hitler verbally promised party leader [[Ludwig Kaas]] that Hindenburg would retain his power of veto, Kaas announced the Centre Party would support the Enabling Act. The Act passed by a vote of 441–84, with all parties except the Social Democrats voting in favour. The Enabling Act, along with the Reichstag Fire Decree, transformed Hitler's government into a de facto legal dictatorship.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=199}}

===Removal of remaining limits===
{{quotation|At the risk of appearing to talk nonsense I tell you that the National Socialist movement will go on for 1,000 years!&nbsp;... Don't forget how people laughed at me 15 years ago when I declared that one day I would govern Germany. They laugh now, just as foolishly, when I declare that I shall remain in power!{{sfn|''Time'', 1934}}|Adolf Hitler to a British correspondent in Berlin, June 1934}}

Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his allies began to suppress the remaining opposition. The Social Democratic Party was banned and its assets seized.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=201}} While many trade union delegates were in Berlin for [[May Day]] activities, SA stormtroopers demolished union offices around the country. On 2 May 1933 all trade unions were forced to dissolve and their leaders were arrested. Some were sent to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=202}} The [[German Labour Front]] was formed as an umbrella organisation to represent all workers, administrators, and company owners, thus reflecting the concept of national socialism in the spirit of Hitler's ''[[Volksgemeinschaft]]'' (German racial community; literally, "people's community").{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=350–374}}

[[File:Adolf Hitler-1933.jpg|thumb|left|upright|In 1934, Hitler became Germany's head of state with the title of ''[[Führer|Führer und Reichskanzler]]'' (leader and chancellor of the Reich).]]
By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. This included the Nazis' nominal coalition partner, the DNVP; with the SA's help, Hitler forced its leader, Hugenberg, to resign on 29 June. On 14 July 1933, the NSDAP was declared the only legal political party in Germany, although the country had effectively been a one-party state since the passage of the Enabling Act four months earlier.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=350–374}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=201}} The demands of the SA for more political and military power caused anxiety among military, industrial, and political leaders. In response, Hitler purged the entire SA leadership in the [[Night of the Long Knives]], which took place from 30 June to 2 July 1934.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=309–314}} Hitler targeted [[Ernst Röhm]] and other SA leaders who, along with a number of Hitler's political adversaries (such as Gregor Strasser and former chancellor [[Kurt von Schleicher]]), were rounded up, arrested, and shot.{{sfn|Tames|2008|pp=4–5}} While the international community and some Germans were shocked by the murders, many in Germany believed Hitler was restoring order.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=313–315}}

On 2 August 1934, Hindenburg died. The previous day, the cabinet had enacted the "Law Concerning the Highest State Office of the Reich".{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=63}} This law stated that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of president would be abolished and its powers merged with those of the chancellor. Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government, and was formally named as ''[[Führer|Führer und Reichskanzler]]'' (leader and chancellor).{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=226–227}} This law violated the Enabling Act; although it allowed Hitler to deviate from the constitution, the Act explicitly barred him from passing any law tampering with the presidency. In 1932, the constitution had been amended to make the president of the High Court of Justice, not the chancellor, acting president pending new elections. Nonetheless, no one objected.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=229}} With this action, Hitler eliminated the last legal remedy by which he could be removed from office.

As head of state, Hitler became supreme commander of the armed forces. The traditional loyalty oath of servicemen was altered to [[Hitler oath|affirm loyalty to Hitler personally]], rather than to the office of supreme commander or the state.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=309}} On 19 August, the merger of the presidency with the chancellorship was approved by 90 per cent of the electorate voting in a [[German referendum, 1934|plebiscite]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=230}}
[[File:Standarte Adolf Hitlers.svg|thumb|upright|[[Personal standard of Adolf Hitler|Hitler's personal standard]]]]

In early 1938, Hitler used blackmail to consolidate his hold over the military by instigating the [[Blomberg–Fritsch Affair]]. Hitler forced his War Minister, Field Marshal [[Werner von Blomberg]], to resign by using a police dossier that showed that Blomberg's new wife had a record for prostitution.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=392, 393}}{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=312}} Army commander Colonel-General [[Werner von Fritsch]] was removed after the [[Schutzstaffel]] (SS) produced allegations that he had engaged in a homosexual relationship.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=393–397}} Both men had fallen into disfavour because they objected to Hitler's demand to make the [[Wehrmacht]] ready for war as early as 1938.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=308}} Hitler assumed Blomberg's title of Commander-in-Chief, thus taking personal command of the armed forces. He replaced the Ministry of War with the ''[[Oberkommando der Wehrmacht]]'' (Armed Forces High Command, or OKW), headed by General [[Wilhelm Keitel]]. On the same day, sixteen generals were stripped of their commands and 44 more were transferred; all were suspected of not being sufficiently pro-Nazi.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=318–319}} By early February 1938, twelve more generals had been removed.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=397–398}}

Hitler took care to give his dictatorship the appearance of legality. Many of his decrees were explicitly based on the Reichstag Fire Decree and hence on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution. The Reichstag renewed the Enabling Act twice, each time for a four year period.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=274}} While elections to the Reichstag were still held, voters were presented with a single list of Nazis and pro-Nazi "guests" which carried with well over 90 percent of the vote.{{sfn|Read|2004|p=344}}

==Third Reich==
{{Main|Nazi Germany}}

===Economy and culture===
{{main|Economy of Nazi Germany}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-04062A, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag, SA- und SS-Appell.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ceremony honouring the dead (Totenehrung) on the terrace in front of the Hall of Honour (Ehrenhalle) at the [[Nazi party rally grounds]], [[Nuremberg]], September 1934]]
In August 1934, Hitler appointed ''Reichsbank'' President [[Hjalmar Schacht]] as Minister of Economics, and in the following year, as Plenipotentiary for War Economy in charge of preparing the economy for war.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=54}} Reconstruction and rearmament were financed through [[Mefo bills]], printing money, and seizing the assets of people arrested as enemies of the State, including Jews.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=259–260}} Unemployment fell from six million in 1932 to one million in 1936.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=258}} Hitler oversaw one of the largest infrastructure improvement campaigns in German history, leading to the construction of dams, [[autobahn]]s, railroads, and other civil works. Wages were slightly lower in the mid to late 1930s compared with wages during the Weimar Republic, while the cost of living increased by 25 per cent.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=262}} The average working week increased during the shift to a war economy; by 1939, the average German was working between 47 and 50 hours a week.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=54–57}}

Hitler's government sponsored [[Nazi architecture|architecture]] on an immense scale. [[Albert Speer]], instrumental in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, was placed in charge of the proposed architectural renovations of Berlin.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=118–119}} In 1936, Hitler opened the [[1936 Summer Olympics|summer Olympic games]] in Berlin.

===Rearmament and new alliances===
{{Main|Axis powers|Tripartite Pact|German re-armament}}
In a meeting with German military leaders on 3 February 1933, Hitler spoke of "conquest for ''[[Lebensraum]]'' in the East and its ruthless ''Germanisation''" as his ultimate foreign policy objectives.{{sfn|Weinberg|1970|pp=26–27}} In March, Prince Bernhard Wilhelm von Bülow, secretary at the [[Auswärtiges Amt]] (Foreign Office), issued a statement of major foreign policy aims: [[Anschluss]] with Austria, the restoration of Germany's national borders of 1914, rejection of military restrictions under the Treaty of Versailles, the return of the former German colonies in Africa, and a German zone of influence in Eastern Europe. Hitler found Bülow's goals to be too modest.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=490–491}} In speeches during this period, he stressed the peaceful goals of his policies and a willingness to work within international agreements.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=492, 555–556, 586–587}} At the first meeting of his cabinet in 1933, Hitler prioritised military spending over unemployment relief.{{sfn|Carr|1972|p=23}}

[[File:Hitlermusso2 edit.jpg|thumb|upright|On 25 October 1936, an axis was declared between Italy and Germany.]]
Germany withdrew from the [[League of Nations]] and the [[World Disarmament Conference]] in October 1933.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=297}} In January 1935, over 90 per cent of the people of the [[Saarland]], then under [[League of Nations]] administration, [[Saar status referendum, 1935|voted to unite with Germany]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=283}} That March, Hitler announced an expansion of the Wehrmacht to 600,000 members—six times the number permitted by the Versailles Treaty—including development of an air force (''[[Luftwaffe]]'') and an increase in the size of the navy (''[[Kriegsmarine]]''). Britain, France, Italy, and the League of Nations condemned these violations of the Treaty, but did virtually nothing to stop it.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=601–602}}{{sfn|Martin|2008}} The [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]] (AGNA) of 18 June allowed German tonnage to increase to 35 per cent of that of the British navy. Hitler called the signing of the AGNA "the happiest day of his life", believing that the agreement marked the beginning of the Anglo-German alliance he had predicted in ''Mein Kampf''.{{sfn|Hildebrand|1973|p=39}} France and Italy were not consulted before the signing, directly undermining the League of Nations and setting the Treaty of Versailles on the path towards irrelevance.{{sfn|Roberts|1975|p= }}

Germany [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|reoccupied]] the demilitarised zone in the [[Rhineland]] in March 1936, in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Hitler also sent troops to Spain to support [[General Franco]] after receiving an appeal for help in July 1936. At the same time, Hitler continued his efforts to create an Anglo-German alliance.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=630–631}} In August 1936, in response to a growing economic crisis caused by his rearmament efforts, Hitler ordered Göring to implement a [[Four Year Plan]] to prepare Germany for war within the next four years.{{sfn|Overy, ''Origins of WWII Reconsidered''|1999}} The plan envisaged an all-out struggle between "Judeo-Bolshevism" and German national socialism, which in Hitler's view required a committed effort of rearmament regardless of the economic costs.{{sfn|Carr|1972|pp=56–57}}

Count [[Galeazzo Ciano]], foreign minister of Mussolini's government, declared an axis between Germany and Italy, and on 25 November, Germany signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] with [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]. Britain, China, Italy, and Poland were also invited to join the Anti-Comintern Pact, but only Italy signed in 1937. Hitler abandoned his plan of an Anglo-German alliance, blaming "inadequate" British leadership.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=642}} At a meeting in the [[Reich Chancellery]] with his foreign ministers and military chiefs that November, Hitler restated his intention of acquiring ''Lebensraum'' for the German people. He ordered preparations for war in the East, to begin as early as 1938 and no later than 1943. In the event of his death, the conference minutes, recorded as the [[Hossbach Memorandum]], were to be regarded as his "political testament".{{sfn|Aigner|1985|p=264}} He felt that a severe decline in living standards in Germany as a result of the economic crisis could only be stopped by military aggression aimed at seizing Austria and [[Czechoslovakia]].{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=636–637}}{{sfn|Carr|1972|pp=73–78}} Hitler urged quick action before Britain and France gained a permanent lead in the [[arms race]].{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=636–637}} In early 1938, in the wake of the Blomberg–Fritsch Affair, Hitler asserted control of the military-foreign policy apparatus, dismissing Neurath as foreign minister and appointing himself ''Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht'' (supreme commander of the armed forces).{{sfn|Overy, ''Origins of WWII Reconsidered''|1999}} From early 1938 onwards, Hitler was carrying out a foreign policy ultimately aimed at war.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=638}}
{{clear}}

==World War II==

===Early diplomatic successes===

====Alliance with Japan====
{{See also|Germany–Japan relations}}
[[File:Matsuoka visits Hitler.jpg|thumb|Hitler and the Japanese foreign minister, [[Yōsuke Matsuoka]], at a meeting in Berlin in March 1941. In the background is [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]].]]
In February 1938, on the advice of his newly appointed foreign minister, the strongly pro-Japanese [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]], Hitler ended the [[Sino-German cooperation until 1941|Sino-German alliance]] with the [[Republic of China]] to instead enter into an alliance with the more modern and powerful Japan. Hitler announced German recognition of [[Manchukuo]], the Japanese-occupied state in [[Manchuria]], and renounced German claims to their former colonies in the Pacific held by Japan.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=178–179}} Hitler ordered an end to arms shipments to China and recalled all German officers working with the Chinese Army.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=178–179}} In retaliation, Chinese General [[Chiang Kai-shek]] cancelled all Sino-German economic agreements, depriving the Germans of many Chinese raw materials.{{sfn|Plating|2011|p=21}}

