Adolf Hitler (German pronunciation: ['ad?lf 'h?tl?

]; 20 April 1889 30 April 1945 ) was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialis t German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party. He was Chancellor of Germa ny from 1933 to 1945, and served as head of state as Fhrer und Reichskanzler from 1934 to 1945. Hitler is most remembered for his central leadership role in the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II and The Holocaust. A decorated veteran of World War I, Hitler joined the precursor of the Nazi Part y (DAP) in 1919, and became leader of NSDAP in 1921. He attempted a coup d'tat kn own as the Beer Hall Putsch, which occurred at the Brgerbrukeller beer hall in Mun ich on November 8 9, 1923. Hitler was imprisoned for one year due to the failed co up, and wrote his memoir, "My Struggle" (in German Mein Kampf), while imprisoned . After his release on December 20, 1924, he gained support by promoting Pan-Ger manism, antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda. He was appointed chancellor on January 30, 1933, and transformed the Weimar Rep ublic into the Third Reich, a single-party dictatorship based on the totalitaria n and autocratic ideology of Nazism. Hitler ultimately wanted to establish a New Order of absolute Nazi German hegemo ny in continental Europe. To achieve this, he pursued a foreign policy with the declared goal of seizing Lebensraum ("living space") for the Aryan people; direc ting the resources of the state towards this goal. This included the rearmament of Germany, which culminated in 1939 when the Wehrmacht invaded Poland. In respo nse, the United Kingdom and France declared war against Germany, leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.[2] Within three years, German forces and their European allies had occupied most of Europe, and most of North Africa, and the Japanese forces had occupied parts of East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. However, with the reversal of th e Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the Allies gained the upper hand from 1942 onwards. By 1944, Allied armies had invaded German-held Europe from all sides. N azi forces engaged in numerous violent acts during the war, including the system atic murder of as many as 17 million civilians,[3] including an estimated six mi llion Jews targeted in the Holocaust and between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Roma,[4] added to the Poles, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disab ilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opp onents. In the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Hitler marrie d his long-time mistress Eva Braun and, to avoid capture by Soviet forces, the t wo committed suicide less than two days later on 30 April 1945, and their corpse s were burned.[5] Contents [hide] 1 Early years 1.1 Ancestry 1.2 Childhood 1.3 Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich 1.4 World War I 2 Entry into politics 2.1 Beer Hall Putsch 2.2 Mein Kampf 2.3 Rebuilding of the party 3 Rise to power 3.1 Brning Administration 3.2 Appointment as Chancellor 3.3 Reichstag fire and the March elections 3.4 "Day of Potsdam" and the Enabling Act 3.5 Removal of remaining limits 4 Third Reich 4.1 Economy and culture 4.2 Rearmament and new alliances 4.3 The Holocaust 5 World War II

5.1 Early diplomatic triumphs 5.1.1 Alliance with Japan 5.1.2 Austria and Czechoslovakia 5.2 Start of World War II 5.3 Path to defeat 5.4 Attempted assassination 5.5 Defeat and death 6 Legacy 7 Religious views 8 Attitude to occultism 9 Health 9.1 Syphilis 9.2 Monorchism 9.3 Parkinson's disease 9.4 Other complaints 9.5 Addiction to amphetamine 9.6 Historians' views 10 Sexuality 11 Family 12 Hitler in media 12.1 Oratory and rallies 12.2 Recorded in private conversation 12.3 Patria picture disc 12.4 Documentaries during the Third Reich 12.5 Television 12.6 Documentaries post Third Reich 12.7 Films and series 12.8 Plays 13 See also 14 Footnotes 15 References 16 Further reading 16.1 Medical books 17 External links Early years Ancestry Hitler's father, Alois Hitler, was an illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgr uber, so his paternity was not listed on his birth certificate; he bore his moth er's surname.[6][7] In 1842, Johann Georg Hiedler married Maria and in 1876 Aloi s testified before a notary and three witnesses that Johann was his father.[8] D espite this testimony, Alois' paternity has been the subject of controversy. Aft er receiving a "blackmail letter" from Hitler's nephew William Patrick Hitler th reatening to reveal embarrassing information about Hitler's family tree, Nazi Pa rty lawyer Hans Frank investigated, and, in his memoirs, claimed to have uncover ed letters revealing that Alois' mother was employed as a housekeeper for a Jewi sh family in Graz and that the family's 19-year-old son, Leopold Frankenberger, fathered Alois.[7] No evidence had, at that time, ever been produced to support Frank's claim, and Frank himself said Hitler's full Aryan blood was obvious.[9] Frank's claims were widely believed in the 1950s, but by the 1990s, were general ly doubted by historians.[10][11] Ian Kershaw dismissed the Frankenberger story as a "smear" by Hitler's enemies, noting that all Jews had been expelled from Gr az in the 15th century and were not allowed to return until years after Alois' b irth.[11] At age 39, Alois took the surname Hitler. This surname was variously spelled Hie dler, Httler, Huettler and Hitler, and was probably regularized to Hitler by a cl erk. The origin of the name is either "one who lives in a hut" (Standard German Htte), "shepherd" (Standard German hten "to guard", English heed), or is from the Slavic word Hidlar and Hidlarcek.[12] Childhood

Adolf Hitler was born at around 6:30 p.m. on 20 April 1889 at the Gasthof zum Po mmer, an inn in Braunau am Inn, Austria Hungary, the fourth of six children to Alo is Hitler and Klara Plzl. Adolf Hitler as an infant When he was three years old, his family relocated to Kapuzinerstrasse 5[13] in P assau, Germany, where Hitler would acquire Lower Bavarian rather than Austrian a s his lifelong native dialect.[14] In 1894, the family relocated to Leonding nea r Linz, then in June 1895, Alois retired to a small landholding at Hafeld near L ambach, where he tried his hand at farming and beekeeping. During this time, the young Hitler attended school in nearby Fischlham. As a child, he played "Cowboy s and Indians" and, by his own account, became fixated on war after finding a pi cture book about the Franco-Prussian War among his father's belongings.[15] His father's efforts at Hafeld ended in failure, and the family relocated to Lam bach in 1897. Hitler attended a Catholic school located in an 11th-century Bened ictine cloister, where the walls were engraved in a number of places with crests containing the symbol of the swastika.[16] It was in Lambach that the eight-yea r-old Hitler sang in the church choir, took singing lessons, and even entertaine d the fantasy of one day becoming a priest.[17] In 1898, the family returned per manently to Leonding. His younger brother Edmund died of measles on 2 February 1900, causing permanent changes in Hitler. He went from a confident, outgoing boy who excelled in schoo l, to a morose, detached, sullen boy who constantly battled his father and his t eachers.[18] Hitler was attached to his mother, though he had a troubled relationship with hi s father, who frequently beat him, especially in the years after Alois' retireme nt and disappointing farming efforts.[19] Alois wanted his son to follow in his footsteps as an Austrian customs official, and this became a huge source of conf lict between them.[15] Despite his son's pleas to go to classical high school an d become an artist, his father sent him to the Realschule in Linz, a technical h igh school of about 300 students, in September 1900. Hitler rebelled, and in Mei n Kampf confessed to failing his first year in hopes that once his father saw "w hat little progress I was making at the technical school he would let me devote myself to the happiness I dreamed of." Alois never relented, however, and Hitler became even more bitter and rebellious. German Nationalism quickly became an obsession for Hitler, and a way to rebel ag ainst his father, who proudly served the Austrian government. Most people who li ved along the German-Austrian border considered themselves German-Austrians, but Hitler expressed loyalty only to Germany. In defiance of the Austrian monarchy, and his father who continually expressed loyalty to it, Hitler and his young fr iends liked to use the German greeting "Heil", and sing the German anthem "Deuts chland ber Alles" instead of the Austrian Imperial anthem.[15] After Alois' sudden death on 3 January 1903, Hitler's behaviour at the technical school became even more disruptive, and he was asked to leave. He enrolled at t he Realschule in Steyr in 1904, but upon completing his second year, he and his friends went out for a night of celebration and drinking, and an intoxicated Hit ler tore his school certificate into four pieces and used it as toilet paper. Wh en someone turned the stained certificate in to the school's director, he "... g ave him such a dressing-down that the boy was reduced to shivering jelly. It was probably the most painful and humiliating experience of his life."[20] Hitler w as expelled, never to return to school again. At age 15, Hitler took part in his First Communion on Whitsunday, 22 May 1904, a t the Linz Cathedral.[21] His sponsor was Emanuel Lugert, a friend of his late f ather.[22] Early adulthood in Vienna and Munich From 1905 on, Hitler lived a bohemian life in Vienna on an orphan's pension and support from his mother. He was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienn a (1907 1908), citing "unfitness for painting", and was told his abilities lay ins tead in the field of architecture.[23] Following the school rector's recommendat

ion, he too became convinced this was his path to pursue, yet he lacked the prop er academic preparation for architecture school: In a few days I myself knew that I should some day become an architect. To be su re, it was an incredibly hard road; for the studies I had neglected out of spite at the Realschule were sorely needed. One could not attend the Academy's archit ectural school without having attended the building school at the Technic, and t he latter required a high-school degree. I had none of all this. The fulfillment of my artistic dream seemed physically impossible.[24] The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich, by Adolf Hitler, 1914 On 21 December 1907, Hitler's mother died of breast cancer at age 47. Ordered by a court in Linz, Hitler gave his share of the orphans' benefits to his sister P aula. When he was 21, he inherited money from an aunt. He struggled as a painter in Vienna, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to merchants and tourists. After being rejected a second time by the Academy of Arts, Hitler ran out of money. In 1909, he lived in a shelter for the homeless. By 1910, he had settled into a house for poor working men on Meldemannstrae. Another resident of the house, Reinhold Hanisch, sold Hitler's paintings until the two men had a bitter falling-out.[25] Hitler said he first became an antisemite in Vienna,[24] which had a large Jewis h community, including Orthodox Jews who had fled the pogroms in Russia. Accordi ng to childhood friend August Kubizek, however, Hitler was a "confirmed antisemi te" before he left Linz.[24] Vienna at that time was a hotbed of traditional rel igious prejudice and 19th century racism. Hitler may have been influenced by the occult writings of the antisemite Lanz von Liebenfels in his magazine Ostara; i t is usually taken for granted that he read the publication (he recounts in Mein Kampf his conversion to antisemitism being after reading some pamphlets) and he most likely did read it, although it is uncertain to what degree he was influen ced by the antisemitic occult work.[26] There were very few Jews in Linz. In the course of centuries the Jews who lived there had become Europeanised in external appearance and were so much like other human beings that I even looked upon them as Germans. The reason why I did not then perceive the absurdity of such an illusion was that the only external mark which I recognized as distinguishing them from us was the practice of their stra nge religion. As I thought that they were persecuted on account of their faith m y aversion to hearing remarks against them grew almost into a feeling of abhorre nce. I did not in the least suspect that there could be such a thing as a system atic antisemitism. Once, when passing through the inner City, I suddenly encount ered a phenomenon in a long caftan and wearing black side-locks. My first though t was: Is this a Jew? They certainly did not have this appearance in Linz. I car efully watched the man stealthily and cautiously but the longer I gazed at the s trange countenance and examined it feature by feature, the more the question sha ped itself in my brain: Is this a German?[24] If this account is true, Hitler apparently did not act on his new belief. He oft en was a guest for dinner in a noble Jewish house, and he interacted well with J ewish merchants who tried to sell his paintings.[27] Hitler may also have been influenced by Martin Luther's On the Jews and Their Li es. In Mein Kampf, Hitler refers to Martin Luther as a great warrior, a true sta tesman, and a great reformer, alongside Richard Wagner and Frederick the Great.[ 28] Wilhelm Rpke, writing after the Holocaust, concluded that "without any questi on, Lutheranism influenced the political, spiritual and social history of German y in a way that, after careful consideration of everything, can be described onl y as fateful."[29][30] Hitler claimed that Jews were enemies of the Aryan race. He held them responsibl e for Austria's crisis. He also identified certain forms of socialism and Bolshe vism, which had many Jewish leaders, as Jewish movements, merging his antisemiti sm with anti-Marxism. Later, blaming Germany's military defeat in World War I on the 1918 revolutions, he considered Jews the culprits of Imperial Germany's dow nfall and subsequent economic problems as well.

