Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany’s Nazi Party, was one of the most powerful and notorious dictators of the 20th century. Hitler capitalized on economic woes, popular discontent and political infighting to take absolute power in Germany beginning in 1933. Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 led to the outbreak of World War II, and by 1941 Nazi forces had occupied much of Europe. Hitler’s virulent anti-Semitism and obsessive pursuit of Aryan supremacy fueled the murder of some 6 million Jews, along with other victims of the Holocaust. After the tide of war turned against him, Hitler committed suicide in a Berlin bunker in April 1945.

What was the title of Hitler?

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Führer

Führer, also spelled Fuehrer, German Führer, (“Leader”), title used by Adolf Hitler to define his role of absolute authority in Germany’s Third Reich (1933–45). As early as July 1921 he had declared the Führerprinzip (“leader principle”) to be the law of the Nazi Party; and in Mein Kampf (1925–27) he asserted that such a dictatorship would be extended to the coming Third Reich.

OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II

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In March 1936, against the advice of his generals, Hitler ordered German troops to reoccupy the demilitarized left bank of the Rhine.

Over the next two years, Germany concluded alliances with Italy and Japan, annexed Austria and moved against Czechoslovakia—all essentially without resistance from Great Britain, France or the rest of the international community.

Once he confirmed the alliance with Italy in the so-called “Pact of Steel” in May 1939, Hitler then signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. On September 1, 1939, Nazi troops invaded Poland, finally prompting Britain and France to declare war on Germany.

Adolf Hitler died by suicide on April 30, 1945.

Exactly 73 years ago, on April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin, bringing to an end the life of one of history's most notorious figures.

After Hitler’s Death

Hitler's political programs brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe, including Germany. His policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale and resulted in the death of tens of millions of people, including more than 20 million in the Soviet Union and six million Jews in Europe. Hitler's defeat marked the end of Germany's dominance in European history and the defeat of fascism. A new ideological global conflict, the Cold War, emerged in the aftermath of the devastating violence of World War II.

[source](Photo: Hugo Jaeger/Timepix/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)