====Austria and Czechoslovakia====
On 12 March 1938, Hitler declared unification of Austria with Nazi Germany in the [[Anschluss]].{{sfn|Butler|Young|1989|p=159}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=434}} Hitler then turned his attention to the [[ethnic German]] population of the [[Sudetenland]] region of Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=425}}

On 28–29 March 1938, Hitler held a series of secret meetings in Berlin with [[Konrad Henlein]] of the Sudeten ''Heimfront'' (Home Front), the largest of the ethnic German parties of the Sudetenland. The men agreed that Henlein would demand increased autonomy for Sudeten Germans from the Czechoslovakian government, thus providing a pretext for German military action against Czechoslovakia. In April 1938 Henlein told the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Hungary)|foreign minister]] of [[Hungary]] that "whatever the Czech government might offer, he would always raise still higher demands&nbsp;... he wanted to sabotage an understanding by any means because this was the only method to blow up Czechoslovakia quickly".{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=334–335}} In private, Hitler considered the Sudeten issue unimportant; his real intention was a war of conquest against Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=338–340}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 137-004055, Eger, Besuch Adolf Hitlers.jpg|thumb|left|upright|October 1938: Hitler (standing in the Mercedes) drives through the crowd in [[Cheb]] ({{lang-de|Eger}}), part of the German-populated [[Sudetenland]] region of [[Czechoslovakia]], which was annexed to Nazi Germany due to the [[Munich Agreement]]]]
In April Hitler ordered the OKW to prepare for ''[[Fall Grün (Czechoslovakia)|Fall Grün]]'' ("Case Green"), the code name for an invasion of Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=366}} As a result of intense French and British diplomatic pressure, on 5 September Czechoslovakian President [[Edvard Beneš]] unveiled the "Fourth Plan" for constitutional reorganisation of his country, which agreed to most of Henlein's demands for Sudeten autonomy.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=418–419}} Henlein's ''Heimfront'' responded to Beneš' offer by instigating a series of violent clashes with the Czechoslovakian police that led to the declaration of martial law in certain Sudeten districts.{{sfn|Kee|1988|pp=149–150}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=419}}

Germany was dependent on [[History of Petroleum|imported oil]]; a confrontation with Britain over the Czechoslovakian dispute could curtail Germany's oil supplies. This forced Hitler to call off ''Fall Grün'', originally planned for 1 October 1938.{{sfn|Murray|1984|pp=256–260}} On 29 September Hitler, [[Neville Chamberlain]], [[Édouard Daladier]], and Mussolini attended a one-day conference in Munich that led to the [[Munich Agreement]], which handed over the Sudetenland districts to Germany.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=469}}{{sfn|Overy, ''The Munich Crisis''|1999|p=207}}

Chamberlain was satisfied with the Munich conference, calling the outcome "[[peace for our time]]", while Hitler was angered about the missed opportunity for war in 1938;{{sfn|Kee|1988|pp=202–203}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=462–463}} he expressed his disappointment in a speech on 9 October in [[Saarbrücken]].{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=672}} In Hitler's view, the British-brokered peace, although favourable to the ostensible German demands, was a diplomatic defeat which spurred his intent of limiting British power to pave the way for the eastern expansion of Germany.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=671, 682–683}}{{sfn|Rothwell|2001|pp=90–91}} As a result of the summit, Hitler was selected ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's [[Time Person of the Year|Man of the Year]] for 1938.{{sfn|''Time'', January 1939}}

In late 1938 and early 1939, the continuing economic crisis caused by rearmament forced Hitler to make major defence cuts.{{sfn|Murray|1984|p=268}} In his "Export or die" speech of 30 January 1939, he called for an economic offensive to increase German foreign exchange holdings to pay for raw materials such as high-grade iron needed for military weapons.{{sfn|Murray|1984|p=268}}

On 15 March 1939, in violation of the Munich accord and possibly as a result of the deepening economic crisis requiring additional assets,{{sfn|Murray|1984|pp=268–269}} Hitler ordered the Wehrmacht to invade [[Prague]], and from [[Prague Castle]] he proclaimed [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]] a German [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia|protectorate]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=448}}

===Start of World War II===
In private discussions in 1939, Hitler declared Britain the main enemy to be defeated and that Poland's obliteration was a necessary prelude for that goal. The eastern flank would be secured and land would be added to Germany's ''Lebensraum''.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=579–581}} Offended by the British "guarantee" on 31 March 1939 of Polish independence, he said, "I shall brew them a devil's drink".{{sfn|Maiolo|1998|p=178}} In a speech in [[Wilhelmshaven]] for the launch of the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} on 1 April, he threatened to denounce the [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]] if the British continued to guarantee Polish independence, which he perceived as an "encirclement" policy.{{sfn|Maiolo|1998|p=178}} Poland was to either become a German satellite state or be neutralised to secure the Reich's eastern flank and to prevent a possible British blockade.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=688–690}} Hitler initially favoured the idea of a satellite state, but upon its rejection by the Polish government, he decided to invade and made this the main foreign policy goal of 1939.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=537–539, 557–560}} On 3 April, Hitler ordered the military to prepare for ''[[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiss]]'' ("Case White"), the plan for invading Poland on 25 August.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=537–539, 557–560}} In a Reichstag speech on 28 April, he renounced both the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the [[German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]]. In August, Hitler told his generals that his original plan for 1939 was to "...&nbsp;establish an acceptable relationship with Poland in order to fight against the West".{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|p=558}} Historians such as William Carr, [[Gerhard Weinberg]], and Kershaw have argued that one reason for Hitler's rush to war was his fear of an early death.{{sfn|Carr|1972|pp=76–77}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|pp=36–37, 92}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1955}}

[[File:Adolf Hitler 42 Pfennig stamp.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Hitler portrayed on a 42&nbsp;[[pfennig]] stamp from 1944. The term ''Grossdeutsches Reich'' (Greater German Reich) was first used in 1943 for the expanded Germany under his rule.]]
Hitler was concerned that a military attack against Poland could result in a premature war with Britain.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|pp=688–690}}{{sfn|Robertson|1985|p=212}} Hitler's foreign minister and former Ambassador to London, Joachim von Ribbentrop, assured him that neither Britain nor France would honour their commitments to Poland.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|p=228}}{{sfn|Overy|Wheatcroft|1989|p=56}} Accordingly, on 22&nbsp;August 1939 Hitler ordered a military mobilisation against Poland.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=497}}

This plan required tacit Soviet support,{{sfn|Robertson|1963|pp=181–187}} and the [[non-aggression pact]] (the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]]) between Germany and the Soviet Union, led by [[Joseph Stalin]], included a secret agreement to partition Poland between the two countries.{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=693}} Contrary to Ribbentrop's prediction that Britain would sever Anglo-Polish ties, Britain and Poland signed the Anglo-Polish alliance on 25 August 1939. This, along with news from Italy that Mussolini would not honour the [[Pact of Steel]], prompted Hitler to postpone the attack on Poland from 25 August to 1 September.{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=252–253}} Hitler unsuccessfully tried to manoeuvre the British into neutrality by offering them a non-aggression guarantee on 25 August; he then instructed Ribbentrop to present a last-minute peace plan with an impossibly short time limit in an effort to blame the imminent war on British and Polish inaction.{{sfn|Weinberg|1995|pp=85–94}}{{sfn|Bloch|1992|pp=255–257}}

Despite his concerns over a British intervention, Hitler continued to pursue the planned invasion of Poland.{{sfn|Messerschmidt|1990|p=714}} On 1 September 1939, Germany [[invasion of Poland|invaded western Poland]] under the pretext of having been denied claims to the [[Free City of Danzig]] and the right to extraterritorial roads across the [[Polish Corridor]], which Germany had ceded under the Versailles Treaty.{{sfn|Weinberg|1980|pp=561–562, 583–584}} In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September, surprising Hitler and prompting him to angrily ask Ribbentrop, "Now what?"{{sfn|Bloch|1992|p=260}} France and Britain did not act on their declarations immediately, and on 17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.{{sfn|Hakim|1995}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S55480, Polen, Parade vor Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|Hitler reviews troops on the march during the [[Invasion of Poland|campaign against Poland]]. September 1939]]

The fall of Poland was followed by what contemporary journalists dubbed the "[[Phoney War]]" or ''Sitzkrieg'' ("sitting war"). Hitler instructed the two newly appointed [[Gauleiter]]s of north-western Poland, [[Albert Forster]] of [[Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia]] and [[Arthur Greiser]] of [[Reichsgau Wartheland]], to [[Germanisation|Germanise]] their areas, with "no questions asked" about how this was accomplished.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=141–145}} Whereas Polish citizens in Forster's area merely had to sign forms stating that they had German blood,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=527}} Greiser carried out a brutal [[ethnic cleansing]] campaign on the Polish population in his purview.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=141–145}} Greiser complained that Forster was allowing thousands of Poles to be accepted as "racial" Germans and thus endangered German "racial purity". Hitler refrained from getting involved.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=141–145}} This inaction has been advanced as an example of the theory of "working towards the Führer": Hitler issued vague instructions and expected his subordinates to work out policies on their own.

Another dispute pitched one side represented by Himmler and Greiser, who championed ethnic cleansing in Poland, against another represented by Göring and Hans Frank, governor-general of the [[General Government]] territory of occupied Poland, who called for turning Poland into the "granary" of the Reich.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=148–149}} On 12 February 1940, the dispute was initially settled in favour of the Göring–Frank view, which ended the economically disruptive mass expulsions.{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=148–149}} On 15 May 1940, Himmler issued a memo entitled "Some Thoughts on the Treatment of Alien Population in the East", calling for the expulsion of the entire Jewish population of Europe into Africa and reducing the Polish population to a "leaderless class of labourers".{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=148–149}} Hitler called Himmler's memo "good and correct",{{sfn|Rees|1997|pp=148–149}} and, ignoring Göring and Frank, implemented the Himmler–Greiser policy in Poland.