Hitler received the final part of his father's estate in May 1913 and moved to M unich. He wrote in Mein Kampf that he had always longed to live in a "real" Germ an city. In Munich, he became more interested in architecture and, he says, the writings of Houston Stewart Chamberlain. Moving to Munich also helped him escape military service in Austria for a time, but the Munich police (acting in cooper ation with the Austrian authorities) eventually arrested him. After a physical e xam and a contrite plea, he was deemed unfit for service and allowed to return t o Munich. However, when Germany entered World War I in August 1914, he petitione d King Ludwig III of Bavaria for permission to serve in a Bavarian regiment. Thi s request was granted, and Adolf Hitler enlisted in the Bavarian army.[31] World War I Main article: Military career of Adolf Hitler A young Hitler (left) posing with other German soldiers Hitler served in France and Belgium in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment, on th e Western Front as a regimental runner. He was present at a number of major batt les on the Western Front, including the First Battle of Ypres, the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Passchendaele.[32] Hitler in the German Army, 1914, sitting at right Hitler was twice decorated for bravery. He received the relatively common Iron C ross, Second Class, in 1914 and Iron Cross, First Class, in 1918, an honour rare ly given to a Gefreiter.[33] Yet because the regimental staff thought Hitler lac ked leadership skills, he was never promoted to Unteroffizier (equivalent to a B ritish corporal). According to Weber, Hitler's First Class Iron Cross was recomm ended by Hugo Gutmann, a Jewish List adjutant, and this rarer award was commonly awarded to those posted to regimental headquarters, such as Hitler, who had mor e contact with more senior officers than combat soldiers.[34] Hitler's duties at regimental headquarters gave him time to pursue his artwork. He drew cartoons and instructional drawings for an army newspaper. In 1916, he w as wounded in either the groin area[35] or the left thigh[36] during the Battle of the Somme, but returned to the front in March 1917. He received the Wound Bad ge later that year. German historian and author, Sebastian Haffner, referring to Hitler's experience at the front, suggests that he had at least some understand ing of the military. On 15 October 1918, Hitler was admitted to a field hospital, temporarily blinded by a mustard gas attack. The English psychologist David Lewis and Bernhard Hors tmann suggest the blindness may have been the result of a conversion disorder (t hen known as "hysteria").[37] In fact, Hitler said it was during this experience that he became convinced the purpose of his life was to "save Germany." Some sc holars, notably Lucy Dawidowicz,[38] argue that an intention to exterminate Euro pe's Jews was fully formed in Hitler's mind at this time, though he probably had not thought through how it could be done. Most historians think the decision wa s made in 1941, and some think it came as late as 1942. Hitler had long admired Germany, and during the war he had become a passionate G erman patriot, although he did not become a German citizen until 1932. Hitler fo und the war to be "the greatest of all experiences" and afterwards he was praise d by a number of his commanding officers for his bravery.[39] He was shocked by Germany's capitulation in November 1918 even while the German army still held en emy territory.[40] Like many other German nationalists, Hitler believed in the S tab-in-the-back legend (Dolchstolegende) which claimed that the army, "undefeated in the field," had been "stabbed in the back" by civilian leaders and Marxists back on the home front. These politicians were later dubbed the November Crimina ls. Portrait of Adolf Hitler taken during the war The Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of various territories, demilitarised

the Rhineland and imposed other economically damaging sanctions. The treaty re-c reated Poland, which even moderate Germans regarded as an outrage. The treaty al so blamed Germany for all the horrors of the war, something which major historia ns such as John Keegan now consider at least in part to be victor's justice; mos t European nations in the run-up to World War I had become increasingly militari sed and were eager to fight. The culpability of Germany was used as a basis to i mpose reparations on Germany (the amount was repeatedly revised under the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and the Hoover Moratorium). Germany in turn perceived the treaty, especially Article 231 on the German responsibility for the war, as a hu miliation. For example, there was a nearly total demilitarisation of the armed f orces, allowing Germany only six battleships, no submarines, no air force, an ar my of 100,000 without conscription and no armoured vehicles. The treaty was an i mportant factor in both the social and political conditions encountered by Hitle r and his Nazis as they sought power. Hitler and his party used the signing of t he treaty by the "November Criminals" as a reason to build up Germany so that it could never happen again. He also used the "November Criminals" as scapegoats, although at the Paris peace conference, these politicians had had very little ch oice in the matter. Entry into politics Main article: Adolf Hitler's political views After World War I, Hitler remained in the army and returned to Munich, where he in contrast to his later declarations attended the funeral march for the murdere d Bavarian prime minister Kurt Eisner.[41] After the suppression of the Bavarian Soviet Republic, he took part in "national thinking" courses organized by the E ducation and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian Reichswehr Group, Headquarters 4 under Captain Karl Mayr. Scapegoats were found in "international Jewry", communists, and politicians across the party spectrum, especially the p arties of the Weimar Coalition. In July 1919, Hitler was appointed a Verbindungsmann (police spy) of an Aufklrung skommando (Intelligence Commando) of the Reichswehr, both to influence other sol diers and to infiltrate a small party, the German Workers' Party (DAP). During h is inspection of the party, Hitler was impressed with founder Anton Drexler's an tisemitic, nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist ideas, which favoured a strong active government, a "non-Jewish" version of socialism and mutual solida rity of all members of society. Drexler was impressed with Hitler's oratory skil ls and invited him to join the party. Hitler joined DAP on 12 September 1919[42] and became the party's 55th member.[43] His actual membership number was 555 (t he 500 was added to make the group appear larger) but later the number was reduc ed to create the impression that Hitler was one of the founding members.[44] He was also made the seventh member of the executive committee.[45] Years later, he claimed to be the party's seventh overall member, but it has been established t hat this claim is false.[46] A copy of Adolf Hitler's German Workers' Party (DAP) membership card. Here Hitler met Dietrich Eckart, one of the early founders of the party and memb er of the occult Thule Society.[47] Eckart became Hitler's mentor, exchanging id eas with him, teaching him how to dress and speak, and introducing him to a wide range of people. Hitler thanked Eckart by paying tribute to him in the second v olume of Mein Kampf. To increase the party's appeal, the party changed its name to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or National Socialist Germ an Workers Party (abbreviated NSDAP). Hitler was discharged from the army in March 1920 and with his former superiors' continued encouragement began participating full time in the party's activities . By early 1921, Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of la rge crowds. In February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in M unich. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of party supporters to drive around with swastikas, cause a commotion and throw out leaflets, their first use of this tactic. Hitler gained notoriety outside of the party for his r

owdy, polemic speeches against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians (incl uding monarchists, nationalists and other non-internationalist socialists) and e specially against Marxists and Jews. The NSDAP[48] was centred in Munich, a hotbed of German nationalists who include d Army officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine the Weimar Republic. G radually they noticed Hitler and his growing movement as a suitable vehicle for their goals. Hitler traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the su mmer of 1921, and in his absence there was a revolt among the DAP leadership in Munich. The party was run by an executive committee whose original members considered Hi tler to be overbearing. They formed an alliance with a group of socialists from Augsburg. Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by tendering his resig nation from the party on 11 July 1921. When they realized the loss of Hitler wou ld effectively mean the end of the party, he seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he replace Drexler as party chairman, with un limited powers. Infuriated committee members (including Drexler) held out at fir st. Meanwhile an anonymous pamphlet appeared entitled Adolf Hitler: Is he a trai tor?, attacking Hitler's lust for power and criticizing the violent men around h im. Hitler responded to its publication in a Munich newspaper by suing for libel and later won a small settlement. The executive committee of the NSDAP eventually backed down and Hitler's demands were put to a vote of party members. Hitler received 543 votes for and only one against. At the next gathering on 29 July 1921, Adolf Hitler was introduced as Fhrer of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, marking the first time thi s title was publicly used. Hitler's beer hall oratory, attacking Jews, social democrats, liberals, reaction ary monarchists, capitalists and communists, began attracting adherents. Early f ollowers included Rudolf Hess, the former air force pilot Hermann Gring, and the army captain Ernst Rhm, who eventually became head of the Nazis' paramilitary org anization the SA (Sturmabteilung, or "Storm Division"), which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. As well, Hitler assimilated independent group s, such as the Nuremberg-based Deutsche Werkgemeinschaft, led by Julius Streiche r, who became Gauleiter of Franconia. Hitler attracted the attention of local bu siness interests, was accepted into influential circles of Munich society, and b ecame associated with wartime General Erich Ludendorff during this time. Drawing of Hitler, 1923 Beer Hall Putsch Main article: Beer Hall Putsch Encouraged by this early support, Hitler decided to use Ludendorff as a front in an attempted coup later known as the "Beer Hall Putsch" (sometimes as the "Hitl er Putsch" or "Munich Putsch"). The Nazi Party had copied Italy's fascists in ap pearance and had adopted some of their policies, and in 1923, Hitler wanted to e mulate Benito Mussolini's "March on Rome" by staging his own "Campaign in Berlin ". Hitler and Ludendorff obtained the clandestine support of Gustav von Kahr, Ba varia's de facto ruler, along with leading figures in the Reichswehr and the pol ice. As political posters show, Ludendorff, Hitler and the heads of the Bavarian police and military planned on forming a new government. On 8 November 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting headed by Kahr in the Brgerbrukeller, a large beer hall in Munich. He declared that he had set up a new government with Ludendorff and demanded, at gunpoint, the support of Kahr a nd the local military establishment for the destruction of the Berlin government .[49] Kahr withdrew his support and fled to join the opposition to Hitler at the first opportunity.[50] The next day, when Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government as a start to their "March on Berlin", the police dispersed them. Sixteen NSDAP members were killed.[51] Hitler fled to the home of Ernst Hanfstaengl and contemplated suicide; Hanfstaen gl's wife Helene talked him out of it. He was soon arrested for high treason. Al

