Essays on Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was a leader of the Nazi Party (from 1920/21) and chancellor (Kanzler) and Führer of Germany (1933–45). He was chancellor from January 30, 1933, and, after President Paul von Hindenburg’s death, assumed the twin titles of Führer and chancellor (August 2, 1934).

In 1920 Hitler became head of propaganda for the renamed National Socialists (Nazi Party) and in 1921 party leader. Hitler gained popularity nationwide by exploiting unrest during the Great Depression, and in 1932 he placed second in the presidential race. The winner, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed him chancellor in January 1933. Then on March 23 the Enabling Act was passed, giving full powers to Hitler.

Once in power, Hitler established an absolute dictatorship. He secured the president’s assent for new elections. The Reichstag fire, on the night of February 27, 1933, provided an excuse for a decree overriding all guarantees of freedom and for an intensified campaign of violence. Hitler devoted little attention to the organization and running of the domestic affairs of the Nazi state. Responsible for the broad lines of policy, as well as for the system of terror that upheld the state, he left detailed administration to his subordinates.

Hitler had an overriding ambition for territorial expansion, which was largely driven by his desire to reunify the German peoples. Such goals were greeted with support by many within Germany. Through various means he was able to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia with little resistance in 1938–39. Then on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, which had been guaranteed French and British military support should such an event occur. Two days later both countries declared war on Germany, launching World War II.

Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in 1913. As a soldier in the German army in World War I, he was wounded and gassed. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and was appointed leader of the Nazi Party in 1921.

Hitler’s ideas included inequality among races, nations, and individuals as part of an unchangeable natural order that exalted the “Aryan race” as the creative element of mankind. According to Hitler, the natural unit of mankind was the Volk (“the people”), of which the German people was the greatest. Moreover, he believed that the state existed to serve the Volk. All morality and truth were judged by this criterion: whether it was in accordance with the interest and preservation of the Volk.

As Soviet troops entered the heart of Berlin, Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, in his underground bunker. Although there is some speculation about the manner of his death, it is widely believed that he shot himself. Eva Braun, whom he had recently married, also took her own life. Hitler’s body was secretly buried before being exhumed and cremated, with the ashes scattered in 1970.

Hitler is considered "the embodiment of modern political evil".Under Hitler's leadership and racially motivated ideology, the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European theatre. The number of civilians killed during World War II was unprecedented in warfare, and the casualties constitute the deadliest conflict in history.

“Anyone can deal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat.”
“When diplomacy ends, War begins.”
“The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes”
“I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.”

Nazi Party

20 April 1889

30 April 1945 (aged 56)

Adolf Hitler was a leader of the Nazi Party (from 1920/21) and chancellor (Kanzler) and Führer of Germany (1933–45). He was chancellor from January 30, 1933, and, after President Paul von Hindenburg’s death, assumed the twin titles of Führer and chancellor (August 2, 1934).

In 1920 Hitler became head of propaganda for the renamed National Socialists (Nazi Party) and in 1921 party leader. Hitler gained popularity nationwide by exploiting unrest during the Great Depression, and in 1932 he placed second in the presidential race. The winner, Paul von Hindenburg, appointed him chancellor in January 1933. Then on March 23 the Enabling Act was passed, giving full powers to Hitler.

Once in power, Hitler established an absolute dictatorship. He secured the president’s assent for new elections. The Reichstag fire, on the night of February 27, 1933, provided an excuse for a decree overriding all guarantees of freedom and for an intensified campaign of violence. Hitler devoted little attention to the organization and running of the domestic affairs of the Nazi state. Responsible for the broad lines of policy, as well as for the system of terror that upheld the state, he left detailed administration to his subordinates.

Hitler had an overriding ambition for territorial expansion, which was largely driven by his desire to reunify the German peoples. Such goals were greeted with support by many within Germany. Through various means he was able to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia with little resistance in 1938–39. Then on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, which had been guaranteed French and British military support should such an event occur. Two days later both countries declared war on Germany, launching World War II.

Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in 1913. As a soldier in the German army in World War I, he was wounded and gassed. In 1919, he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and was appointed leader of the Nazi Party in 1921.

Hitler’s ideas included inequality among races, nations, and individuals as part of an unchangeable natural order that exalted the “Aryan race” as the creative element of mankind. According to Hitler, the natural unit of mankind was the Volk (“the people”), of which the German people was the greatest. Moreover, he believed that the state existed to serve the Volk. All morality and truth were judged by this criterion: whether it was in accordance with the interest and preservation of the Volk.

As Soviet troops entered the heart of Berlin, Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, in his underground bunker. Although there is some speculation about the manner of his death, it is widely believed that he shot himself. Eva Braun, whom he had recently married, also took her own life. Hitler’s body was secretly buried before being exhumed and cremated, with the ashes scattered in 1970.

Hitler is considered "the embodiment of modern political evil".Under Hitler's leadership and racially motivated ideology, the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war. In addition, 28.7 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European theatre. The number of civilians killed during World War II was unprecedented in warfare, and the casualties constitute the deadliest conflict in history.

“Anyone can deal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat.”
“When diplomacy ends, War begins.”
“The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes”
“I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.”