[[File:Adolf Hitler in Paris 1940.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hitler visits Paris with architect [[Albert Speer]] (left) and sculptor [[Arno Breker]] (right), 23&nbsp;June 1940]]

Hitler began a military build-up on Germany's western border, and in April 1940, German forces invaded [[Operation Weserübung|Denmark and Norway]]. On 9 April, Hitler proclaimed the birth of the [[Greater Germanic Reich]], his vision of a united empire of the Germanic nations of Europe, where the Dutch, Flemish, and Scandinavians were joined into a "racially pure" polity under German leadership.{{sfn|Winkler|2007|p=74}} In May 1940, Germany [[Battle of France|attacked France]], and conquered [[German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II|Luxembourg]], the [[Battle of the Netherlands|Netherlands]], and [[Battle of Belgium|Belgium]]. These victories prompted Mussolini to have Italy join forces with Hitler on 10 June. France and Germany signed an [[Armistice of 22 June 1940|armistice]] on 22 June.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=696–730}} Kershaw notes that Hitler's popularity within Germany—and German support for the war— reached its peak when he returned to Berlin on 6 July from his tour of Paris.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=562}} Following the unexpected swift victory, Hitler promoted twelve [[general]]s to the rank of [[field marshal]] during the [[1940 Field Marshal Ceremony]].{{sfn|Deighton|2008|pp=7–9}}{{sfn|Ellis|1993|p=94}}

Britain, whose troops were forced to evacuate France by sea from [[Dunkirk evacuation|Dunkirk]],{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=731–737}} continued to fight alongside [[Commonwealth of Nations|other British dominions]] in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. Hitler made peace overtures to the new British leader, [[Winston Churchill]], and upon their rejection he ordered a series of aerial attacks on [[Royal Air Force]] airbases and radar stations in South-East England. The German Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force in what became known as the [[Battle of Britain]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=774–782}} By the end of October, Hitler realised that air superiority for the invasion of Britain—in [[Operation Sea Lion]]—could not be achieved, and he ordered [[The Blitz|nightly air raids]] on British cities, including London, [[Plymouth]], and [[Coventry]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=563, 569, 570}}

On 27 September 1940, the [[Tripartite Pact]] was signed in Berlin by [[Saburō Kurusu]] of [[Imperial Japan]], Hitler, and Italian foreign minister Ciano,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=580}} and later expanded to include Hungary, [[Romania]], and [[Bulgaria]], thus yielding the [[Axis powers]]. Hitler's attempt to integrate the Soviet Union into the anti-British bloc failed after inconclusive talks between Hitler and [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] in Berlin in November, and he ordered preparations for a full-scale invasion of the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|pp=58–60}}

In the Spring of 1941, German forces were deployed to North Africa, the [[Balkans]], and the Middle East. In February, [[Operation Sonnenblume|German forces arrived in Libya]] to bolster the Italian presence. In April, Hitler launched the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]], quickly followed by the [[Battle of Greece|invasion of Greece]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=604–605}} In May, German forces were sent to support [[Anglo-Iraqi War|Iraqi rebel forces fighting against the British]] and to [[Battle of Crete|invade Crete]].{{sfn|Kurowski|2005|pp=141–142}}

===Path to defeat===
On 22 June 1941, contravening the Hitler–Stalin Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, 4-5 million Axis troops attacked the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Jones|1989}} This large-scale offensive (codenamed [[Operation Barbarossa]]) was intended to destroy the Soviet Union and seize its natural resources for subsequent aggression against the Western powers.{{sfn|Glantz|2001|p=9}}{{sfn|Koch|1988}} The invasion conquered a huge area, including the [[Baltic region|Baltic]] republics, [[Belarus]], and West [[Ukraine]]. After the successful [[Battle of Smolensk (1941)|Battle of Smolensk]], Hitler ordered [[Army Group Centre]] to halt its advance to Moscow and temporarily diverted its Panzer groups north and south to aid in the encirclement of [[Leningrad]] and [[Kiev]].{{sfn|Stolfi|1982}} His generals disagreed with this change of targets, and his decision caused a major crisis among the military leadership.{{sfn|Wilt|1981}}{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=202}} The pause provided the Red Army with an opportunity to mobilise fresh reserves; historian Russel Stolfi considers it to be one of the major factors that caused the failure of the Moscow offensive, which was resumed only in October 1941 and [[Battle of Moscow|ended disastrously in December]].{{sfn|Stolfi|1982}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0703-507, Berlin, Reichstagssitzung, Rede Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|Hitler during his speech to the Reichstag attacking American President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], 11&nbsp;December 1941]]
On 7 December 1941, [[attack on Pearl Harbor|Japan attacked Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii. Four days later, Hitler formally declared war against the United States.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=900–901}}

On 18 December 1941, Himmler asked Hitler, "What to do with the Jews of Russia?", to which Hitler replied, "als Partisanen auszurotten" ("exterminate them as partisans").{{sfn|Bauer|2000|p=5}} Israeli historian [[Yehuda Bauer]] has commented that the remark is probably as close as historians will ever get to a definitive order from Hitler for the genocide carried out during the Holocaust.{{sfn|Bauer|2000|p=5}}

In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the [[Second Battle of El Alamein|second battle of El Alamein]],{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=921}} thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the [[Suez Canal]] and the Middle East. Overconfident in his own military expertise following the earlier victories in 1940, Hitler became distrustful of his Army High Command and began to interfere in military and tactical planning with damaging consequences.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=417}} In December 1942 and January 1943, Hitler's repeated refusal to allow their withdrawal at the [[Battle of Stalingrad]] led to the almost total destruction of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]]. Over 200,000 Axis soldiers were killed and 235,000 were taken prisoner. Of the estimated 91,000 German soldiers captured in the city itself, only around 6,000 survived captivity and returned to Germany after the war.{{sfn|Evans|2008|pp=419–420}} Thereafter came a decisive strategic defeat at the [[Battle of Kursk]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1006}} Hitler's military judgement became increasingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated along with Hitler's health.{{sfn|BBC News, 1999}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1972-025-12, Zerstörte Lagerbaracke nach dem 20. Juli 1944.jpg|thumb|left|The destroyed map room at the [[Wolf's Lair]] after the [[20 July plot]]]]
Following the [[allied invasion of Sicily]] in 1943, [[25 Luglio|Mussolini was removed from power]] by [[Victor Emmanuel III]] after a vote of no confidence of the [[Gran Consiglio del Fascismo|Grand Council]]. Marshal [[Pietro Badoglio]], placed in charge of the government, soon surrendered to the Allies.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=996–1000}} Throughout 1943 and 1944, the Soviet Union steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. On 6 June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France in what was one of the largest [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] operations in history, [[Operation Overlord]].{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=1036}} As a result of these significant setbacks for the German army, many of its officers concluded that defeat was inevitable and that Hitler's misjudgement or denial would drag out the war and result in the [[total war|complete destruction of the country]].{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=513–514}}

Between 1939 and 1945, there were many plans to [[Assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler|assassinate Hitler]], some of which proceeded to significant degrees.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=544–547, 821–822, 827–828}} The most well known came from within Germany and was at least partly driven by the increasing prospect of a German defeat in the war.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=816–818}} In July 1944, in the [[20 July plot]], part of [[Operation Valkyrie]], [[Claus von Stauffenberg]] planted a bomb in one of [[Führer Headquarters|Hitler's headquarters]], the [[Wolf's Lair]] at [[Rastenburg]]. Hitler narrowly survived because staff officer [[Heinz Brandt]] moved the briefcase containing the bomb behind a leg of the heavy conference table. When the bomb exploded, the table deflected much of the blast away. It was also lessened by the open windows. Later, Hitler ordered savage reprisals resulting in the execution of more than 4,900&nbsp;people.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|loc=§29}}

===Defeat and death===
{{Main|Death of Adolf Hitler}}

By late 1944, both the [[Red Army]] and the [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]] were advancing into Germany. Recognising the strength and determination of the Red Army, Hitler decided to use his remaining mobile reserves against the American and British troops, which he perceived as far weaker.{{sfn|Weinberg|1964}} On 16 December, he launched [[Battle of the Bulge|an offensive in the Ardennes]] to incite disunity among the Western Allies and perhaps convince them to join his fight against the Soviets.{{sfn|Crandell|1987}} The offensive failed. Hitler's hope to negotiate peace with the United States and Britain was buoyed by the death of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on 12 April 1945, but contrary to his expectations, this caused no rift among the Allies.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=753, 763, 778, 780–781}}{{sfn|Crandell|1987}} Acting on his view that Germany's military failures had forfeited its right to survive as a nation, Hitler ordered the destruction of all German industrial infrastructure before it could fall into Allied hands.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=774–775}} Arms minister Albert Speer was entrusted with executing this [[scorched earth]] plan, but he secretly disobeyed the order.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=774–775}}{{sfn|Sereny|1996|pp=497–498}}

[[File:Stars & Stripes & Hitler Dead2.jpg|thumb|upright|Front page of the US Armed Forces newspaper, ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'', 2&nbsp;May 1945, announcing Hitler's death]]
On 20 April, his 56th birthday, Hitler made his last trip from the ''[[Führerbunker]]'' ("Führer's shelter") to the surface. In the ruined garden of the Reich Chancellery, he awarded [[Iron Cross]]es to boy soldiers of the [[Hitler Youth]], who were now fighting the Red Army at the front near Berlin.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|p=251}} By 21 April, [[Georgy Zhukov]]'s [[1st Belorussian Front]] had broken through the defences of General [[Gotthard Heinrici]]'s [[Army Group Vistula]] during the [[Battle of the Seelow Heights]] and advanced into the outskirts of Berlin.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|pp=255–256}} In denial about the dire situation, Hitler placed his hopes on the undermanned and under-equipped ''Armeeabteilung Steiner'' ([[Army Detachment Steiner]]), commanded by Waffen SS General [[Felix Steiner]]. Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the [[Salients, re-entrants and pockets|salient]] and the German [[9th Army (Wehrmacht)|Ninth Army]] was ordered to attack northward in a [[pincer attack]].{{sfn|Le Tissier|2010|p=45}}

During a military conference on 22 April, Hitler asked about Steiner's offensive. He was told that the attack had not been launched and that the Soviets had entered Berlin. This prompted Hitler to ask everyone except Wilhelm Keitel, [[Alfred Jodl]], Hans Krebs, and [[Wilhelm Burgdorf]] to leave the room.{{sfn|Dollinger|1995|p=231}} Hitler then launched a tirade against the treachery and incompetence of his commanders, culminating in his declaration—for the first time—that "everything was lost".{{sfn|Jones|1989}} Hitler then announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|p=275}}

By 23 April the Red Army had completely surrounded Berlin,{{sfn|Ziemke|1969|p=92}} and Goebbels made a proclamation urging its citizens to defend the city.{{sfn|Dollinger|1995|p=231}} That same day, Göring sent a telegram from [[Berchtesgaden]], arguing that since Hitler was isolated in Berlin, he, Göring, should assume leadership of Germany. Göring set a deadline after which he would consider Hitler incapacitated.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=787}} Hitler responded by having Göring arrested, and in his [[last will and testament of Adolf Hitler|last will and testament]], written on 29 April, he removed Göring from all government positions.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=787, 795}}{{sfn|Butler|Young|1989|pp=227–228}} On 28 April Hitler discovered that Himmler, who had left Berlin on 20 April, was trying to discuss surrender terms with the Western Allies.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=923–925, 943}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=791}} He ordered Himmler's arrest and had [[Hermann Fegelein]] (Himmler's SS representative at Hitler's HQ in Berlin) shot.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=792, 795}}

After midnight on 29 April, Hitler married [[Eva Braun]] in a small civil ceremony in the ''Führerbunker''. After a modest wedding breakfast with his new wife, he then took secretary [[Traudl Junge]] to another room and dictated his will.{{sfn|Beevor|2002|p=343}}{{efn|name=will and marriage}} The event was witnessed and documents signed by Krebs, Burgdorf, Goebbels, and Bormann.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=795}} Later that afternoon, Hitler was informed of the [[Benito Mussolini#Death|execution of Mussolini]], which presumably increased his determination to avoid capture.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=798}}

On 30 April 1945, after intense [[Urban warfare|street-to-street combat]], when Soviet troops were within a block or two of the Reich Chancellery, Hitler and Braun committed suicide; Braun bit into a [[cyanide]] capsule and Hitler shot himself.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=199}}{{sfn|Joachimsthaler|1999|pp=160–180}} Both their bodies were carried up the stairs and through the bunker's emergency exit to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were placed in a bomb crater and doused with petrol.{{sfn|Joachimsthaler|1999|pp=217–220}} The corpses were set on fire as the Red Army shelling continued.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=200}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=799–800}}

Berlin surrendered on 2 May. Records in the Soviet archives, obtained after the fall of the Soviet Union, state that the remains of Hitler, Braun, Joseph and [[Magda Goebbels]], the six [[Goebbels children]], General Hans Krebs, and [[Blondi|Hitler's dogs]] were repeatedly buried and exhumed.{{sfn|Vinogradov|2005|pp=111, 333}} On 4 April 1970, a Soviet [[KGB]] team used detailed burial charts to exhume five wooden boxes at the [[SMERSH]] facility in [[Magdeburg]]. The remains from the boxes were burned, crushed, and scattered into the Biederitz river, a tributary of the nearby [[Elbe]].{{sfn|Vinogradov|2005|pp=333–336}} According to Kershaw the corpses of Braun and Hitler were fully burned when the Red Army found them, and only a lower jaw with dental work could be identified as Hitler's remains.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=1110}}