fred Rosenberg became temporary leader of the party. During Hitler's trial, he w as given almost unlimited time to speak, and his popularity soared as he voiced nationalistic sentiments in his defence speech. A Munich personality thus became a nationally known figure. On 1 April 1924, Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Landsberg Prison. Hitler received favoured treatment from the g uards and had much fan mail from admirers. He was pardoned and released from jai l on 20 December 1924, by order of the Bavarian Supreme Court on 19 December, wh ich issued its final rejection of the state prosecutor's objections to Hitler's early release.[52] Including time on remand, he had served little more than one year of his sentence.[53] On 28 June 1925, Hitler wrote a letter from Uffing to the editor of The Nation i n New York City complaining of the length of his sentence at "Sandberg a. S." [s ic], where he claimed his privileges had been extensively revoked.[54] Mein Kampf Dust jacket of Mein Kampf Main article: Mein Kampf While at Landsberg, he dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf (My Strug gle, originally entitled Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidi ty, and Cowardice) to his deputy Rudolf Hess.[53] The book, dedicated to Thule S ociety member Dietrich Eckart, was an autobiography and an exposition of his ide ology. Mein Kampf was influenced by The Passing of the Great Race by Madison Gra nt, which Hitler called "my Bible."[55] It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926, selling about 240,000 copies between 1925 and 1934. By the end of the war, about 10 million copies had been sold or distributed (newlyweds and soldier s received free copies). The copyright of Mein Kampf in Europe is claimed by the Free State of Bavaria and scheduled to end on 31 December 2015. Reproductions i n Germany are authorized only for scholarly purposes and in heavily commented fo rm. Rebuilding of the party Adolf Hitler (left), standing up behind Hermann Gring at a Nazi rally in Nurember g, 1928 At the time of Hitler's release, the political situation in Germany had calmed a nd the economy had improved, which hampered Hitler's opportunities for agitation . Though the "Hitler Putsch" had given Hitler some national prominence, Munich r emained his party's mainstay. The NSDAP and its organs were banned in Bavaria after the collapse of the putsch . Hitler convinced Heinrich Held, Prime Minister of Bavaria, to lift the ban, ba sed on representations that the party would now only seek political power throug h legal means. Even though the ban on the NSDAP was removed effective 16 Februar y 1925,[56] Hitler incurred a new ban on public speaking as a result of an infla mmatory speech. Since Hitler was banned from public speeches, he appointed Grego r Strasser, who in 1924 had been elected to the Reichstag, as Reichsorganisation sleiter, authorizing him to organize the party in northern Germany. Strasser, jo ined by his younger brother Otto and Joseph Goebbels, steered an increasingly in dependent course, emphasizing the socialist element in the party's programme. Th e Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Gauleiter Nord-West became an internal opposition, thr eatening Hitler's authority, but this faction was defeated at the Bamberg Confer ence in 1926, during which Goebbels joined Hitler. After this encounter, Hitler centralized the party even more and asserted the Fhr erprinzip ("Leader principle") as the basic principle of party organization. Lea ders were not elected by their group, but were rather appointed by their superio r, answering to them while demanding unquestioning obedience from their inferior s. Consistent with Hitler's disdain for democracy, all power and authority devol ved from the top down. A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to evoke a sense of offended na tional pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles imposed on the defeated German E

mpire by the Western Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory i n Europe along with its colonies, and in admitting to sole responsibility for th e war had agreed to pay a huge reparations bill totaling 132 billion marks. Most Germans bitterly resented these terms, but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly suc cessful with the electorate. The party learned quickly, and soon a more subtle p ropaganda emerged, combining antisemitism with an attack on the failures of the "Weimar system" and the parties supporting it. Having failed in overthrowing the Republic by a coup, Hitler pursued a "strategy of legality": this meant formally adhering to the rules of the Weimar Republic until he had legally gained power. He would then use the institutions of the Wei mar Republic to destroy it and establish himself as dictator. Some party members , especially in the paramilitary SA, opposed this strategy; Rhm and others ridicu led Hitler as "Adolphe Legalit". Rise to power Main article: Adolf Hitler's rise to power Nazi Party Election Results Date Votes Percentage of Votes Seats in Reichstag Background May 1924 1,918,300 6.5 32 December 1924 907,300 3.0 14 Hitler May 1928 810,100 2.6 12 September 1930 6,409,600 18.3 107 July 1932 13,745,800 37.4 230 residency November 1932 11,737,000 33.1 196 March 1933 17,277,000 43.9 288 or of Germany Brning Administration

Hitler in prison is released from prison After the financial crisis After Hitler was candidate for p During Hitler's term as Chancell

An NSDAP meeting in December 1930, with Hitler in the centre The political turning point for Hitler came when the Great Depression hit German y in 1930. The Weimar Republic had never been firmly rooted and was openly oppos ed by right-wing conservatives (including monarchists), communists and the Nazis . As the parties loyal to the democratic, parliamentary republic found themselve s unable to agree on counter-measures, their grand coalition broke up and was re placed by a minority cabinet. The new Chancellor, Heinrich Brning of the Roman Ca tholic Centre Party, lacking a majority in parliament, had to implement his meas ures through the president's emergency decrees. Tolerated by the majority of par ties, this rule by decree would become the norm over a series of unworkable parl iaments and paved the way for authoritarian forms of government.[57] The Reichstag's initial opposition to Brning's measures led to premature election s in September 1930. The republican parties lost their majority and their abilit y to resume the grand coalition, while the Nazis suddenly rose from relative obs curity to win 18.3% of the vote along with 107 seats. In the process, they jumpe d from the ninth-smallest party in the chamber to the second largest.[58] In September October 1930, Hitler appeared as a major defence witness at the trial in Leipzig of two junior Reichswehr officers charged with membership of the Naz i Party, which at that time was forbidden to Reichswehr personnel.[59] The two o fficers, Leutnants Richard Scheringer and Hans Ludin, admitted quite openly to N azi Party membership, and used as their defence that the Nazi Party membership s hould not be forbidden to those serving in the Reichswehr.[60] When the Prosecut ion argued that the Nazi Party was a dangerous revolutionary force, one of the d efence lawyers, Hans Frank had Hitler brought to the stand to prove that the Naz i Party was a law-abiding party.[60] During his testimony, Hitler insisted that his party was determined to come to power legally, that the phrase "National Rev olution" was only to be interpreted "politically", and that his Party was a frie

nd, not an enemy of the Reichswehr.[61] Hitler's testimony of 25 September 1930 won him many admirers within the ranks of the officer corps.[62] Brning's measures of budget consolidation and financial austerity brought little economic improvement and were extremely unpopular.[63] Under these circumstances , Hitler appealed to the bulk of German farmers, war veterans and the middle cla ss, who had been hard-hit by both the inflation of the 1920s and the unemploymen t of the Depression.[64] In September 1931, Hitler's niece Geli Raubal was found dead in her bedroom in h is Munich apartment (his half-sister Angela and her daughter Geli had been with him in Munich since 1929), an apparent suicide. Geli, who was believed to be in some sort of romantic relationship with Hitler, was 19 years younger than he was , and had used his gun. His niece's death is viewed as a source of deep, lasting pain for him.[65] In 1932, Hitler intended to run against the aging President Paul von Hindenburg in the scheduled presidential elections. His 27 January 1932 speech to the Indus try Club in Dsseldorf won him, for the first time, support from a broad swath of Germany's most powerful industrialists.[66] Though Hitler had left Austria in 19 13 and had formally renounced his Austrian citizenship on 7 April 1925, he still had not acquired German citizenship and hence could not run for public office. For almost seven years Hitler was stateless and faced the risk of deportation fr om Germany.[67] On 25 February 1932, however, the Nazi interior minister of Brun swick (the Nazis were part of a right-wing coalition governing the state) appoin ted Hitler as administrator for the state's delegation to the Reichsrat in Berli n. This appointment made Hitler a citizen of Brunswick.[68] In those days, the s tates conferred citizenship, so this automatically made Hitler a citizen of Germ any as well and thus eligible to run for president.[69] The new German citizen ran against Hindenburg, who was supported by a broad rang e of nationalist, monarchist, Catholic, republican and even social democratic pa rties. Another candidate was a Communist and member of a fringe right-wing party . Hitler's campaign was called "Hitler ber Deutschland" (Hitler over Germany).[70 ] The name had a double meaning; besides a reference to his dictatorial ambition s, it referred to the fact that he campaigned by aircraft.[70] Hitler came in se cond on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one i n April. Although he lost to Hindenburg, the election established Hitler as a re alistic alternative in German politics.[71] Appointment as Chancellor Meanwhile, Papen tried to get his revenge on Schleicher by working toward the Ge neral's downfall, through forming an intrigue with the camarilla and Alfred Huge nberg, media mogul and chairman of the DNVP. Also involved were Hjalmar Schacht, Fritz Thyssen and other leading German businessmen and international bankers.[7 2] They financially supported the Nazi Party, which had been brought to the brin k of bankruptcy by the cost of heavy campaigning. The businessmen wrote letters to Hindenburg, urging him to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independe nt from parliamentary parties" which could turn into a movement that would "enra pture millions of people."[73] Hitler from a window of the Reich Chancellery receiving an ovation at his inaugu ration as Chancellor, 30 January 1933 Finally, the president reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler Chancellor of a coal ition government formed by the NSDAP and DNVP. However, the Nazis were to be con tained by a framework of conservative cabinet ministers, most notably by Papen a s Vice-Chancellor and by Hugenberg as Minister of the Economy. The only other Na zi besides Hitler to get a portfolio was Wilhelm Frick, who was given the relati vely powerless interior ministry (in Germany at the time, most powers wielded by the interior minister in other countries were held by the interior ministers of the states). As a concession to the Nazis, Gring was named minister without port folio. While Papen intended to use Hitler as a figurehead, the Nazis gained key positions. On the morning of 30 January 1933, in Hindenburg's office, Adolf Hitler was swor

n in as Chancellor during what some observers later described as a brief and sim ple ceremony. His first speech as Chancellor took place on 10 February. The Nazi s' seizure of power subsequently became known as the Machtergreifung or Machtbern ahme. Reichstag fire and the March elections Having become Chancellor, Hitler foiled all attempts by his opponents to gain a majority in parliament. Because no single party could gain a majority, Hitler pe rsuaded President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag again. Elections were sch eduled for early March, but on 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire.[74] Since a Dutch independent communist was found in the building, the fire was blamed on a communist plot. The government reacted with the Reichstag F ire Decree of 28 February which suspended basic rights, including habeas corpus. Under the provisions of this decree, the German Communist Party (KPD) and other groups were suppressed, and Communist functionaries and deputies were arrested, forced to flee, or murdered. Campaigning continued, with the Nazis making use of paramilitary violence, anticommunist hysteria, and the government's resources for propaganda. On election d ay, 6 March, the NSDAP increased its result to 43.9% of the vote, remaining the largest party, but its victory was marred by its failure to secure an absolute m ajority, necessitating maintaining a coalition with the DNVP.[75] "Day of Potsdam" and the Enabling Act Parade of SA troops past Hitler Nuremberg, November 1935

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsour ced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) On 21 March, the new Reichstag was constituted with an opening ceremony held at Potsdam's garrison church. This "Day of Potsdam" was staged to demonstrate recon ciliation and unity between the revolutionary Nazi movement and "Old Prussia" wi th its elites and virtues. Hitler appeared in a tail coat and humbly greeted the aged President Hindenburg. Because of the Nazis' failure to obtain a majority on their own, Hitler's govern ment confronted the newly elected Reichstag with the Enabling Act that would hav e vested the cabinet with legislative powers for a period of four years. Though such a bill was not unprecedented, this act was different since it allowed for d eviations from the constitution. Since the bill required a ? majority in order t o pass, the government needed the support of other parties. The position of the Centre Party, the third largest party in the Reichstag, turned out to be decisiv e: under the leadership of Ludwig Kaas, the party decided to vote for the Enabli ng Act. It did so in return for the government's oral guarantees regarding the C hurch's liberty, the concordats signed by German states and the continued existe nce of the Centre Party. On 23 March, the Reichstag assembled in a replacement building under extremely t urbulent circumstances. Some SA men served as guards within while large groups o utside the building shouted slogans and threats toward the arriving deputies. Ka as announced that the Centre Party would support the bill with "concerns put asi de," while Social Democrat Otto Wels denounced the act in his speech. At the end of the day, all parties except the Social Democrats voted in favour of the bill . The Communists, as well as some Social Democrats, were barred from attending. The Enabling Act, combined with the Reichstag Fire Decree, transformed Hitler's government into a legal dictatorship. Removal of remaining limits At the risk of appearing to talk nonsense I tell you that the Nazi movement will go on for 1,000 years! ... Don't forget how people laughed at me 15 years ago w hen I declared that one day I would govern Germany. They laugh now, just as fool ishly, when I declare that I shall remain in power! Adolf Hitler to a British correspondent in Berlin, June 1934[76] With this combination of legislative and executive power, Hitler's government fu