===The Holocaust===
{{Main|The Holocaust}}
{{quotation|If the international Jewish financiers outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the bolshevisation of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!{{sfn|Marrus|2000|p=37}}|Adolf Hitler addressing the German [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Reichstag]], 30 January 1939}}
[[File:Buchenwald Corpses 60623.jpg|thumb|left|A wagon piled high with corpses outside the crematorium in the liberated [[Buchenwald concentration camp]] (April 1945)]]
The Holocaust and Germany's war in the East was based on Hitler's long-standing view that the Jews were the great enemy of the German people and that ''Lebensraum'' was needed for the expansion of Germany. He focused on Eastern Europe for this expansion, aiming to defeat Poland and the Soviet Union and on removing or killing the Jews and [[Slavs]].{{sfn|Gellately|1996}} The ''[[Generalplan Ost]]'' ("General Plan East") called for deporting the population of occupied Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to West Siberia, for use as slave labour or to be murdered;{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}} the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or "Germanised" settlers.{{sfn|Steinberg|1995}} The goal was to implement this plan after the conquest of the Soviet Union, but when this failed, Hitler moved the plans forward.{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=683}} By January 1942, it had been decided to kill the Jews, Slavs, and other deportees considered undesirable.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=965}}{{efn|name=recent scholarship}}
[[File:Aktion brand.jpg|upright|thumb|Hitler's order for Action T4, dated 1 September 1939]]
The Holocaust (also known as the "''[[Final Solution|Endlösung der Judenfrage]]''" or "Final Solution of the Jewish Question") was ordered by Hitler and organised and executed by [[Heinrich Himmler]] and [[Reinhard Heydrich]]. The records of the [[Wannsee Conference]], held on 20 January 1942 and led by Heydrich, with fifteen senior Nazi officials participating, provide the clearest evidence of systematic planning for the Holocaust. On 22 February, Hitler was recorded saying, "we shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jews".{{sfn|Naimark|2002|p=81}} Although no direct order from Hitler authorising the mass killings has surfaced,{{sfn|Megargee|2007|p=146}} his public speeches, orders to his generals, and the diaries of Nazi officials demonstrate that he conceived and authorised the extermination of European Jewry.{{sfn|Longerich, Chapter 15|2003}}{{sfn|Longerich, Chapter 17|2003}} He approved the ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]''—killing squads that followed the German army through Poland, the Baltic, and the Soviet Union{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=670–675}}—and he was well informed about their activities.{{sfn|Longerich, Chapter 15|2003}}{{sfn|Megargee|2007|p=144}} By summer 1942, [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] was rapidly expanded to accommodate large numbers of deportees for killing or [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|enslavement]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=687}} Scores of other concentration camps and satellite camps were set up throughout Europe, with several camps devoted exclusively to extermination.{{sfn|Evans|2008|loc=map, p. 366}}

Between 1939 and 1945, the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS), assisted by [[Collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II|collaborationist]] governments and recruits from occupied countries, was responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million people,{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}}{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}} including 5.5 to 6 million Jews (representing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe),{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=318}}{{sfn|Holocaust Memorial Museum}} and between 200,000 and 1,500,000 [[Porajmos|Romani people]].{{sfn|Hancock|2004|pp=383–396}}{{sfn|Holocaust Memorial Museum}} Deaths took place in concentration and extermination camps, [[Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe|ghettos]], and through mass executions. Many victims of the Holocaust were [[gas chamber|gassed]] to death, whereas others died of starvation or disease or while working as slave labourers.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=946}} In addition to eliminating Jews, the Nazis also planned to reduce the population of the conquered territories by 30 million people through starvation in an action called the [[Hunger Plan]]. Food supplies would be diverted to the German army and German civilians. Cities would be razed and the land allowed to return to forest or resettled by German colonists.{{sfn|Snyder|2010|pp=162–163, 416}} Together, the Hunger Plan and ''Generalplan Ost'' would have led to the starvation of 80 million people in the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Dorland|2009|p=6}} These partially fulfilled plans resulted in the [[democide|democidal]] deaths of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war.{{sfn|Rummel|1994|loc=[http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NAZIS.TAB1.1.GIF table, p. 112]}}

Hitler's policies also resulted in the killing of nearly two million [[Nazi crimes against the Polish nation|Poles]],{{sfn|US Holocaust Memorial Museum}} over three million [[Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs|Soviet prisoners of war]],{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=184}} communists and other political opponents, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled,{{sfn|Niewyk|Nicosia|2000|p=45}}{{sfn|Goldhagen|1996|p=290}} [[Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany|Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Adventists]], and trade unionists. Hitler did not speak publicly about the killings, and seems never to have visited the concentration camps.{{sfn|Downing|2005|p=33}}

The Nazis also embraced the concept of [[racial hygiene]]. On 15 September 1935, Hitler presented two laws—known as the [[Nuremberg Laws]]—to the Reichstag. The laws banned sexual relations and marriages between Aryans and Jews and were later extended to include "Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring".{{sfn|Gellately|2001|p=216}} The laws also stripped all non-Aryans of their German citizenship and forbade the employment of non-Jewish women under the age of 45 in Jewish households.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=567–568}} Hitler's early [[Nazi eugenics|eugenic]] policies targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities in a programme dubbed [[Child euthanasia in Nazi Germany|Action Brandt]], and later authorised a euthanasia programme for adults with serious mental and physical disabilities, now referred to as [[Action T4]].{{sfn|Overy|2005|p=252}}

==Leadership style==
Hitler ruled the NSDAP autocratically by asserting the ''[[Führerprinzip]]'' ("Leader principle"). The principle relied on absolute obedience of all subordinates to their superiors; thus he viewed the government structure as a pyramid, with himself—the infallible leader—at the apex. Rank in the party was not determined by elections—positions were filled through appointment by those of higher rank, who demanded unquestioning obedience to the will of the leader.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=170, 172, 181}} Hitler's leadership style was to give contradictory orders to his subordinates and to place them into positions where their duties and responsibilities overlapped with those of others, to have "the stronger one [do] the job".{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=281}} In this way, Hitler fostered distrust, competition, and infighting among his subordinates to consolidate and maximise his own power. His cabinet never met after 1938, and he discouraged his ministers from meeting independently.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2007|p=29}}{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=323}} Hitler typically did not give written orders; instead he communicated them verbally, or had them conveyed through his close associate, [[Martin Bormann]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=377}} He entrusted Bormann with his paperwork, appointments, and personal finances; Bormann used his position to control the flow of information and access to Hitler.{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=333}}

Hitler dominated his country's war effort during World War II to a greater extent than any other national leader. He assumed the role of supreme commander of the armed forces during 1938, and subsequently made all major decisions regarding Germany's military strategy. His decision to mount a risky series of offensives against Norway, France and the Low Countries in 1940 against the advice of the military proved successful, though the diplomatic and military strategies he employed in attempts to force the United Kingdom out of the war ended in failure.{{sfn|Overy|2005|pp=421–425}} Hitler deepened his involvement in the war effort by appointing himself commander-in-chief of the Army in December 1941; from this point forward he personally directed the war against the Soviet Union, while his military commanders facing the Western Allies retained a degree of autonomy.{{sfn|Kershaw|2012|pp=169–170}} Hitler's leadership became increasingly disconnected from reality as the war turned against Germany, with the military's defensive strategies often hindered by his slow decision making and frequent directives to hold untenable positions. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that only his leadership could deliver victory.{{sfn|Overy|2005|pp=421–425}} In the final months of the war Hitler refused to consider peace negotiations, regarding the complete destruction of Germany as preferable to surrender.{{sfn|Kershaw|2012|pp=396–397}} The military did not challenge Hitler's dominance of the war effort, and senior officers generally supported and enacted his decisions.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=171–395}}

==Legacy==
{{Further|Consequences of Nazism|Neo-Nazism}}
[[File:Mahnstein.JPG|thumb|Outside the building in [[Braunau am Inn]], Austria, where Hitler was born, is a [[Hitler birthplace memorial stone|memorial stone]] placed as a reminder of the horrors of World War II. The inscription translates as:
<poem>
For peace, freedom
and democracy
never again fascism
millions of dead remind [us]</poem>]]
Hitler's suicide was likened by contemporaries to a "spell" being broken.{{sfn|Fest|1974|p=753}}{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=617}} Public support for Hitler had collapsed by the time of his death and few Germans mourned his passing; Kershaw argues that most civilians and military personnel were too busy adjusting to the collapse of the country or fleeing from the fighting to take any interest.{{sfn|Kershaw|2012|pp=348–350}} According to historian [[John Toland (author)|John Toland]] National Socialism "burst like a bubble" without its leader.{{sfn|Toland|1992|p=892}}

Hitler's actions and [[Nazism|Nazi]] ideology are almost universally regarded as gravely immoral;{{sfn|Kershaw|2000a|pp=1–6}} according to Kershaw, "Never in history has such ruination—physical and moral—been associated with the name of one man".{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=841}} Hitler's political programme brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe. Germany itself suffered wholesale destruction, characterised as "Zero Hour".{{sfn|Fischer|1995|p=569}} Hitler's policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale;{{sfn|Del Testa|Lemoine|Strickland|2003|p=83}} according to [[R.J. Rummel]], the Nazi regime was responsible for the [[democide|democidal]] killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war.{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}} In addition, 29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the [[European Theatre of World War II]],{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}} and Hitler's role has been described as "...&nbsp;the main author of a war leaving over 50 million dead and millions more grieving their lost ones&nbsp;...".{{sfn|Kershaw|2000b|p=841}} The total number of civilians killed during the Second World War was an unprecedented development in the history of warfare.{{sfn|Murray|Millett|2001|p=554}} Historians, philosophers, and politicians often use the word "[[evil]]" to describe the Nazi regime.{{sfn|Welch|2001|p=2}} Many European countries have [[Laws against Holocaust denial|criminalised]] both the promotion of Nazism and [[Holocaust denial]].{{sfn|Bazyler|2006|p=1}}

Historian [[Friedrich Meinecke]] described Hitler as "one of the great examples of the singular and incalculable power of personality in historical life".{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=6}} English historian [[Hugh Trevor-Roper]] saw him as "among the 'terrible simplifiers' of history, the most systematic, the most historical, the most philosophical, and yet the coarsest, cruelest, least magnanimous conqueror the world has ever known".{{sfn|Hitler|Trevor-Roper|1988|p=xxxv}} For the historian [[John Roberts (historian)|John M. Roberts]], Hitler's defeat marked the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany.{{sfn|Roberts|1996|p=501}} In its place emerged the [[Cold War]], a global confrontation between the [[Western Bloc]], dominated by the United States and other [[NATO]] nations, and the [[Eastern Bloc]], dominated by the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Lichtheim|1974|p=366}} Historian [[Sebastian Haffner]] avers that without Hitler and the displacement of the Jews, the modern nation state of Israel would not exist. He contends that without Hitler, the de-colonisation of former European spheres of influence would not have occurred as quickly and would have been postponed.{{sfn|Haffner|1979|pp=100–101}} Further, Haffner claims that other than [[Alexander the Great]], Hitler had a more significant impact than any other comparable historical figure, in that he too caused a wide range of worldwide changes in a relatively short time span.{{sfn|Haffner|1979|p=100}}