rther suppressed the remaining political opposition. After the rapid dissolution of the Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was banned, leading t o a 10 May court order that all property and assets be seized. The Steel Helmets (World War I veterans) on 26 April were placed under Hitler's leadership with a guarantee they would exist as an autonomous organization to be called upon as a n auxiliary police force. On 2 May, stormtroopers ransacked and destroyed every trade union office in the country, and 4 May the Christian Trade Unions and all other unions vowed allegiance to Hitler. The State Party dissolved on June 28. T he 60 year old People's Party officially dissolved on 4 July. The Catholic Churc h was given no choice but to support Hitler after dissolution of their Centre Pa rty on 5 July. The right wing German Nationalist Front was forced to incorporate its small paramilitaries into the Nazi SA and dissolved per the "Friendship Agr eement". Finally, on 14 July, the Nazi Party was declared the only legal party i n Germany as big business and the army stood on the sidelines.[77] Hitler used the SA paramilitary to push Hugenberg into resigning, and proceeded to politically isolate Vice-Chancellor Papen. Because the SA's demands for polit ical and military power caused much anxiety among military and political leaders , Hitler used allegations of a plot by the SA leader Ernst Rhm to purge the SA's leadership during the Night of the Long Knives. As well, opponents unconnected w ith the SA were murdered, notably Gregor Strasser and former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher.[78] In 1934, Hitler became Germany's president under the title Fhrer und Reichskanzle r (Leader and Chancellor of the Reich). President Paul von Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. Rather than call new electi ons as required by the constitution, Hitler's cabinet passed a law proclaiming t he presidency vacant and transferred the role and powers of the head of state to Hitler as Fhrer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor). This action effective and with it, ly removed the last legal remedy by which Hitler could be dismissed nearly all institutional checks and balances on his power. On 19 August a plebiscite approved the merger of the presidency with the chancel lorship winning 84.6% of the electorate.[79][80] This action technically violate d both the constitution and the Enabling Act. The constitution had been amended in 1932 to make the president of the High Court of Justice, not the chancellor, acting president until new elections could be held. The Enabling Act specificall y barred Hitler from taking any action that tampered with the presidency. Howeve r, no one dared object. As head of state, Hitler now became Supreme Commander of the armed forces. When it came time for the soldiers and sailors to swear the traditional loyalty oath, it had been altered into an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler. Normally, soldi ers and sailors swear loyalty to the holder of the office of supreme commander/c ommander-in-chief, not a specific person.[81] In 1938, two scandals resulted in Hitler bringing the Armed Forces under his con trol. Hitler forced the resignation of his War Minister (formerly Defense Minist er), Werner von Blomberg, after evidence surfaced that Blomberg's new wife had a criminal past. Prior to removing Blomberg, Hitler and his clique removed army c ommander Werner von Fritsch on suspicion of homosexuality.[82] Hitler replaced t he Ministry of War with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Arme d Forces, or OKW), headed by the pliant General Wilhelm Keitel. More importantly , Hitler announced he was assuming personal command of the armed forces. He took over Blomberg's other old post, that of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, for himself. He was already Supreme Commander by virtue of holding the powers o f the president. The next day, the newspapers announced, "Strongest concentratio n of powers in Fhrer's hands!" Third Reich Main article: Nazi Germany Having secured supreme political power, Hitler went on to gain public support by convincing most Germans he was their saviour from the economic Depression, the

Versailles treaty, communism, the "Judeo-Bolsheviks", and other "undesirable" mi norities. The Nazis eliminated opposition through a process known as Gleichschal tung ("bringing into line"). Economy and culture Hitler oversaw one of the greatest expansions of industrial production and civil improvement Germany had ever seen, mostly based on debt flotation (refinancing long term debts into cheaper short term debt) and expansion of the military. Naz i policies toward women strongly encouraged them to stay at home to bear childre n and keep house. In a September 1934 speech to the National Socialist Women's O rganization, Adolf Hitler argued that for the German woman her "world is her hus band, her family, her children, and her home." This policy was reinforced by bes towing the Cross of Honor of the German Mother on women bearing four or more bab ies. The unemployment rate was cut substantially, mostly through arms production and sending women home so that men could take their jobs. Given this, claims th at the German economy achieved near full employment are at least partly artefact s of propaganda from the era. Much of the financing for Hitler's reconstruction and rearmament came from currency manipulation by Hjalmar Schacht, including the clouded credits through the Mefo bills. 1934 Nuremberg rally Hitler oversaw one of the largest infrastructure-improvement campaigns in German history, with the construction of dozens of dams, autobahns, railroads, and oth er civil works. This revitalising of industry and infrastructure came at the exp ense of the overall standard of living, at least for those not affected by the c hronic unemployment of the later Weimar Republic, since wages were slightly redu ced in pre World War II years, despite a 25% increase in the cost of living.[83] L aborers and farmers, the traditional voters of the NSDAP, however, saw an increa se in their standard of living. Hitler's government sponsored architecture on an immense scale, with Albert Spee r becoming famous as the first architect of the Reich. While important as an arc hitect in implementing Hitler's classicist reinterpretation of German culture, S peer proved much more effective as armaments minister during the last years of W orld War II. In 1936, Berlin hosted the summer Olympic games, which were opened by Hitler and choreographed to demonstrate Aryan superiority over all other race s, achieving mixed results. Although Hitler made plans for a Breitspurbahn ("broad gauge railroad network"), they were preempted by World War II. Had the railroad been built, its gauge wou ld have been three metres, even wider than the old Great Western Railway of Brit ain. Hitler contributed slightly to the design of the car that later became the Volks wagen Beetle and charged Ferdinand Porsche with its design and construction.[84] Production was deferred because of the war. On 20 April 1939, a lavish celebration was held in honour of Hitler's 50th birth day, featuring military parades, visits from foreign dignitaries, thousands of f laming torches and Nazi banners.[85] An important historical debate about Hitler's economic policies concerns the "mo dernization" issue. Historians such as David Schoenbaum and Henry Ashby Turner h ave argued that social and economic polices under Hitler were modernization carr ied out in pursuit of anti-modern goals.[86] Other groups of historians centred around Rainer Zitelmann have contended that Hitler had a deliberate strategy of pursuing a revolutionary modernization of German society.[87] In his first four years of government the number of unemployed dropped from 6 mi llion to 900 thousand people, the gross national product grew 102%, he doubled t he per capita income, augmented companies' profits from 175 million to 5 billion reichsmarks and reduced hyperinflation to a maximum of 25% a year.[citation nee ded] Rearmament and new alliances This section may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Please consider m

oving more of the content into sub-articles and using this article for a summary of the key points of the subject. (April 2010) Main articles: Axis powers, Tripartite Pact, and German re-armament Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini during Hitler's visit to Venice from 14 to 16 June 1934 In a meeting with his leading generals and admirals on 3 February 1933, Hitler s poke of "conquest of Lebensraum in the East and its ruthless Germanisation" as h is ultimate foreign policy objectives.[88] In March 1933, the first major statem ent of German foreign policy aims appeared with the memo submitted to the German Cabinet by the State Secretary at the Auswrtiges Amt (Foreign Office), Prince Be rnhard Wilhelm von Blow (not to be confused with his more famous uncle, the forme r Chancellor Bernhard von Blow), which advocated Anschluss with Austria, the rest oration of the frontiers of 1914, the rejection of the Part V of Versailles, the return of the former German colonies in Africa, and a German zone of influence in Eastern Europe as goals for the future. Hitler found the goals in Blow's memo to be too modest.[89] In March 1933, to resolve the deadlock between the French demand for scurit ("security") and the German demand for gleichberechtigung ("equa lity of armaments") at the World Disarmament Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald presented the compromise "MacDonald Plan". Hitler endorsed the "MacDonald Plan", correctly guessing that nothing wou ld come of it, and that in the interval he could win some goodwill in London by making his government appear moderate, and the French obstinate.[90] In May 1933, Hitler met with Herbert von Dirksen, the German Ambassador in Mosco w. Dirksen advised the Fhrer that he was allowing relations with the Soviet Union to deteriorate to an unacceptable extent, and advised to take immediate steps t o repair relations with the Soviets.[91] Much to Dirksen's intense disappointmen t, Hitler informed him that he wished for an anti-Soviet understanding with Pola nd, which Dirksen protested would imply recognition of the German-Polish border, leading Hitler to state he was after much greater things than merely overturnin g the Treaty of Versailles.[92] In June 1933, Hitler was forced to disavow Alfred Hugenberg of the German Nation al People's Party, who while attending the London World Economic Conference put forth a programme of colonial expansion in both Africa and Eastern Europe, which created a major storm abroad.[93] Speaking to the Burgermeister of Hamburg in 1 933, Hitler commented that Germany required several years of peace before it cou ld be sufficiently rearmed enough to risk a war, and until then a policy of caut ion was called for.[94] In his "peace speeches" of 17 May 1933, 21 May 1935, and 7 March 1936, Hitler stressed his supposed peaceful goals and a willingness to work within the international system.[95] In private, Hitler's plans were someth ing less than peaceful. At the first meeting of his Cabinet in 1933, Hitler plac ed military spending ahead of unemployment relief, and indeed was only prepared to spend money on the latter if the former was satisfied first.[96] When the pre sident of the Reichsbank, the former Chancellor Dr. Hans Luther, offered the new government the legal limit of 100 million Reichmarks to finance rearmament, Hit ler found the sum too low, and sacked Luther in March 1933 to replace him with H jalmar Schacht, who during the next five years was to advance 12 billion Reichma rks worth of "Mefo-bills" to pay for rearmament.[97] A major initiative in Hitler's foreign policy in his early years was to create a n alliance with Britain. In the 1920s, Hitler wrote that a future National Socia list foreign policy goal was "the destruction of Russia with the help of England ."[98] In May 1933, Alfred Rosenberg in his capacity as head of the Nazi Party's Aussenpolitisches Amt (Foreign Political Office), visited London as part of a d isastrous effort to win an alliance with Britain.[99] In October 1933, Hitler pu lled Germany out of both the League of Nations and World Disarmament Conference after his Foreign Minister Baron Konstantin von Neurath made it appear to world public opinion that the French demand for scurit was the principal stumbling block .[100] In line with the views he advocated in Mein Kampf and Zweites Buch about the nec