==Views on religion==
{{Main|Religious views of Adolf Hitler}}

Hitler was born to a practising Catholic mother and an [[anticlerical]] father, but after leaving home Hitler never again attended [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] or received the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacraments]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=5}}{{sfn|Rißmann|2001|pp=94–96}}{{sfn|Toland|1992|pp=9–10}} [[Albert Speer|Speer]] states that Hitler made harsh pronouncements against the church to his political associates and though he never officially left it, he had no attachment to it.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=141–142}} He adds that Hitler felt that in the absence of the church the faithful would turn to mysticism, which he considered a step backwards.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=141–142}} According to Speer, Hitler believed that either Japanese religious beliefs or Islam would have been a more suitable religion for the Germans than Christianity, with its "meekness and flabbiness".{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=143}}

Historian [[John S. Conway (historian)|John S. Conway]] states that Hitler was fundamentally opposed to the Christian churches.{{sfn|Conway|1968|p=3}} According to Bullock, Hitler did not believe in God, was anticlerical, and held Christian ethics in contempt because they contravened his preferred view of "[[survival of the fittest]]".{{sfn|Bullock|1999|pp=385, 389}} He favoured aspects of [[Protestantism]] that suited his own views, and adopted some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organisation, [[liturgy]], and phraseology in his politics.{{sfn|Rißmann|2001|p=96}}

Hitler viewed the church as an important politically conservative influence on society,{{sfn|Speer|1971|p=141}} and he adopted a strategic relationship with it that "suited his immediate political purposes".{{sfn|Conway|1968|p=3}} In public, Hitler often praised Christian heritage and German Christian culture, though professing a belief in an "Aryan Jesus", one who fought against the Jews.{{sfn|Steigmann-Gall|2003|pp=27, 108}} Any pro-Christian public rhetoric was at variance with his personal beliefs, which described Christianity as "absurdity"{{sfn|Hitler|2000|p=59}} and nonsense founded on lies.{{sfn|Hitler|2000|p=342}}

According to a U.S. [[Office of Strategic Services]] report, "The Nazi Master Plan", Hitler planned to destroy the influence of Christian churches within the Reich.{{sfn|Sharkey|2002}}{{sfn|Bonney|2001}} His eventual goal was the total elimination of Christianity.{{sfn|Phayer|2000}} This goal informed Hitler's movement very early on, but he saw it as inexpedient to express this extreme position publicly.{{sfn|Office of Strategic Services, 1945}} According to Bullock, Hitler wanted to wait until after the war before executing this plan.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=219, 389}}

Speer wrote that Hitler had a negative view of Himmler's and [[Alfred Rosenberg]]'s mystical notions and Himmler's attempt to mythologise the SS. Hitler was more pragmatic, and his ambitions centred on more practical concerns.{{sfn|Speer|1971|pp=141, 171, 174}}{{sfn |Bullock|1999|p=729}}

==Health==
Researchers have variously suggested that Hitler suffered from [[irritable bowel syndrome]], [[skin lesion]]s, [[irregular heartbeat]], [[coronary sclerosis]],{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=508}} [[Parkinson's disease]],{{sfn|BBC News, 1999}}{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=717}} [[syphilis]],{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=717}} and [[tinnitus]].{{sfn|Redlich|2000|pp=129–190}} In a report prepared for the Office of Strategic Services in 1943, [[Walter Charles Langer|Walter C. Langer]] of [[Harvard University]] described Hitler as a "neurotic [[psychopath]]".{{sfn|Langer|1972|p=126}} In his 1977 book ''[[The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler]]'', historian [[Robert G. L. Waite]] proposes that Hitler suffered from [[borderline personality disorder]].{{sfn|Waite|1993|p=356}} Historians Henrik Eberle and Hans-Joachim Neumann consider that while Hitler suffered from a number of illnesses including Parkinson's disease, he did not experience pathological delusions and was always fully aware of, and responsible for, the decisions he was making.{{sfn|Gunkel|2010}}{{sfn|Jones|1989}} Theories about Hitler's medical condition are difficult to prove, and placing too much weight on them may have the effect of attributing many of the events and consequences of the Third Reich to the possibly impaired physical health of one individual.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000a|p=72}} Kershaw feels that it is better to take a broader view of German history by examining what social forces led to the Third Reich and its policies rather than to pursue narrow explanations for the Holocaust and World War II based on only one person.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=xxxv–xxxvi}}

[[Adolf Hitler and vegetarianism|Hitler followed a vegetarian diet]].{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=388}} At social events he sometimes gave graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make his dinner guests shun meat.{{sfn|Wilson|1998}} Bormann had a greenhouse constructed near the [[Berghof (residence)|Berghof]] (near [[Berchtesgaden]]) to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for Hitler throughout the war.{{sfn|McGovern|1968|pp=32–33}} Hitler publicly avoided alcohol. He occasionally drank beer and wine in private, but gave up drinking due to weight gain in 1943.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=Chapter 3}} He was a non-smoker for most of his life, but smoked heavily in his youth (25 to 40 cigarettes a day). He eventually quit, calling the habit "a waste of money".{{sfn|Proctor|1999|p=219}} He encouraged his close associates to quit by offering a gold watch to any who were able to break the habit.{{sfn|Toland|1992|p=741}} Hitler began using [[amphetamine]] occasionally after 1937 and became addicted to it in late 1942.{{sfn|Heston|Heston|1980|pp=125–142}} Speer linked this use of [[amphetamines]] to Hitler's increasingly inflexible decision making (for example, rarely allowing military retreats).{{sfn|Heston|Heston|1980|pp=11–20}}

Prescribed 90 medications during the war years, Hitler took many pills each day for chronic stomach problems and other ailments.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=782}} He suffered [[ruptured eardrum]]s as a result of the [[20 July plot]] bomb blast in 1944, and 200 wood splinters had to be removed from his legs.{{sfn|Linge|2009|p=156}} Newsreel footage of Hitler shows tremors of his hand and a shuffling walk, which began before the war and worsened towards the end of his life. Hitler's personal physician, [[Theodor Morell]], treated Hitler with a drug that was commonly prescribed in 1945 for Parkinson's disease. [[Ernst-Günther Schenck]] and several other doctors who met Hitler in the last weeks of his life also formed a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=782}}{{sfn|O'Donnell|2001|p=37}}{{sfn|Jones|1989}}

==Family==
{{Main|Hitler family|Sexuality of Adolf Hitler}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F051673-0059, Adolf Hitler und Eva Braun auf dem Berghof.jpg|thumb|Hitler in 1942 with his long-time mistress, [[Eva Braun]], whom he married on 29 April 1945]]
Hitler created a public image as a [[celibate]] man without a domestic life, dedicated entirely to his political mission and the nation.{{sfn|Shirer|1960|p=130}}{{sfn|Bullock|1999|p=563}} He met his mistress, [[Eva Braun]], in 1929,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=378}} and married her in April 1945.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=947–948}} In September 1931, his half-niece, [[Geli Raubal]], committed suicide with Hitler's gun in his Munich apartment. It was rumoured among contemporaries that Geli was in a romantic relationship with him, and her death was a source of deep, lasting pain.{{sfn|Bullock|1962|pp=393–394}} [[Paula Hitler]], the last living member of his immediate family, died in 1960.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=4}}

==In propaganda films==
{{See also|Adolf Hitler in popular culture|List of speeches given by Adolf Hitler}}

[[File:Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden.ogg|thumb|thumbtime=3|Film of Hitler at [[Berchtesgaden]] (c. 1941)]]

Hitler exploited documentary films and newsreels to inspire a [[cult of personality]]. He was involved and appeared in a series of propaganda films throughout his political career—such as ''[[Der Sieg des Glaubens]]'' and ''[[Triumph des Willens]]''—made by [[Leni Riefenstahl]], regarded as a pioneer of modern filmmaking.{{sfn|''The Daily Telegraph'', 2003}}

===List of propaganda and film appearances===
* ''Der Sieg des Glaubens'' (''Victory of Faith'', 1933)
* ''Triumph des Willens'' (''Triumph of the Will'', 1935)
* ''[[Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht]]'' (''Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces'', 1935)
* ''[[Olympia (1938 film)|Olympia]]'' (1938)

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Nazi Germany|World War II|Fascism}}
* [[Führermuseum]]
* [[Adolf Hitler's adjutants]]
* [[Hitler and Mannerheim recording]]
* [[Julius Schaub]]&nbsp;– chief aide
* [[Karl Mayr]]&nbsp;– Hitler's superior in army Intelligence 1919–1920
* [[Karl Wilhelm Krause]]&nbsp;– personal valet
* [[List of books by or about Adolf Hitler]]
* [[Mein Kampf#Online versions of Mein Kampf|''Mein Kampf'' (online versions)]]
* [[Poison Kitchen]]
* [[Streets named after Adolf Hitler]]

==Notes==
{{notes
| refs =30em
{{efn
| name = libel suit
| Hitler also won settlement from a [[libel]] suit against the socialist paper the ''Münchener Post'', which had questioned his lifestyle and income. {{harvnb|Kershaw|2008|p=99}}.
}}
{{efn
| name = recent scholarship
| For a summary of recent scholarship on Hitler's central role in the Holocaust, see {{harvnb|McMillan|2012}}.
}}
{{efn
| name = will and marriage
| {{harvnb|MI5, ''Hitler's Last Days''}}: "Hitler's will and marriage" on the website of [[MI5]], using the sources available to Trevor-Roper (a World War II MI5 agent and historian/author of ''The Last Days of Hitler''), records the marriage as taking place after Hitler had dictated his last will and testament.
}}
}}

==References==
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{{reflist|15em}}