essity of building an Anglo-German alliance, Hitler, in a meeting in November 19 33 with the British Ambassador, Sir Eric Phipps, offered a scheme in which Brita in would support a 300,000-strong German Army in exchange for a German "guarante e" of the British Empire.[101] In response, the British stated a 10-year waiting period would be necessary before Britain would support an increase in the size of the German Army.[101] A more successful initiative in foreign policy occurred in relations with Poland. In spite of intense opposition from the military and the Auswrtiges Amt who preferred closer ties with the Soviet Union, Hitler, in th e fall of 1933 opened secret talks with Poland that were to lead to the German Pol ish Non-Aggression Pact of January 1934.[100] In February 1934, Hitler met with the British Lord Privy Seal, Sir Anthony Eden, and hinted strongly that Germany already possessed an Air Force, which had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.[102] In the fall of 1934, Hitler was ser iously concerned over the dangers of inflation damaging his popularity.[103] In a secret speech given before his Cabinet on 5 November 1934, Hitler stated he ha d "given the working class his word that he would allow no price increases. Wage -earners would accuse him of breaking his word if he did not act against the ris ing prices. Revolutionary conditions among the people would be the further conse quence."[103] Although a secret German armaments programme had been on-going since 1919, in Ma rch 1935, Hitler rejected Part V of the Versailles treaty by publicly announcing that the German army would be expanded to 600,000 men (six times the number sti pulated in the Treaty of Versailles), introducing an Air Force (Luftwaffe) and i ncreasing the size of the Navy (Kriegsmarine). Britain, France, Italy and the Le ague of Nations quickly condemned these actions. However, after re-assurances fr om Hitler that Germany was only interested in peace, no country took any action to stop this development and German re-armament continued. Later in March 1935, Hitler held a series of meetings in Berlin with the British Foreign Secretary Si r John Simon and Eden, during which he successfully evaded British offers for Ge rman participation in a regional security pact meant to serve as an Eastern Euro pean equivalent of the Locarno pact while the two British ministers avoided taki ng up Hitler's offers of alliance.[104] During his talks with Simon and Eden, Hi tler first used what he regarded as the brilliant colonial negotiating tactic, w hen Hitler parlayed an offer from Simon to return to the League of Nations by de manding the return of the former German colonies in Africa.[105] Starting in April 1935, disenchantment with how the Third Reich had developed in practice as opposed to what been promised led many in the Nazi Party, especiall y the Alte Kmpfer (Old Fighters; i.e., those who joined the Party before 1930, an d who tended to be the most ardent antisemitics in the Party), and the SA into l ashing out against Germany's Jewish minority as a way of expressing their frustr ations against a group that the authorities would not generally protect.[106] Th e rank and file of the Party were most unhappy that two years into the Third Rei ch, and despite countless promises by Hitler prior to 1933, no law had been pass ed banning marriage or sex between those Germans belonging to the "Aryan" and Je wish "races". A Gestapo report from the spring of 1935 stated that the rank and file of the Nazi Party would "set in motion by us from below," a solution to the "Jewish problem," "that the government would then have to follow."[107] As a re sult, Nazi Party activists and the SA started a major wave of assaults, vandalis m and boycotts against German Jews.[108] On 18 June 1935, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) was signed in London wh ich allowed for increasing the allowed German tonnage up to 35% of that of the B ritish navy. Hitler called the signing of the AGNA "the happiest day of his life " as he believed the agreement marked the beginning of the Anglo-German alliance he had predicted in Mein Kampf.[109] This agreement was made without consulting either France or Italy, directly undermining the League of Nations and put the Treaty of Versailles on the path towards irrelevance.[110] After the signing of the A.G.N.A., in June 1935 Hitler ordered the next step in the creation of an An glo-German alliance: taking all the societies demanding the restoration of the f ormer German African colonies and coordinating (Gleichschaltung) them into a new Reich Colonial League (Reichskolonialbund) which over the next few years waged

an extremely aggressive propaganda campaign for colonial restoration.[111] Hitle r had no real interest in the former German African colonies. In Mein Kampf, Hit ler had excoriated the Imperial German government for pursuing colonial expansio n in Africa prior to 1914 on the grounds that the natural area for Lebensraum wa s Eastern Europe, not Africa.[112] It was Hitler's intention to use colonial dem ands as a negotiating tactic that would see a German "renunciation" of colonial claims in exchange for Britain making an alliance with the Reich on German terms .[113] In the summer of 1935, Hitler was informed that, between inflation and the need to use foreign exchange to buy raw materials Germany lacked for rearmament, ther e were only 5 million Reichmarks available for military expenditure, and a press ing need for some 300,000 Reichmarks/day to prevent food shortages.[114] In Augu st 1935, Dr. Hjalmar Schacht advised Hitler that the wave of antisemitic violenc e was interfering with the workings of the economy, and hence rearmament.[115] F ollowing Dr. Schacht's complaints, plus reports that the German public did not a pprove of the wave of antisemitic violence, and that continuing police toleratio n of the violence was hurting the regime's popularity with the wider public, Hit ler ordered a stop to "individual actions" against German Jews on 8 August 1935. [115] From Hitler's perspective, it was imperative to bring in harsh new antisem itic laws as a consolation prize for those Party members who were disappointed w ith Hitler's halt order of 8 August, especially because Hitler had only reluctan tly given the halt order for pragmatic reasons, and his sympathies were with the Party radicals.[115] The annual Nazi Party Rally held at Nuremberg in September 1935 was to feature the first session of the Reichstag held at that city since 1543. Hitler had planned to have the Reichstag pass a law making the Nazi Swasti ka flag the flag of the German Reich, and a major speech in support of the impen ding Italian aggression against Ethiopia.[116] Hitler felt that the Italian aggr ession opened great opportunities for Germany. In August 1935, Hitler told Goebb els his foreign policy vision as: "With England eternal alliance. Good relations hip with Poland . . . Expansion to the East. The Baltic belongs to us . . . Conf licts Italy-Abyssinia-England, then Japan-Russia imminent."[117] At the last minute before the Nuremberg Party Rally was due to begin, the German Foreign Minister Baron Konstantin von Neurath persuaded Hitler to cancel his sp eech praising Italy for her willingness to commit aggression. Neurath convinced Hitler that his speech was too provocative to public opinion abroad as it contra dicted the message of Hitler's "peace speeches", thus leaving Hitler with the su dden need to have something else to address the Reichstag in Nuremberg, other th an the Reich Flag Law.[118] On 13 September 1935, Hitler hurriedly ordered two c ivil servants, Dr. Bernhard Lsener and Franz Albrecht Medicus of the Interior Min istry to fly to Nuremberg to start drafting antisemitic laws for Hitler to prese nt to the Reichstag for 15 September.[116] On the evening of 15 September, Hitle r presented two laws before the Reichstag banning sex and marriage between Aryan and Jewish Germans, the employment of Aryan women under the age of 45 in Jewish households, and deprived "non-Aryans" of the benefits of German citizenship.[11 9] The laws of September 1935 are generally known as the Nuremberg Laws. In October 1935, in order to prevent further food shortages and the introduction of rationing, Hitler reluctantly ordered cuts in military spending.[120] In the spring of 1936 in response to requests from Richard Walther Darr, Hitler ordered 60 million Reichmarks of foreign exchange to be used to buy seed oil for German farmers, a decision that led to bitter complaints from Dr. Schacht and the War Minister Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg that it would be impossible to achiev e rearmament as long as foreign exchange was diverted to preventing food shortag es.[117] Given the economic problems which were affecting his popularity by earl y 1936, Hitler felt the pressing need for a foreign policy triumph as a way of d istracting public attention from the economy.[117] In an interview with the French journalist Bertrand de Jouvenel in February 1936 , Hitler appeared to disavow Mein Kampf by saying that parts of his book were no w out of date and he was not guided by them, though precisely which parts were o ut of date was left unclear.[121] In March 1936, Hitler again violated the Versa illes treaty by reoccupying the demilitarized zone in the Rhineland. When Britai

n and France did nothing, he grew bolder. In July 1936, the Spanish Civil War be gan when the military, led by General Francisco Franco, rebelled against the ele cted Popular Front government. After receiving an appeal for help from General F ranco in July 1936, Hitler sent troops to support Franco, and Spain served as a testing ground for Germany's new forces and their methods. At the same time, Hit ler continued with his efforts to create an Anglo-German alliance. In July 1936, he offered to Phipps a promise that if Britain were to sign an alliance with th e Reich, Germany would commit to sending twelve divisions to the Far East to pro tect British colonial possessions there from a Japanese attack.[122] Hitler's of fer was refused. In August 1936, in response to a growing crisis in the German economy caused by the strains of rearmament, Hitler issued the "Four-Year Plan Memorandum" orderin g Hermann Gring to carry out the Four Year Plan to have the German economy ready for war within the next four years.[123] During the 1936 economic crisis, the Ge rman government was divided into two factions, with one (the so-called "free mar ket" faction) centering around the Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht and the former Price Commissioner Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler calling for decreased mil itary spending and a turn away from autarkic policies, and another faction aroun d Gring calling for the opposite. Supporting the "free-market" faction were some of Germany's leading business executives, most notably Hermann Duecher of AEG, R obert Bosch of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Albert Voegeler of Vereinigte Stahlwerke.[ 124] Hitler hesitated for the first half of 1936 before siding with the more rad ical faction in his "Four Year Plan" memo of August.[125] Historians such as Ric hard Overy have argued that the importance of the memo, which was written person ally by Hitler, can be gauged by the fact that Hitler, who had something of a ph obia about writing, hardly ever wrote anything down, which indicates that Hitler had something especially important to say.[126] The "Four-Year Plan Memorandum" predicated an imminent all-out, apocalyptic struggle between "Judo-Bolshevism" and German National Socialism, which necessitated a total effort at rearmament r egardless of the economic costs.[127] In the memo, Hitler wrote: Since the outbreak of the French Revolution, the world has been moving with ever increasing speed toward a new conflict, the most extreme solution of which is c alled Bolshevism, whose essence and aim, however, are solely the elimination of those strata of mankind which have hitherto provided the leadership and their re placement by worldwide Jewry. No state will be able to withdraw or even remain a t a distance from this historical conflict . . . It is not the aim of this memor andum to prophesy the time when the untenable situation in Europe will become an open crisis. I only want, in these lines, to set down my conviction that this c risis cannot and will not fail to arrive and that it is Germany's duty to secure her own existence by every means in face of this catastrophe, and to protect he rself against it, and that from this compulsion there arises a series of conclus ions relating to the most important tasks that our people have ever been set. Fo r a victory of Bolshevism over Germany would not lead to a Versailles treaty, bu t to the final destruction, indeed the annihilation of the German people . . . I consider it necessary for the Reichstag to pass the following two laws: 1) A la w providing the death penalty for economic sabotage and 2) A law making the whol e of Jewry liable for all damage inflicted by individual specimens of this commu nity of criminals upon the German economy, and thus upon the German people.[128] Hitler called for Germany to have the world's "first army" in terms of fighting power within the next four years and that "the extent of the military developmen t of our resources cannot be too large, nor its pace too swift" (italics in the original) and the role of the economy was simply to support "Germany's self-asse rtion and the extension of her Lebensraum."[129][130] Hitler went on to write th at given the magnitude of the coming struggle, that the concerns expressed by me mbers of the "free market" faction like Schacht and Goerdeler that the current l evel of military spending was bankrupting Germany were irrelevant. Hitler wrote that: "However well balanced the general pattern of a nation's life ought to be, there must at particular times be certain disturbances of the balance at the ex pense of other less vital tasks. If we do not succeed in bringing the German arm y as rapidly as possible to the rank of premier army in the world . . . then Ger