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* {{cite book
| last = Fromm
| first = Erich
| authorlink = Erich Fromm
| title = The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness
| year = 1977
| origyear = 1973
| publisher = Penguin Books
| location = London
| isbn = 978-0-14-004258-0
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Fulda
| first = Bernhard
| title = Press and Politics in the Weimar Republic
| year = 2009
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| isbn = 978-0-19-954778-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Gellately
| first = Robert
| authorlink = Robert Gellately
| title = Reviewed work(s): Vom Generalplan Ost zum Generalsiedlungsplan by Czeslaw Madajczyk. Der "Generalplan Ost". Hauptlinien der nationalsozialistischen Planungs- und Vernichtungspolitik by Mechtild Rössler; Sabine Schleiermacher
| journal = Central European History
| volume = 29
| issue = 2
| year = 1996
| pages = 270–274
| ref = harv
| doi = 10.1017/S0008938900013170
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Gellately
| first = Robert
| title = Social Outsiders in Nazi Germany
| year = 2001
| publisher = Princeton University Press
| location = Princeton, NJ
| isbn = 978-0-691-08684-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Goldhagen
| first = Daniel
| authorlink = Daniel Goldhagen
| title = [[Hitler's Willing Executioners|Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust]]
| year = 1996
| publisher = Knopf
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-679-44695-8
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Haffner
| first = Sebastian
| authorlink = Sebastian Haffner
| title = The Meaning of Hitler
| year=1979
| publisher = Harvard University Press
| location = Cambridge, MA
| isbn = 0-674-55775-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hakim
| first = Joy
| authorlink = Joy Hakim
| series = [[A History of US]]
| title = War, Peace, and All That Jazz
| volume = 9
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 1995
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-19-509514-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Halperin
| first1 = Samuel William
| title = Germany Tried Democracy: A Political History of the Reich from 1918 to 1933
| publisher = W.W. Norton
| location = New York
| year = 1965
| origyear = 1946
| isbn = 978-0-393-00280-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hamann
| first = Brigitte
| title = Hitler's Vienna: A Portrait of the Tyrant as a Young Man
| publisher = Tauris Parke Paperbacks
| location = London; New York
| year = 2010
| origyear = 1999
| others = Trans. Thomas Thornton
| isbn = 978-1-84885-277-8
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hancock
| first = Ian
| authorlink = Ian Hancock
| editor1-last = Stone
| editor1-first = Dan
| title = The Historiography of the Holocaust
| year = 2004
| publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
| location = New York; Basingstoke
| isbn = 978-0-333-99745-1
| chapter = Romanies and the Holocaust: A Reevaluation and an Overview
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Heck
| first = Alfons
| authorlink = Alfons Heck
| title = A Child of Hitler: Germany In The Days When God Wore A Swastika
| origyear = 1985
| year = 2001
| publisher = Renaissance House
| location = Phoenix, AZ
| isbn = 978-0-939650-44-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Heston
| first1 = Leonard L.
| last2 = Heston
| first2 = Renate
| title = The Medical Casebook of Adolf Hitler: His Illnesses, Doctors, and Drugs
| year = 1980
| origyear = 1979
| publisher = Stein and Day
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-8128-2718-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hildebrand
| first = Klaus
| author-link = Klaus Hildebrand
| title = The Foreign Policy of the Third Reich
| location = London
| publisher = Batsford
| year = 1973
| isbn = 978-0-7134-1126-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hitler
| first = Adolf
| title = [[Mein Kampf]]
| location = Boston
| publisher = Houghton Mifflin
| year = 1999
| origyear = 1925
| others = Trans. [[Ralph Manheim]]
| isbn = 978-0-395-92503-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Hitler
| first1 = Adolf
| last2 = Trevor-Roper
| first2 = Hugh
| author2-link = Hugh Trevor-Roper
| title = [[Hitler's Table Talk|Hitler's Table-Talk, 1941–1945: Hitler's Conversations Recorded by Martin Bormann]]
| location = Oxford
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| year = 1988
| origyear = 1953
| isbn = 978-0-19-285180-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hitler
| first = Adolf
| title = Hitler's Table Talk, 1941–1944
| location = London
| publisher = Enigma
| year = 2000
| origyear = 1941–1944
| isbn = 1-929631-05-7
| url =
| format =
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Jetzinger
| first = Franz
| authorlink = Franz Jetzinger
| title = Hitler's Youth
| year = 1976
| origyear = 1956
| publisher = Greenwood Press
| location = Westport, Conn
| isbn = 978-0-8371-8617-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Joachimsthaler
| first = Anton
| others = Trans. Helmut Bögler
| title = The Last Days of Hitler: The Legends, the Evidence, the Truth
| year = 1999
| origyear = 1995
| publisher = Brockhampton Press
| location = London
| isbn = 978-1-86019-902-8
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kee
| first = Robert
| authorlink = Robert Kee
| title = Munich: The Eleventh Hour
| publisher = Hamish Hamilton
| location = London
| year = 1988
| isbn = 978-0-241-12537-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Keegan
| first = John
| authorlink = John Keegan
| title = The Mask of Command: A Study of Generalship
| publisher = Pimlico
| location = London
| year = 1987
| isbn = 978-0-7126-6526-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Keller
| first = Gustav
| title= Der Schüler Adolf Hitler: die Geschichte eines lebenslangen Amoklaufs
| trans_title = The Student Adolf Hitler: The Story of a Lifelong Rampage
| publisher = LIT
| language = German
| location = Münster
| year = 2010
| isbn = 978-3-643-10948-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kellogg
| first = Michael
| title = The Russian Roots of Nazism White Émigrés and the Making of National Socialism, 1917–1945
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-0-521-84512-0
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kershaw
| first = Ian
| author-link = Ian Kershaw
| title = Hitler: 1889–1936: Hubris
| location = New York
| publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company]]
| year = 1999
| origyear = 1998
| isbn = 978-0-393-04671-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kershaw
| first = Ian
| title = The Nazi Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation
| edition = 4th
| location = London
| publisher = Arnold
| year = 2000a
| origyear = 1985
| isbn = 978-0-340-76028-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kershaw
| first = Ian
| title = Hitler, 1936–1945: Nemesis
| location = New York; London
| publisher = W. W. Norton & Company
| year = 2000b
| isbn = 978-0-393-32252-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kershaw
| first = Ian
| title = Hitler: A Biography
| publisher = W. W. Norton & Company
| location = New York
| year = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-393-06757-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kershaw
| first = Ian
| title = The End: Hitler's Germany, 1944–45
| year = 2012
| publisher = Penguin
| location = London
| isbn = 978-0-14-101421-0
| edition = Paperback
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Knickerbocker
| first = H. R.
| authorlink = Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker
| title = Is Tomorrow Hitler's? 200 Questions On the Battle of Mankind
| year=1941
| publisher = Reynal & Hitchcock
| location = New York
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Koch
| first = H. W.
| title = Operation Barbarossa&nbsp;– The Current State of the Debate
| journal = [[The Historical Journal]]
| volume = 31
| issue = 2
| date = June 1988
| pages = 377–390
| doi = 10.1017/S0018246X00012930
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kolb
| first = Eberhard
| authorlink = Eberhard Kolb
| title = The Weimar Republic
| origyear = 1984
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-0-415-34441-8
| publisher = Routledge
| location = London; New York
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kolb
| first = Eberhard
| year = 1988
| origyear = 1984
| title = The Weimar Republic
| location = New York
| publisher = Routledge
| isbn = 978-0-415-09077-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kressel
| first = Neil J.
| title = Mass Hate: The Global Rise Of Genocide And Terror
| year = 2002
| publisher = Basic Books
| location = Boulder
| isbn = 978-0-8133-3951-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kubizek
| first = August
| title = The Young Hitler I Knew
| authorlink = August Kubizek
| year = 2006
| origyear = 1953
| publisher = MBI
| location = St. Paul, MN
| isbn = 978-1-85367-694-9
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Kurowski
| first = Franz
| title = The Brandenburger Commandos: Germany's Elite Warrior Spies in World War II
| publisher = Stackpole Books
| series = Stackpole Military History series
| location = Mechanicsburg, PA
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-0-8117-3250-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Langer
| first = Walter C.
| authorlink = Walter Charles Langer
| title = [[The Mind of Adolf Hitler|The Mind of Adolf Hitler: The Secret Wartime Report]]
| year = 1972
| origyear = 1943
| publisher = Basic Books
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-465-04620-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Larson
| first = Erik
| title = In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
| publisher = Random House/Crown Publishing Group
| location = New York, NY
| year = 2011
| isbn = 978-0-307-40884-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Lichtheim
| first = George
| author-link = George Lichtheim
| title = Europe In The Twentieth Century
| location = London
| publisher = Sphere Books
| year = 1974
| isbn = 978-0-351-17192-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Linge
| first1 = Heinz
| authorlink1 = Heinz Linge
| others = Intro. [[Roger Moorhouse]]
| title = With Hitler to the End: The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Valet
| year = 2009
| origyear = 1980
| publisher = Skyhorse Publishing
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-1-60239-804-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Maiolo
| first = Joseph
| title = The Royal Navy and Nazi Germany 1933–39: Appeasement and the Origins of the Second World War
| year = 1998
| publisher = Macmillan Press
| location = London
| isbn = 978-0-333-72007-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Manvell
| first1 = Roger
| author1-link = Roger Manvell
| last2 = Fraenkel
| first2 = Heinrich
| author2-link = Heinrich Fraenkel
| title = Heinrich Himmler: The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo
| year = 2007
| origyear = 1965
| publisher = Greenhill; Skyhorse
| location = London; New York
| isbn = 978-1-60239-178-9
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Maser
| first = Werner
| title = Hitler: Legend, Myth, Reality
| year = 1973
| publisher = Allen Lane
| location = London
| isbn = 978-0-7139-0473-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Marrus
| first = Michael
| authorlink = Michael Marrus
| title = The Holocaust in History
| location = Toronto
| publisher = Key Porter
| year = 2000
| isbn = 978-0-299-23404-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = McGovern
| first = James
| title = Martin Bormann
| publisher = William Morrow
| location = New York
| year = 1968
| oclc = 441132
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = McNab
| first = Chris
| title = The Third Reich
| publisher = Amber Books Ltd
| year = 2009
| isbn = 978-1-906626-51-8
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Megargee
| first = Geoffrey P.
| title = War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941
| location = Lanham, Md
| publisher = Rowman & Littlefield
| year = 2007
| isbn = 978-0-7425-4482-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Messerschmidt
| first = Manfred
| title = [[Germany and the Second World War]]
| volume = 1
| chapter = Foreign Policy and Preparation for War
| location = Oxford
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| year = 1990
| editor1-last = Deist
| editor1-first = Wilhelm
| isbn = 978-0-19-822866-0
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Mitcham
| first = Samuel W.
| title = Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich
| year = 1996
| publisher = Praeger
| location = Westport, Conn
| isbn = 978-0-275-95485-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Murray
| first = Williamson
| authorlink = Williamson Murray
| title = The Change in the European Balance of Power
| publisher = Princeton University Press
| location = Princeton
| year = 1984
| isbn = 978-0-691-05413-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Murray
| first1 = Williamson
| last2 = Millett
| first2 = Allan R.
| title = A War to be Won: Fighting the Second World War
| year = 2001
| origyear = 2000
| publisher = Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
| location = Cambridge, MA.
| isbn = 978-0-674-00680-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Naimark
| first = Norman M.
| year = 2002
| title = Fires of Hatred: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe
| publisher = Harvard University Press
| isbn = 978-0-674-00994-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Niewyk
| first1 = Donald L.
| last2 = Nicosia
| first2 = Francis R.
| title = The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust
| year = 2000
| publisher = Columbia University Press
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-231-11200-0
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = O'Donnell
| first = James P.
| authorlink = James P. O'Donnell
| title = [[The Bunker (book)|The Bunker]]
| publisher = Da Capo Press
| location = New York
| year = 2001
| origyear = 1978
| isbn = 978-0-306-80958-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Overy
| first1 = Richard
| last2 = Wheatcroft
| first2 = Andrew
| author-link1 = Richard Overy
| title = The Road To War
| publisher = Macmillan
| location = London
| year = 1989
| isbn = 978-0-14-028530-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Overy
| first = Richard
| editor1-last = Lukes
| editor1-first = Igor
| editor2-last = Goldstein
| editor2-first = Erik
| title = The Munich Crisis, 1938: Prelude to World War II
| year = 1999
| publisher = Frank Cass
| location = London; Portland, OR
| chapter = Germany and the Munich Crisis: A Mutilated Victory?
| oclc = 40862187
| ref = {{sfnRef|Overy, ''The Munich Crisis''|1999|p=207}}
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Overy
| first = Richard
| editor1-last = Martel
| editor1-first = Gordon
| title = The Origins of the Second World War Reconsidered
| year = 1999
| publisher = Routledge
| location = London
| chapter = Misjudging Hitler
| pages = 93–115
| isbn = 978-0-415-16324-8
| ref = {{sfnRef|Overy, ''Origins of WWII Reconsidered''|1999}}
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Overy
| first = Richard
| title = The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia
| publisher = Penguin Books
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-0-393-02030-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Overy
| first = Richard
| title = Hitler As War Leader
| publisher = Oxford: Oxford University Press
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-0-192-80670-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Payne
| first = Robert
| authorlink = Pierre Stephen Robert Payne
| title = The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
| publisher = Hippocrene Books
| location = New York, New York
| year = 1990
| origyear = 1973
| isbn = 978-0-88029-402-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Plating
| first = John D.
| title = The Hump: America's Strategy for Keeping China in World War II
| year = 2011
| publisher = Texas A&M University Press
| location = College Station
| series = Williams-Ford Texas A&M University military history series, no. 134
| isbn = 978-1-60344-238-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Proctor
| first = Robert
| year = 1999
| title = The Nazi War on Cancer
| publisher = [[Princeton University Press]]
| location = Princeton, New Jersey
| isbn = 0-691-07051-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Read
| first = Anthony
| authorlink = Anthony Read
| year = 2004
| title = The Devil's Disciples: The Lives and Times of Hitler's Inner Circle
| location = London
| publisher = Pimlico
| isbn = 0-7126-6416-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Redlich
| first = Fritz R.
| title = Hitler: Diagnosis of a Destructive Prophet
| date = September 2000
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| pages =
| isbn = 978-0-19-513631-9
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rees
| first = Laurence
| authorlink = Laurence Rees
| title = [[The Nazis: A Warning from History]]
| location = New York
| publisher = New Press
| year = 1997
| isbn = 978-0-563-38704-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rißmann
| first = Michael
| title = Hitlers Gott. Vorsehungsglaube und Sendungsbewußtsein des deutschen Diktators
| location = Zürich München
| publisher = Pendo
| year = 2001
| isbn = 978-3-85842-421-1
| language = German
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Roberts
| first = G.
| title = Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953
| location = New Haven
| publisher = Yale University Press
| year = 2006
| isbn = 0-300-11204-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Roberts
| first = J. M.
| author-link = John Roberts (historian)
| title = A History of Europe
| location = Oxford
| publisher = Helicon
| year = 1996
| isbn = 978-1-85986-178-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Roberts
| first = Martin
| title = The New Barbarism&nbsp;– A Portrait of Europe 1900–1973
| year = 1975
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| isbn = 978-0-19-913225-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Robertson
| first = Esmonde M.
| title = Hitler's Pre-War Policy and Military Plans: 1933–1939
| publisher = Longmans
| location = London
| year = 1963
| oclc = 300011871
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Robertson
| first = E. M.
| editor1-first = Koch
| editor1-last = H.W
| title = Aspects of the Third Reich
| year = 1985
| publisher = Macmillan
| location = London
| chapter = Hitler Planning for War and the Response of the Great Powers
| isbn = 978-0-312-05726-8
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rosenbaum
| first = Ron
| authorlink = Ron Rosenbaum
| title = [[Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil]]
| year = 1999
| publisher = Harper Perennial
| isbn = 978-0-06-095339-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rosmus
| first = Anna Elisabeth
| year = 2004
| title = Out of Passau: Leaving a City Hitler Called Home
| publisher = University of South Carolina Press
| location = Columbia, S.C
| isbn = 978-1-57003-508-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rothwell
| first = Victor
| title = The Origins of the Second World War
| year = 2001
| publisher = Manchester University Press
| location = Manchester
| isbn = 978-0-7190-5957-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rummel
| first = Rudolph
| authorlink = Rudolph Rummel
| title = Death by Government
| year = 1994
| publisher = Transaction
| location = New Brunswick, NJ
| isbn = 978-1-56000-145-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Ryschka
| first = Birgit
| title = Constructing and Deconstructing National Identity: Dramatic Discourse in Tom Murphy's the Patriot Game and Felix Mitterer's in Der Löwengrube
| date = 29 September 2008
| publisher = Peter Lang
| isbn = 978-3-631-58111-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Sereny
| first = Gitta
| authorlink = Gitta Sereny
| origyear = 1995
| year = 1996
| title = Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth
| publisher = Vintage
| location = New York; Toronto
| isbn = 0-679-76812-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Shirer
| first = William L.
| authorlink = William L. Shirer
| title = [[The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich]]
| publisher = Simon & Schuster
| location = New York
| year = 1960
| isbn = 978-0-671-62420-0
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Snyder
| first = Timothy
| authorlink = Timothy D. Snyder
| title = [[Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin]]
| publisher = Basic Books
| location = New York
| year = 2010
| isbn = 978-0-465-00239-9
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Speer
| first = Albert
| authorlink = Albert Speer
| origyear = 1969
| year = 1971
| title = [[Inside the Third Reich]]
| publisher = Avon
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-380-00071-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Stackelberg
| first = Roderick
| title = The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany
| year = 2007
| publisher = Routledge
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-415-30860-1
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Steigmann-Gall
| first = Richard
| authorlink = Richard Steigmann-Gall
| title = The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945
| location = Cambridge; New York
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 2003
| isbn = 978-0-521-82371-5
| doi = 10.2277/978-0-521-82371-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Steinberg
| first = Jonathan
| title = The Third Reich Reflected: German Civil Administration in the Occupied Soviet Union, 1941-4
| journal = The English Historical Review
| date = June 1995
| volume = 110
| issue = 437
| pages = 620–651
| oclc = 83655937
| doi = 10.1093/ehr/CX.437.620
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Steiner
| first = John Michael
| title = Power Politics and Social Change in National Socialist Germany: A Process of Escalation into Mass Destruction
| year = 1976
| publisher = Mouton
| location = The Hague
| isbn = 978-90-279-7651-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Stolfi
| first = Russel
| title = Barbarossa Revisited: A Critical Reappraisal of the Opening Stages of the Russo-German Campaign (June–December 1941)
| journal = [[The Journal of Modern History]]
| date = March 1982
| volume = 54
| issue = 1
| pages = 27–46
| doi = 10.1086/244076
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Tames
| first = Richard
| title = Dictatorship
| publisher = Heinemann Library
| location = Chicago
| year = 2008
| isbn = 978-1-4329-0234-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Le Tissier
| first = Tony
| title = Race for the Reichstag
| publisher = Pen & Sword
| year = 2010
| origyear = 1999
| isbn = 978-1-84884-230-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Toland
| first = John
| authorlink = John Toland (author)
| title = Adolf Hitler
| publisher = Anchor Books
| location = New York
| year = 1992
| origyear = 1976
| isbn = 978-0-385-42053-2
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Vinogradov
| first = V. K.
| title = Hitler's Death: Russia's Last Great Secret from the Files of the KGB
| publisher = Chaucer Press
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-1-904449-13-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Waite
| first = Robert G. L.
| authorlink = Robert G. L. Waite
| year = 1993
| origyear = 1977
| title = The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler
| publisher = Da Capo Press
| location = New York
| isbn = 0-306-80514-6
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Weber
| first = Thomas
| title = Hitler's First War: Adolf Hitler, The Men of the List Regiment, and the First World War
| year = 2010
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| location = Oxford; New York
| isbn = 978-0-19-923320-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Weinberg
| first = Gerhard
| authorlink = Gerhard Weinberg
| title = Hitler's Private Testament of 2 May 1938
| journal = The Journal of Modern History
| date = December 1955
| volume = 27
| issue = 4
| pages = 415–419
| oclc = 482752575
| doi = 10.1086/237831
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Weinberg
| first = Gerhard
| title = Hitler's Image of the United States
| journal = The American Historical Review
| date = December 1964
| volume = 69
| issue = 4
| pages = 1006–1021
| doi = 10.2307/1842933
| jstor = 1842933
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Weinberg
| first = Gerhard
| author-link = Gerhard Weinberg
| title = The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany Diplomatic Revolution in Europe 1933–1936
| publisher = University of Chicago Press
| location = Chicago, Illinois
| year = 1970
| isbn = 978-0-226-88509-4
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Weinberg
| first = Gerhard
| title = The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany Starting World War II
| publisher = University of Chicago Press
| year = 1980
| isbn = 978-0-226-88511-7
| location = Chicago, Illinois
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Weinberg
| first = Gerhard
| title = Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History
| year = 1995
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| location = Cambridge
| chapter = Hitler and England, 1933–1945: Pretense and Reality
| isbn = 978-0-521-47407-8
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Welch
| first = David
| title = Hitler: Profile of a Dictator
| year = 2001
| publisher = Routledge
| isbn = 978-0-415-25075-7
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Wheeler-Bennett
| first = John
| authorlink = John Wheeler-Bennett
| title = The Nemesis of Power
| location = London
| publisher = Macmillan
| year = 1967
| isbn = 978-1-4039-1812-3
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Wilt
| first = Alan
| authorlink = Alan F. Wilt
| title = Hitler's Late Summer Pause in 1941
| journal = Military Affairs
| date = December 1981
| volume = 45
| issue = 4
| pages = 187–191
| doi = 10.2307/1987464
| jstor = 1987464
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Winkler
| first = Heinrich August
| others = Sager, Alexander (trans.)
| title = Germany: The Long Road West. Vol. 2, 1933–1990
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| location = New York
| year = 2007
| isbn = 978-0-19-926598-5
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Ziemke
| first = Earl F.
| title = Battle for Berlin: End of the Third Reich
| series = Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II
| volume = Battle Book #6
| publisher = [[Ballantine Books]]
| year = 1969<!--pre isbn-->
| oclc = 23899
| ref = harv
}}
{{refend}}
'''Online'''
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web
| title = 1933&nbsp;– Day of Potsdam
| publisher = City of Potsdam
| url = http://www.potsdam.de/cms/beitrag/10000945/33981/
| accessdate=13 June 2011
| ref = {{sfnRef|City of Potsdam}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Bazyler
| first = Michael J.
| title = Holocaust Denial Laws and Other Legislation Criminalizing Promotion of Nazism
| date = 25 December 2006
| publisher = [[Yad Vashem]]
| url = http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/holocaust/insights/pdf/bazyler.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 7 January 2013
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| title = Der Hitler-Prozeß vor dem Volksgericht in München
| trans_title = The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich
| language = German
| year = 1924
| postscript =.
| ref = {{sfnRef|Munich Court, 1924}}
}}
* {{cite news
| title = Documents: Bush's Grandfather Directed Bank Tied to Man Who Funded Hitler
| date = 17 October 2003
| publisher = Fox News
| url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/10/17/documents-bush-grandfather-directed-bank-tied-to-man-who-funded-hitler/
| accessdate =1 December 2014
| ref = {{sfnRef|Fox News, 2003}}
}}
* {{cite web
| title = Eingabe der Industriellen an Hindenburg vom November 1932
| trans_title = Letter of the industrialists to Hindenburg, November 1932
| publisher=Glasnost–Archiv
| url=http://www.glasnost.de/hist/ns/eingabe.html
| accessdate =16 October 2011
| ref = {{sfnRef|Letter to Hindenburg, 1932}}
}}
* {{cite news
| last = Evans
| first = Richard J.
| title = How the First World War shaped Hitler
| newspaper = [[The Globe and Mail]]
| date = 22 June 2011
| publisher = Phillip Crawley
| url = http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/hitlers-first-war-by-thomas-weber/article4261721/
| accessdate =23 September 2012
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Frauenfeld
| first = A. E
| title = The Power of Speech
| publisher = [[Calvin College]]
| date = August 1937
| url = http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/machtrede.htm
| accessdate =1 December 2014
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite news
| title = Germany: Second Revolution?
| date = 2 July 1934
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,754321,00.html
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080417000456/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,754321-2,00.html
| work = Time Magazine
| publisher = Time
| accessdate = 15 April 2013
| archivedate = 17 April 2008
| ref = {{sfnRef|''Time'', 1934}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Glantz
| first = David
| authorlink = David Glantz
| title = The Soviet‐German War 1941–45: Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay
| publisher = Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, [[Clemson University]]
| format = PDF
| location = Clemson, SC
| date = 11 October 2001
| url = http://sti.clemson.edu/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=189&Itemid=310
| accessdate = 12 December 2012
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Goebbels
| first = Joseph
| title = The Führer as a Speaker
| publisher = [[Calvin College]]
| year = 1936
| url = http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ahspeak.htm
| accessdate =1 December 2014
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Gunkel
| first = Christoph
| title = Medicating a Madman: A Sober Look at Hitler's Health
| journal = Spiegel Online International
| date = 4 February 2010
| url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/medicating-a-madman-a-sober-look-at-hitler-s-health-a-675991.html
| accessdate = 12 December 2013
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite news
| last = Hinrichs
| first = Per
| publisher = Spiegel Online
| title = Des Führers Pass: Hitlers Einbürgerung
| trans_title = The Führer's Passport: Hitler's Naturalisation
| date = 10 March 2007
| language = German
| url = http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/zeitgeschichte/hitlers-einbuergerung-des-fuehrers-pass-a-470844.html
| accessdate =1 December 2014
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite web
| url = http://www.ns-archiv.de/personen/hitler/oesterreich/staatsbuergerschaft.php
| title = Hitler ersucht um Entlassung aus der österreichischen Staatsangehörigkeit
| trans_title = Hitler's official application to end his Austrian citizenship
| date = 7 April 1925
| publisher= NS-Archiv
| language = German
| accessdate=13 April 2012
| ref = {{sfnRef|NS-Archiv, 7 April 1925}}
}}
* {{cite web
| title = Hitler's Last Days
| publisher = MI5 Security Service
| work = mi5.gov.uk
| url = https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/mi5-history/world-war-ii/hitlers-last-days.html
| accessdate =5 January 2012
| ref = {{sfnRef|MI5, ''Hitler's Last Days''}}
}}
* {{cite AV media
| people = Hoffman, David (creator, writer)
| year = 1989
| title = How Hitler Lost the War
| medium = television documentary
| url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,306902,00.html
| accessdate = 27 August 2014
| time =
| location = US
| publisher = Varied Directions
| ref = {{sfnRef|Hoffman|1989}}
}}
* {{cite web
| title = Introduction to the Holocaust
| publisher = [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]]
| url = http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
| accessdate =1 December 2014
| ref = {{sfnRef|Holocaust Memorial Museum}}
}}
* {{cite AV media
| people = Jones, Bill (creator, director)
| year = 1989
| title = The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler
| medium = television documentary
| url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n63ET9STGis&index=4&list=PLqNoZ9bxqU0sJbCG4KiT4cDvNhDMidbKi
| accessdate = 6 June 2014
| time =
| location = England
| publisher = [[BBC]]
| ref = {{sfnRef|Jones|1989}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Kotanko
| first = Florian
| title = House of Responsibility
| publisher = HRB News
| url = http://www.hrb.at/index.php?path=languages/english/body.php
| accessdate = 8 January 2013
| ref = {{sfnRef|House of Responsibility}}
}}
* {{cite news
| title = Leni Riefenstahl
| date=10 September 2003
| work = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
| publisher = [[Telegraph Media Group|TMG]]
| location = [[London]]
| issn = 0307-1235
| oclc = 49632006
| url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1440991/Leni-Riefenstahl.html?pageNum=3
| accessdate = 10 May 2013
| ref = {{sfnRef|''The Daily Telegraph'', 2003}}
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Longerich
| first = Heinz Peter
| authorlink = Peter Longerich
| title = Hitler's Role in the Persecution of the Jews by the Nazi Regime
| at = 15. Hitler and the Mass Shootings of Jews During the War Against Russia
| publisher = Emory University
| location = Atlanta
| year = 2003
| url = http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/15.html
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120722085727/http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/15
| archivedate = 22 July 2012
| accessdate = 31 July 2013
| ref = {{sfnRef|Longerich, Chapter 15|2003}}
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Longerich
| first = Heinz Peter
| title = Hitler's Role in the Persecution of the Jews by the Nazi Regime
| at = 17. Radicalisation of the Persecution of the Jews by Hitler at the Turn of the Year 1941–1942
| publisher = Emory University
| location = Atlanta
| year = 2003
| url = http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/17
| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090709111759/http://www.hdot.org/en/trial/defense/pl1/17
| archivedate = 9 July 2009
| accessdate = 31 July 2013
| ref = {{sfnRef|Longerich, Chapter 17|2003}}
}}
* {{cite news
| title = Man of the Year
| work = Time Magazine
| publisher = Time
| date = 2 January 1939
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760539-1,00.html
| accessdate =22 May 2008
| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080607103145/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760539-1,00.html
| archivedate= 7 June 2008 <!--DASHBot-->
| deadurl= no
| ref = {{sfnRef|''Time'', January 1939}}
}}
* {{cite AV media
| people = Martin, Jonathan (creator, writer)
| year = 2008
| title = World War II In HD Colour
| medium = television documentary
| url = http://www.worldmediarights.com/index.php?hidAction=series&sid=8&name=World_War_Two_-_World_War_II_in_Colour_and_HD
| accessdate = 27 August 2014
| time =
| location = US
| publisher = World Media Rights
| ref = {{sfnRef|Martin|2008}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = McMillan
| first = Dan
| title = Review of Fritz, Stephen G., ''Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East''
| publisher = H-Genocide, H-Net Reviews
| date = October 2012
| url = http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=35868
| accessdate = 16 October 2012
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite journal
| author = Office of Strategic Services
| title = The Nazi Master Plan: The Persecution of the Christian Churches
| journal = Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion
| year = 1945
| publisher = Cornell Law Library
| location = Ithaca, NY
| pages = 6–7
| oclc = 320083040
| url = http://web.archive.org/web/20100708102411/http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/nurinst1.shtml
| ref = {{sfnRef|Office of Strategic Services, 1945}}
}}
* {{cite news
| title = Parkinson's part in Hitler's downfall
| publisher = BBC News
| date = 29 July 1999
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/406713.stm
| accessdate =13 June 2011
| ref = {{sfnRef|BBC News, 1999}}
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Phayer
| first = Michael
| title = The Response of the Catholic Church to National Socialism
| year = 2000
| work = The Churches and Nazi Persecution
| publisher = Yad Vashem
| format = PDF
| url = http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/courses/life_lessons/pdfs/lesson8_4.pdf
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite web
| title = Poles: Victims of the Nazi Era: The Invasion and Occupation of Poland
| work = ushmm.org
| publisher = United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
| url = http://www.ushmm.org/education/resource/poles/poles.php
| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20130303110620/http://www.ushmm.org/education/resource/poles/poles.php
| archivedate = 3 March 2013
| accessdate=1 December 2014
| ref = {{sfnRef|US Holocaust Memorial Museum}}
}}
* {{cite news
| last = Sharkey
| first = Joe
| title = Word for Word/The Case Against the Nazis; How Hitler's Forces Planned To Destroy German Christianity
| newspaper = The New York Times
| date = 13 January 2002
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/weekinreview/word-for-word-case-against-nazis-hitler-s-forces-planned-destroy-german.html?pagewanted=all
| accessdate =7 June 2011
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Weber
| first = Thomas
| title = New Evidence Uncovers Hitler's Real First World War Story
| publisher = [[BBC|BBC History Magazine]]
| work = Immediate Media Company
| location = UK
| date = 2010a
| accessdate =27 August 2014
| url = http://www.historyextra.com/oup/new-evidence-uncovers-hitlers-real-first-world-war-story
| ref = harv
}}
* {{cite web
| last = Wilson
| first = Bee
| title = Mein Diat&nbsp;– Adolf Hitler's diet
| publisher = [[Questia]]
| work = New Statesman
| location = UK
| date = 9 October 1998
| accessdate =22 May 2008
| url = http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-21238666/mein-diat
| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20131213032448/http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-21238666/mein-diat
| archivedate = 13 December 2013
| deadurl = no
| ref = harv
}} {{subscription required}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|wikt=Hitler|n=no|v=NAU-POS254-Fascism|s=Author:Adolf Hitler|b=World History/The Rise of Dictatorship and Totalitarianism}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{worldcat id|id=lccn-n79-46200}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0386944}}&nbsp;– real life footage in documentaries
* {{IMDb character|id=0027857|character=Adolf Hitler (Character)}}&nbsp;– as portrayed in film and TV
* {{cite web|title=Adolf Hitler|url=http://vault.fbi.gov/adolf-hitler|work=The Vault|publisher=FBI Records}}
* {{cite web|title=Hitler and his officers |url=http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/movies/hitler_color|work=World War II Movies in Color|publisher=WW2inColor}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClR9tcpKZec Hitler 1942 conversation with Mannerheim] (only known recording of him speaking in a normal tone)