many will be lost!"[131] and "The nation does not live for the economy, for econ omic leaders, or for economic or financial theories; on the contrary, it is fina nce and the economy, economic leaders and theories, which all owe unqualified se rvice in this struggle for the self-assertion of our nation."[124][clarification needed] Documents such as the Four Year Plan Memo have often been used by right historians such as Henry Ashby Turner and Karl Dietrich Bracher who argue for a "primacy of politics" approach (that Hitler was not subordinate to German busin ess, but rather the contrary was the case) against the "primacy of economics" ap proach championed by Marxist historians (that Hitler was an "agent" of and subor dinate to German business).[132] In August 1936, the freelance Nazi diplomat Joachim von Ribbentrop was appointed German Ambassador to the UK. Before Ribbentrop left to take up his post in Octo ber 1936, Hitler told him: "Ribbentrop . . . get Britain to join the Anti-Comint ern Pact, that is what I want most of all. I have sent you as the best man I've got. Do what you can . . . But if in future all our efforts are still in vain, f air enough, then I'm ready for war as well. I would regret it very much, but if it has to be, there it is. But I think it would be a short war and the moment it is over, I will then be ready at any time to offer the British an honourable pe ace acceptable to both sides. However, I would then demand that Britain join the Anti-Comintern Pact or perhaps some other pact. But get on with it, Ribbentrop, you have the trumps in your hand, play them well. I'm ready at any time for an air pact as well. Do your best. I will follow your efforts with interest".[133] On 25 October 1936, an Axis was declared between Italy and Germany An Axis was declared between Germany and Italy by Count Galeazzo Ciano, foreign minister of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini on 25 October 1936. On 25 November of the same year, Germany concluded the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan. At the time of the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact, invitations were sent out for Br itain, China, Italy and Poland to adhere; of the invited powers only the Italian s were to sign the pact, in November 1937. To strengthen relationships with Japa n, Hitler met in 1937 in Nuremberg Prince Chichibu, a brother of emperor Hirohit o. However, the meeting with Prince Chichibu had little consequence, as Hitler r efused the Japanese request to halt German arms shipments to China or withdraw t he German officers serving with the Chinese in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Bot h the military and the Auswrtiges Amt (Foreign Office) were strongly opposed to e nding the informal German alliance with China that existed since the 1910s, and pressured Hitler to avoid offending the Chinese. The Auswrtiges Amt and the milit ary both argued to Hitler that given the foreign exchange problems which afflict ed German rearmament, and the fact that various Sino-German economic agreements provided Germany with raw materials that would otherwise use up precious foreign exchange, it was folly to seek an alliance with Japan that would have the inevi table result of ending the Sino-German alignment. By the latter half of 1937, Hitler had abandoned his dream of an Anglo-German al liance, blaming "inadequate" British leadership for turning down his offers of a n alliance.[134] In a talk with the League of Nations High Commissioner for the Free City of Danzig, the Swiss diplomat Carl Jacob Burckhardt in September 1937, Hitler protested what he regarded as British interference in the "German sphere " in Europe, though in the same talk, Hitler made clear his view of Britain as a n ideal ally, which for pure selfishness was blocking German plans.[134] Hitler had suffered severely from stomach pains and eczema in 1936 37, leading to his remark to the Nazi Party's propaganda leadership in October 1937 that becaus e both parents died early in their lives, he would probably follow suit, leaving him with only a few years to obtain the necessary Lebensraum.[135][136] About t he same time, Dr. Goebbels noted in his diary Hitler now wished to see the "Grea t Germanic Reich" he envisioned in his own lifetime rather than leaving the work of building the "Great Germanic Reich" to his successors.[137] On 5 November 1937, at the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler held a secret meeting with the War and Foreign Ministers and the three service chiefs, recorded in th e Hossbach Memorandum, and stated his intentions for acquiring "living space" Le

bensraum for the German people. He ordered the attendees to make plans for war i n the east no later than 1943 in order to acquire Lebensraum. Hitler stated the conference minutes were to be regarded as his "political testament" in the event of his death.[138] In the memo, Hitler was recorded as saying that such a state of crisis had been reached in the German economy that the only way of stopping a severe decline in living standards in Germany was to embark sometime in the ne ar-future on a policy of aggression by seizing Austria and Czechoslovakia.[139][ 140] Moreover, Hitler stated that the arms race meant that time for action had t o occur before Britain and France obtained a permanent lead in the arms race.[13 9] A striking change in the Hossbach Memo was Hitler's changed view of Britain f rom the prospective ally of 1928 in the Zweites Buch to the "hate-inspired antag onist" of 1937 in the Hossbach memo.[141] The historian Klaus Hildebrand describ ed the memo as the start of an "ambivalent course" towards Britain while the lat e historian Andreas Hillgruber argued that Hitler was embarking on expansion "wi thout Britain," preferably "with Britain," but if necessary "against Britain."[1 13][142] Hitler's intentions outlined in the Hossbach memorandum led to strong protests f rom the Foreign Minister, Baron Konstantin von Neurath, the War Minister Field M arshal Werner von Blomberg, and the Army Commander General Werner von Fritsch, t hat any German aggression in Eastern Europe was bound to trigger a war with Fran ce because of the French alliance system in Eastern Europe (the so-called cordon sanitaire), and if a Franco-German war broke out, then Britain was almost certa in to intervene rather than risk the chance of a French defeat.[143] The aggress ion against Austria and Czechoslovakia were intended to be the first of a series of localized wars in Eastern Europe that would secure Germany's position in Eur ope before the final showdown with Britain and France. Fritsch, Blomberg and Neu rath all argue that Hitler was pursuing an extremely high-risk strategy of local ized wars in Eastern Europe that was most likely to cause a general war before G ermany was ready for such a conflict, and advised Hitler to wait until Germany h ad more time to rearm. Neurath, Blomberg and Fritsch had no moral objections to d German aggression, but rather based their opposition on the question of timing etermining the best time for aggression.[143] Late in November 1937, Hitler received as his guest the British Lord Privy Seal, Lord Halifax who was visiting Germany ostensibly as part of a hunting trip. Spe aking of changes to Germany's frontiers, Halifax told Hitler that: "All other qu estions fall into the category of possible alterations in the European order whi ch might be destined to come about with the passage of time. Amongst these quest ions were Danzig, Austria and Czechoslovakia. England was interested to see that any alterations should come through the course of peaceful evolution and that t he methods should be avoided which might cause far-reaching disturbances."[144] Significantly, Halifax made clear in his statements to Hitler though whether Hitle r appreciated the significance of this or not is unclear that any possible territo rial changes had to be accomplished peacefully, and that though Britain had no s ecurity commitments in Eastern Europe beyond the Covenant of the League of Natio ns, would not tolerate territorial changes via war.[145] Hitler seems to have mi sunderstood Halifax's remarks as confirming his conviction that Britain would ju st stand aside while he pursued his strategy of limited wars in Eastern Europe. Hitler was most unhappy with the criticism of his intentions expressed by Neurat h, Blomberg, and Fritsch in the Hossbach Memo, and in early 1938 asserted his co ntrol of the military-foreign policy apparatus through the Blomberg-Fritsch Affa ir, the abolition of the War Ministry and its replacement by the OKW, and by sac king Neurath as Foreign Minister on 4 February 1938, assuming the rank, role and title of the Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht (supreme commander of the arme d forces).[146] The British economic historian Richard Overy commented that the establishment of the OKW in February 1938 was a clear sign of what Hitler's inte ntions were since supreme headquarters organizations such as the OKW are normall y set up during wartime, not peacetime.[147] The Official German history of Worl d War II has argued that from early 1938 onwards, Hitler was not carrying out a foreign policy that had carried a high risk of war, but was carrying out a forei gn policy aiming at war.[148]

The Holocaust Main article: The Holocaust An American soldier stands in front of a wagon piled high with corpses outside t he crematorium in the newly liberated Buchenwald concentration camp One of the foundations of Hitler's social policies was the concept of racial hyg iene. It was based on the ideas of Arthur de Gobineau, a French count; eugenics, a pseudoscience that advocated racial purity; and social Darwinism. Applied to human beings, "survival of the fittest" was interpreted as requiring racial puri ty and killing off "life unworthy of life." The first victims were children with physical and developmental disabilities; those killings occurred in a programme dubbed Action T4.[149] After a public outcry, Hitler made a show of ending this program, but the killings continued (see Nazi eugenics). Between 1939 and 1945, the SS, assisted by collaborationist governments and recr uits from occupied countries, systematically killed somewhere between 11 and 14 million people, including about six million Jews,[150][151] in concentration cam ps, ghettos and mass executions, or through less systematic methods elsewhere. I n addition to those gassed to death, many died as a result of starvation and dis ease while working as slave labourers (sometimes benefiting private German compa nies). Along with Jews, non-Jewish Poles, Communists and political opponents, me mbers of resistance groups, homosexuals, Roma, the physically handicapped and me ntally retarded, Soviet prisoners of war (possibly as many as three million), Je hovah's Witnesses, Adventists, trade unionists, and psychiatric patients were ki lled. One of the biggest centres of mass-killing was the industrial exterminatio n camp complex of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As far as is known, Hitler never visited t he concentration camps and did not speak publicly about the killing in precise t erms.[152] The Holocaust (the "Endlsung der jdischen Frage" or "Final Solution of the Jewish Question") was planned and ordered by leading Nazis, with Heinrich Himmler and R einhard Heydrich playing key roles. While no specific order from Hitler authoriz ing the mass killing has surfaced, there is documentation showing that he approv ed the Einsatzgruppen killing squads that followed the German army through Polan d and Russia, and that he was kept well informed about their activities. The evi dence also suggests that in the fall of 1941 Himmler and Hitler decided upon mas s extermination by gassing. During interrogations by Soviet intelligence officer s declassified over fifty years later, Hitler's valet Heinz Linge and his milita ry aide Otto Gunsche said Hitler had "pored over the first blueprints of gas cha mbers." His private secretary, Traudl Junge, testified that Hitler knew all abou t the death camps.[citation needed] Gring gave a written authorisation to Heydrich to "make all necessary preparation s" for a "total solution of the Jewish question". To make for smoother cooperati on in the implementation of this "Final Solution", the Wannsee Conference was he ld on 20 January 1942, with fifteen senior officials participating (including Ad olf Eichmann) and led by Reinhard Heydrich. The records of this meeting provide the clearest evidence of planning for the Holocaust. On 22 February, Hitler was recorded saying to his associates, "we shall regain our health only by eliminati ng the Jews". World War II Early diplomatic triumphs Alliance with Japan Main article: German Japanese relations Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka with Hitler in Berlin In February 1938, Hitler finally ended the dilemma that had plagued German Far E astern policy: whether to continue the informal Sino-German alliance that had ex isted with the Republic of China since the 1910s or to create a new alliance wit h Japan. The military at the time strongly favoured continuing Germany's allianc

e with China. China had the support of Foreign Minister Konstantin von Neurath a nd War Minister Werner von Blomberg, the so-called "China Lobby" who tried to st eer German foreign policy away from war in Europe.[153] Both men, however, were sacked by Hitler in early 1938. Upon the advice of Hitler's newly appointed Fore ign Minister, the strongly pro-Japanese Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler chose to end the alliance with China to gain an alignment with the more modern and powerf ul Japan. In an address to the Reichstag, Hitler announced German recognition of Manchukuo, the Japanese-occupied puppet state in Manchuria, and renounced the G erman claims to the former colonies in the Pacific held by Japan.[154] Hitler or dered an end to arms shipments to China, and ordered the recall of all the Germa n officers attached to the Chinese Army.[154] In retaliation for ending German s upport to China in its war against Japan, Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek canceled all Sino-German economic agreements, depriving the Germans of raw mater ials such as tungsten that the Chinese had previously provided. The ending of th e Sino-German alignment increased the problems of German rearmament, as the Germ ans were now forced to use their limited supply of foreign exchange to buy raw m aterials on the open market. Austria and Czechoslovakia This section may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Please consider m oving more of the content into sub-articles and using this article for a summary of the key points of the subject. (April 2010) In March 1938, Hitler pressured Austria into unification with Germany (the Ansch luss) and made a triumphant entry into Vienna on 14 March.[155][156] Next, he in tensified a crisis over the German-speaking Sudetenland districts of Czechoslova kia.[157] On 3 March 1938, the British Ambassador Sir Nevile Henderson met with Hitler and presented on behalf of his government a proposal for an international consortiu m to rule much of Africa (in which Germany would be assigned a leading role) in exchange for a German promise never to resort to war to change the frontiers.[15 8] Hitler, who was more interested in Lebensraum in Eastern Europe than in parti cipating in international consortiums, rejected the British offer, using as his excuse that he wanted the former German African colonies returned to the Reich, not an international consortium running Central Africa. Moreover, Hitler argued that it was totally outrageous on Britain's part to impose conditions on German conduct in Europe as the price for territory in Africa.[159] Hitler ended the co nversation by telling Henderson he would rather wait 20 years for the return of the former colonies than accept British conditions for avoiding war.[159][160] 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. During the Hitler-Henlein meetings, it was agreed t hat Henlein would provide the pretext for German aggression against Czechoslovak ia by making demands on Prague for increased autonomy for Sudeten Germans that P rague could never be reasonably expected to fulfill. In April 1938, Henlein told the foreign minister of Hungary that "whatever the Czech government might offer , he would always raise still higher demands ... he wanted to sabotage an unders tanding by all means because this was the only method to blow up Czechoslovakia quickly".[161] In private, Hitler considered the Sudeten issue unimportant; his real intentions being to use the Sudeten question as the justification both at h ome and abroad for a war of aggression to destroy Czechoslovakia, under the grou nds of self-determination, and Prague's refusal to meet Henlein's demands.[162] Hitler's plans called for a massive military build-up along the Czechoslovak bor der, relentless propaganda attacks about the supposed ill treatment of the Sudet enlanders, and finally, "incidents" between Heimfront activists and the Czechosl ovak authorities to justify an invasion that would swiftly destroy Czechoslovaki a in a few days campaign before other powers could act.[163] Since Hitler wished to have the fall harvest brought in as much as possible, and to complete the so -called "West Wall" to guard the Rhineland, the date for the invasion was chosen for late September or early October 1938.[164] In April 1938, Hitler ordered the OKW to start preparing plans for Fall Grn (Case

Green), the codename for an invasion of Czechoslovakia.[165] Further increasing the tension in Europe was the May Crisis of 19 22 May 1938. The May Crisis of 193 8 was a false alarm caused by rumours that Czechoslovakia would be invaded the w eekend of the municipal elections in that country, erroneous reports of major Ge rman troop movements along the Czechoslovak border just prior to the elections, the killing of two ethnic Germans by the Czechoslovak police, and Ribbentrop's h ighly bellicose remarks to Henderson when the latter asked the former if an inva sion was indeed scheduled for the weekend, which led to a partial Czechoslovak m obilization and firm warnings from London against a German move against Czechosl ovakia before it was realized that no invasion was intended for that weekend.[16 6] Though no invasion had been planned for May 1938, it was believed in London t hat such a course of action was indeed being considered in Berlin, leading to tw o warnings on 21 May and 22 May that the United Kingdom would go to war with Ger many if France became involved in a war with Germany.[167] Hitler, for his part, was, to use the words of an aide, highly "furious" with the perception that he had been forced to back down by the Czechoslovak mobilization and the warnings f rom London and Paris, when he had, in fact, been planning nothing for that weeke nd.[168] Though plans had already been drafted in April 1938 for an invasion of Czechoslovakia in the near future, the May Crisis and the perception of a diplom atic defeat further reinforced Hitler in his chosen course. The May Crisis seeme d to have had the effect of convincing Hitler that expansion "without Britain" w as not possible, and expansion "against Britain" was the only viable course.[169 ] In the immediate aftermath of the May crisis, Hitler ordered an acceleration o f German naval building beyond the limits of the A.G.N.A., and in the "Heye memo randum", drawn at Hitler's orders, envisaged the Royal Navy for the first time a s the principal opponent of the Kriegsmarine.[170] At the conference of 28 May 1938, Hitler declared that it was his "unalterable" decision to "smash Czechoslovakia" by 1 October of the same year, which was expl ained as securing the eastern flank "for advancing against the West, England and France".[171] At the same conference, Hitler expressed his belief that Britain would not risk a war until British rearmament was complete, which Hitler felt wo uld be around 1941 42, and Germany should in a series of wars eliminate France and her allies in Europe in the interval in the years 1938 41 while German rearmament was still ahead.[171] Hitler's determination to go through with Fall Grn in 1938 provoked a major crisis in the German command structure.[172] The Chief of the General Staff, General Ludwig Beck, protested in a lengthy series of memos that Fall Grn would start a world war that Germany would lose, and urged Hitler to put off the projected war.[172] Hitler called Beck's arguments against war "kindisc he Krfteberechnungen" ("childish power play calculations").[173] On 4 August 1938, a secret Army meeting was held at which Beck read his report. They agreed something had to be done to prevent certain disaster. Beck hoped the y would all resign together but no one resigned except Beck. However his replace ment, General Franz Halder, sympathised with Beck and together they conspired wi th several top generals, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris (Chief of German Intelligence) and Graf von Helldorf (Berlin's Police Chief), to arrest Hitler the moment he ga ve the invasion order. However, the plan would only work if both Britain and Fra nce made it known to the world that they would fight to preserve Czechoslovakia. This would help to convince the German people that certain defeat awaited Germa ny. Agents were therefore sent to England to tell Chamberlain that an attack on Czechoslovakia was planned and their intentions to overthrow Hitler if this occu rred. However the messengers were not taken seriously by the British. In Septemb er, Chamberlain and French Premier douard Daladier decided not to threaten a war over Czechoslovakia and so the planned removal of Hitler could not be justified. [174] The Munich Agreement therefore preserved Hitler in power. Starting in August 1938, information reached London that Germany was beginning t o mobilize reservists, together with information leaked by anti-war elements in the German military that the war was scheduled for sometime in September.[175] F inally, as a result of intense French, and especially British diplomatic pressur e, Czechoslovakian President Edvard Bene unveiled on 5 September 1938, the "Fourt h Plan" for constitutional reorganization of his country, which granted most of

the demands for Sudeten autonomy made by Henlein in his Karlsbad speech of April 1938, and threatened to deprive the Germans of their pretext for aggression.[17 6] Henlein's Heimfront promptly responded to the offer of "Fourth Plan" by havin g a series of violent clashes with the Czechoslovak police, culminating in major clashes in mid-September that led to the declaration of martial law in certain Sudeten districts.[177][178] In a response to the threatening situation, in late August 1938, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had conceived of Pl an Z, namely to fly to Germany, meet Hitler, and then work out an agreement that could end the crisis.[179][180] On 13 September 1938, Chamberlain offered to fl y to Germany to discuss a solution to the crisis. Chamberlain had decided to exe cute Plan Z in response to erroneous information supplied by the German oppositi on that the invasion was due to start any time after 18 September.[181] Though H itler was not happy with Chamberlain's offer, he agreed to see the British Prime Minister because to refuse Chamberlain's offer would confirm the lie to his rep eated claims that he was a man of peace driven reluctantly to war because of Ben e 's intractability.[182] In a summit at Berchtesgaden, Chamberlain promised to pr essure Bene into agreeing to Hitler's publicly stated demands about allowing the Sudetenland to join Germany, in return for a reluctant promise by Hitler to post pone any military action until Chamberlain had given him a chance to fulfill his promise.[183] Hitler had agreed to the postponement out of the expectation that Chamberlain would fail to secure Prague's consent to transferring the Sudetenla nd, and was, by all accounts, most disappointed when Franco-British pressure sec ured just that.[184] The talks between Chamberlain and Hitler in September 1938 were made difficult by their innately differing concepts of what Europe should l ook like, with Hitler aiming to use the Sudeten issue as a pretext for war and C hamberlain genuinely striving for a peaceful solution.[185] When Chamberlain returned to Germany on 22 September to present his peace plan f or the transfer of the Sudetenland at a summit with Hitler at Bad Godesberg, the British delegation was most unpleasantly surprised to have Hitler reject his ow n terms he had presented at Berchtesgaden as now unacceptable.[186] To put an en d to Chamberlain's peace-making efforts once and for all, Hitler demanded the Su detenland be ceded to Germany no later than 28 September 1938 with no negotiatio ns between Prague and Berlin and no international commission to oversee the tran sfer; no plebiscites to be held in the transferred districts until after the tra nsfer; and for good measure, that Germany would not forsake war as an option unt il all the claims against Czechoslovakia by Poland and Hungary had been satisfie d.[187] The differing views between the two leaders were best symbolized when Ch amberlain was presented with Hitler's new demands and protested at being present ed with an ultimatum, leading Hitler in turn to retort that because his document stating his new demands was entitled "Memorandum", it could not possibly be an ultimatum.[188] On 25 September 1938 Britain rejected the Bad Godesberg ultimatu m, and began preparations for war.[189][190] To further underline the point, Sir Horace Wilson, the British government's Chief Industrial Advisor, and a close a ssociate of Chamberlain, was dispatched to Berlin to inform Hitler that if the G ermans attacked Czechoslovakia, then France would honour her commitments as dema nded by the Franco-Czechoslovak alliance of 1924, and "then England would feel h onour bound, to offer France assistance".[191] Initially determined to continue with the attack planned for 1 October 1938, Hit ler changed his mind sometime between 27 and 28 September, and asked to take up a suggestion, of and through the intercession of Mussolini, for a conference to be held in Munich with Chamberlain, Mussolini, and Daladier to discuss the Czech oslovak situation.[192] Just what had caused Hitler to change his attitude is no t entirely clear, but it is likely that the combination of Franco-British warnin gs, and especially the mobilization of the British fleet, had finally convinced him of what the most likely result of Fall Grn would be; the minor nature of the alleged casus belli being the timetables for the transfer made Hitler appear too much like the aggressor; the view from his advisors that Germany was not prepar ed either militarily or economically for a world war; warnings from the states t hat Hitler saw as his would-be allies in the form of Italy, Japan, Poland and Hu ngary that they would not fight on behalf of Germany; and very visible signs tha

t the majority of Germans were not enthusiastic about the prospect of war.[193][ 194][195] Moreover, Germany lacked sufficient supplies of oil and other crucial raw materials (the plants that would produce the synthetic oil for the German wa r effort were not in operation yet), and was highly dependent upon imports from abroad.[196] The Kriegsmarine reported that should war come with Britain, it cou ld not break a British blockade, and since Germany had hardly any oil stocks, Ge rmany would be defeated for no other reason than a shortage of oil.[197] The Eco nomics Ministry told Hitler that Germany had only 2.6 million tons of oil at han d, and that war with Britain and France would require 7.6 million tons of oil.[1 98] Starting on 18 September 1938, the British refused to supply metals to Germa ny, and on 24 September the Admiralty forbade British ships to sail to Germany. The British detained the tanker Invershannon carrying 8,600 tons of oil to Hambu rg, which caused immediate economic pain in Germany.[199] Given Germany's depend ence on imported oil (80% of German oil in the 1930s came from the New World), a nd the likelihood that a war with Britain would see a blockade cutting off Germa ny from oil supplies, historians have argued that Hitler's decision to call off Fall Grn was due to concerns about the oil problem.[196] Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Ciano at the Munich Conference On 30 September 1938, a one-day conference was held in Munich attended by Hitler , Chamberlain, Daladier and Mussolini that led to the Munich Agreement, which ga ve in to Hitler's ostensible demands by handing over the Sudetenland districts t o Germany.[200] Since London and Paris had already agreed to the idea of a trans fer of the disputed territory in mid-September, the Munich Conference mostly com prised discussions in one day of talks on technical questions about how the tran sfer of the Sudetenland would take place, and featured the relatively minor conc essions from Hitler that the transfer would take place over a ten day period in October, overseen by an international commission, and Germany would wait until H ungarian and Polish claims were settled.[201] At the end of the conference, Cham berlain had Hitler sign a declaration of Anglo-German friendship, to which Chamb erlain attached great importance and Hitler none at all.[202] Though Chamberlain was well-satisfied with the Munich conference, leading to his infamous claim to have secured "peace for our time", Hitler was privately furious about being "ch eated" out of the war he was desperate to have in 1938.[203][204] As a result of the summit, Hitler was TIME magazine's Man of the Year for 1938.[205] Hitler enters the German populated Sudetenland region of Czechoslavakia in Octob er 1938 which was annexed to Germany proper due to the Munich agreement By appeasing Hitler, Britain and France left Czechoslovakia to Hitler's mercy.[2 00] Though Hitler professed happiness in public over the achievement of his oste nsible demands, in private he was determined to have a war the next time around by ensuring that Germany's future demands would not be met.[206] In Hitler's vie w, a British-brokered peace, though extremely favourable to the ostensible Germa n demands, was a diplomatic defeat which proved that Britain needed to be ended as a power to allow him to pursue his dreams of eastern expansion.[207][208] In the aftermath of Munich, Hitler felt since Britain would not ally herself nor st and aside to facilitate Germany's continental ambitions, it had become a major t hreat, and accordingly, Britain replaced the Soviet Union in Hitler's mind as th e main enemy of the Reich, with German policies being accordingly reoriented.[20 9][210][211][212] Hitler expressed his disappointment over the Munich Agreement in a speech on 9 October 1938 in Saarbrcken when he lashed out against the Conser vative anti-appeasers Winston Churchill, Duff Cooper and Anthony Eden, whom Hitl er described as a warmongering anti-German faction, who would attack Germany at the first opportunity, and were likely to come to power at any moment.[213] In the same speech, Hitler claimed "We Germans will no longer endure such govern essy interference. Britain should mind her own business and worry about her own troubles".[214] In November 1938, Hitler ordered a major anti-British propaganda campaign to be launched with the British being loudly abused for their "hypocri