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Kurt von Schleicher]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Chancellor of Germany]]{{sup|(1)}} | years = 1933–1945}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Joseph Goebbels]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Paul von Hindenburg]] <br /> <small>As President</small>}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Führer|''Führer'' of Germany]]{{sup|(1)}} | years = 1934–1945}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Karl Dönitz]] <br /> <small>As President</small>}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Anton Drexler]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[National Socialist German Workers Party|Leader of the NSDAP]] | years = 1921–1945}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Martin Bormann]]}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Franz Pfeffer von Salomon]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = ''[[Leadership ranks of the Sturmabteilung|Oberste SA-Führer]]'' | years = 1930–1945}}
{{s-aft | after = ''Disbanded''}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef | before = ''Office created''}}
{{s-ttl | title = ''[[Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel#SS membership numbers|Oberste Führer der Schutzstaffel]]'' | years = 1934–1945}}
{{s-aft | after = ''Disbanded''}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Walther von Brauchitsch]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Oberkommando des Heeres|''Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres'' (Army Commander)]] | years = 1941–1945}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Ferdinand Schörner]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and [[Soong May-ling]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Time Person of the Year]] | years = 1938}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Joseph Stalin]]}}
{{s-ref|The positions of Head of State and Government were combined 1934–1945 in the office of Führer and Chancellor of Germany}}
{{navboxes
| title = Topics related to Adolf Hitler
| state = off
| list1 =
{{Adolf Hitler|state=collapsed}}
{{navboxes
| state = collapsed
| list1 =
{{GermanChancellors}}
{{German Presidents (1919–1945)}}
{{Hitler's Cabinet}}
{{Final occupants of the Führerbunker}}
{{Fascism|state=collapsed}}
{{Nazism}}
{{Time Persons of the Year 1927–1950}}
{{The Holocaust}}
}}
}}
{{Authority control|PND=118551655|LCCN=n/79/46200|VIAF=38190770|TSURL=Adolf_Hitler}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Hitler, Adolf
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = [[Führer]] of the National Socialist German Workers Party; [[Reichskanzler]] of Germany
| DATE OF BIRTH = 20 April 1889
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Braunau am Inn]], Austria
| DATE OF DEATH = 30 April 1945
| PLACE OF DEATH = Berlin, Germany
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitler, Adolf}}
[[Category:Adolf Hitler| ]]<!--Empty space as standard-->
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1945 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian painters]]
[[Category:20th-century Austrian writers]]
[[Category:20th-century German writers]]
[[Category:20th-century politicians]]
[[Category:Austrian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Austrian criminals]]
[[Category:Austrian emigrants to Germany]]
[[Category:Austrian Nazis who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Austrian people of World War II]]
[[Category:Austrian writers]]
[[Category:Chancellors of Germany]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Fascist rulers]]
[[Category:Flag designers]]
[[Category:Former Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:German anti-communists]]
[[Category:German military leaders]]
[[Category:German Nazi politicians]]
[[Category:German painters]]
[[Category:German people of Austrian descent]]
[[Category:German people of World War II]]
[[Category:German political writers]]
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[[Category:German revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Historians of fascism]]
[[Category:Hitler family]]
[[Category:Holocaust perpetrators]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Germany]]
[[Category:Joint suicides by Nazis]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties in Germany]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic]]
[[Category:Members of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Military personnel of Bavaria]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Germany]]
[[Category:Nazi leaders]]
[[Category:Nazism]]
[[Category:Nazis who committed suicide by firearm in Germany]]
[[Category:Nazis who committed suicide in Berlin]]
[[Category:Nazis who participated in the Beer Hall Putsch]]
[[Category:Nazis who served in World War I]]
[[Category:People convicted of treason against Germany]]
[[Category:People from Braunau am Inn]]
[[Category:Persecution of LGBT people]]
[[Category:Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust]]
[[Category:Persecution of Serbs]]
[[Category:Political writers who committed suicide]]
[[Category:Porajmos perpetrators]]
[[Category:Postcard artists]]
[[Category:Recipients of German pardons]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Golden Party Badge]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class]]
[[Category:The Holocaust in Austria]]
[[Category:The Holocaust in Germany]]
[[Category:World War II political leaders]]

Revision as of 18:25, 13 February 2015

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