sy" in maintaining world-wide empire while seeking to block the Germans from acq uiring an empire of their own.[215] A particular highlight in the anti-British p ropaganda was alleged British human rights abuses in dealing with the Arab upris ing in the British Mandate of Palestine and in British India, and the "hyprocris y" of British criticism of the November 1938 Kristallnacht event.[216] This mark ed a huge change from the earlier years of the Third Reich, when the German medi a had portrayed the British Empire in very favourable terms.[217] In November 19 38, the Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop was ordered to convert the AntiComintern Pact into an open anti-British military alliance, as a prelude for a w ar against Britain and France.[218] On 27 January 1939, Hitler approved the Z Pl an, a five-year naval expansion program which called for a Kriegsmarine of 10 ba ttleships, four aircraft carriers, three battlecruisers, eight heavy cruisers, 4 4 light cruisers, 68 destroyers and 249 U-boats by 1944 that was intended to cru sh the Royal Navy.[219] The importance of the Z Plan can be seen in Hitler's ord ers that henceforward the Kriegsmarine was to go from third to first in allotmen t of raw materials, money and skilled workers.[220] In the spring of 1939, the L uftwaffe was ordered to start building a strategic bombing force that was meant to level British cities.[221] Hitler's war plans against Britain called for a jo int Kriegsmarine-Luftwaffe offensive that was to stage "rapid annihilating blows " against British cities and shipping with the expectation that "The moment Engl and is cut off from her supplies she is forced to capitulate" as Hitler expected that the experience of living in a blockaded, famine-stricken, bombed-out islan d to be too much for the British public.[222] Destroyed Jewish businesses in Magdeburg following Kristallnacht In November 1938, in a secret speech to a group of German journalists, Hitler no ted that he had been forced to speak of peace as the goal in order to attain the degree of rearmament "which were an essential prerequisite ... for the next ste p".[94] In the same speech, Hitler complained that his peace propaganda of the l ast five years had been too successful, and it was time for the German people to be subjected to war propaganda.[223] Hitler stated: "It is self-evident that su ch peace propaganda conducted for a decade has its risky aspect; because it can too easily induce people to come to the conclusion that the present government i s identical with the decision and with the intention to keep peace under all cir cumstances", and instead called for new journalism that "had to present certain foreign policy events in such a fashion that the inner voice of the people itsel f slowly begins to shout out for the use of force."[223] Later in November 1938, Hitler expressed frustration with the more cautious advice he was receiving fro m some quarters.[224] Hitler called the economic expert Carl Friedrich Goerdeler , General Ludwig Beck, Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, the diplomat Ulrich von Hassell, and the economist Rudolf Brinkmann "the overbred intellectual circles" who were try ing to block him from fulfilling his mission by their appeals to caution, and bu t for the fact that he needed their skills "otherwise, perhaps we could someday exterminate them or do something of this kind to them".[225] In December 1938, the Chancellery of the Fhrer headed by Philipp Bouhler received a letter concerning a severely physically and mentally disabled baby girl named Sofia Knauer living in Leipzig.[226] At that time, there was a furious rivalry existing between Bouhler's office, the office of the Reich Chancellery led by Ha ns-Heinrich Lammers, the Presidential Chancellery of Otto Meiner, the office of H itler's adjutant Wilhelm Brckner and the Deputy Fhrer's office which was effective ly headed by Martin Bormann over control of access to Hitler.[227] As part of a power play against his rivals, Bouhler presented the letter concerning the disab led girl to Hitler, who thanked Bouhler for bringing the matter to his attention and responded by ordering his personal physician Dr. Karl Brandt to kill Knauer .[228] In January 1939, Hitler ordered Bouhler and Dr. Brandt to henceforward ha ve all disabled infants born in Germany killed.[228] This was the origin of the Action T4 program. Subsequently Dr. Brandt and Bouhler, acting on their own init iative in the expectation of winning Hitler's favour, expanded the T4 program to killing, first, all physically or mentally disabled children in Germany, and, s

econd, all disabled adults.[229] In late 1938 and early 1939, the continuing economic crisis caused by problems o f rearmament, especially the shortage of foreign hard currencies needed to pay f or raw materials Germany lacked, together with reports from Gring that the Four Y ear Plan was hopelessly behind schedule, forced Hitler in January 1939 to reluct antly order major defence cuts with the Wehrmacht having its steel allocations c ut by 30%, aluminium 47%, cement 25%, rubber 14% and copper 20%.[230] On 30 Janu ary 1939, Hitler made his "Export or die" speech calling for a German economic o ffensive ("export battle", to use Hitler's term), to increase German foreign exc hange holdings to pay for raw materials such as high-grade iron needed for milit ary materials.[230] The "Export or die" speech of 30 January 1939 is also known as Hitler's "Prophecy Speech", coming from Hitler's "prophecy" issued towards th e end of the speech: "One thing I should like to say on this day which may be memorable for others as well for us Germans: In the course of my life I have very often been a prophet, and I have usually been ridiculed for it. During the time of my struggle for po wer it was in the first instance the Jewish race which only received my propheci es with laughter when I said I would one day take over the leadership of the Sta te, and that of the whole nation, and that I would then among many other things settle the Jewish problem. Their laughter was uproarious, but I think that for s ome time now they have been laughing on the other side of the face. Today I will be once more the prophet. If the international Jewish financiers outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the res ult will not be the bolsheviszation of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!"[231] A significant historical debate has swung around the "Prophecy Speech". Historia ns who take an intentionist line, such as Eberhard Jckel, have argued that, at le ast from the time of the "Prophecy Speech" onwards, Hitler was committed to the genocide of the Jews as his central goal.[232] Lucy Dawidowicz and Gerald Flemin g have argued that the "Prophecy Speech" was simply Hitler's way of saying that once he started a world war, he would use it as a cover for his already pre-exis ting plans for genocide.[231] Functionalist historians such as Christopher Brown ing have dismissed this interpretation on the grounds that if Hitler were seriou s with the intentions expressed in the "Prophecy Speech", then there would not h ave been a 30-month "stay of execution" between the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, and the opening of the first Vernichtungslager in late 1941.[233 ] Browning has also pointed to the existence of the Madagascar Plan of 1940 41 and various other schemes as proof that there was no genocidal master plan.[233] In his opinion, the "Prophecy Speech" was simply an expression of bravado on Hitle r's part, and had little connection with the actual unfolding of antisemitic pol icies.[233] Hitler ordered Germany's army to enter Prague on 15 March 1939, and from Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. At least part of th e reason why Hitler violated the Munich Agreement by seizing the Czech half of C zechoslovakia in March 1939 was to obtain Czechoslovak assets to help with the e conomic crisis.[234] Start of World War II As part of the anti-British course, it was deemed necessary by Hitler to have Po land either a satellite state or otherwise neutralized. Hitler believed this nec essary both on strategic grounds as a way of securing the Reich's eastern flank and on economic grounds as a way of evading the effects of a British blockade.[2 35] Initially, the German hope was to transform Poland into a satellite state, b ut by March 1939 the German demands had been rejected by the Poles three times, which led Hitler to decide upon the destruction of Poland as the main German for eign policy goal of 1939.[236] On 3 April 1939, Hitler ordered the military to s tart preparing for Fall Weiss (Case White), the plan for a German invasion to be executed on 25 August 1939.[236] In August 1939, Hitler spoke to his generals t hat his original plan for 1939 had to "... establish an acceptable relationship with Poland in order to fight against the West" but since the Poles would not co -operate in setting up an "acceptable relationship" (i.e. becoming a German sate

llite), he believed he had no choice other than wiping Poland off the map.[237] The historian Gerhard Weinberg has argued since Hitler's audience comprised men who were all for the destruction of Poland (anti-Polish feelings were traditiona lly very strong in the German Army), but rather less happy about the prospect of war with Britain and France, if that was the price Germany had to pay for the d estruction of Poland, it is quite likely that Hitler was speaking the truth on t his occasion.[237] In his private discussions with his officials in 1939, Hitler always described Britain as the main enemy that had to be defeated, and in his view, Poland's obliteration was the necessary prelude to that goal by securing t he eastern flank and helpfully adding to Germany's Lebensraum.[238] Hitler was m uch offended by the British "guarantee" of Polish independence issued on 31 Marc h 1939, and told his associates that "I shall brew them a devil's drink".[239] I n a speech in Wilhelmshaven for the launch of the battleship Tirpitz on 1 April 1939, Hitler threatened to denounce the Anglo-German Naval Agreement if the Brit ish persisted with their "encirclement" policy as represented by the "guarantee" of Polish independence.[239] As part of the new course, in a speech before the Reichstag on 28 April 1939, Adolf Hitler, complaining of British "encirclement" of Germany, renounced both the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German Polish Non-Aggression Pact. Adolf Hitler's face on a German stamp 1944. The country's name was changed to Gr eater German Reich (Grossdeutsches Reich) in 1943 and this name can be seen on t he stamp. As a pretext for aggression against Poland, Hitler claimed the Free City of Danz ig and the right for "extra-territorial" roads across the Polish Corridor which Germany had unwillingly ceded under the Versailles treaty. For Hitler, Danzig wa s just a pretext for aggression as the Sudetenland had been intended to be in 19 38, and throughout 1939, while highlighting the Danzig issue as a grievance, the Germans always refused to engage in talks about the matter.[240] A notable cont radiction existed in Hitler's plans between the long-term anti-British course, w hose major instruments such as a vastly expanded Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe woul d take several years to complete, and Hitler's immediate foreign policy in 1939, which was likely to provoke a general war by engaging in such actions as attack ing Poland.[241][242] Hitler's dilemma between his short-term and long-term goal s was resolved by Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, who told Hitler that neither Britain nor France would honour their commitments to Poland, and any Ger man Polish war would accordingly be a limited regional war.[243][244] Ribbentrop b ased his appraisal partly on an alleged statement made to him by the French Fore ign Minister Georges Bonnet in December 1938 that France now recognized Eastern Europe as Germany's exclusive sphere of influence.[245] In addition, Ribbentrop' s status as the former Ambassador to London made him in Hitler's eyes the leadin g Nazi British expert, and as a result, Ribbentrop's advice that Britain would n ot honour her commitments to Poland carried much weight with Hitler.[245] Ribben trop only showed Hitler diplomatic cables that supported his analysis.[246] In a ddition, the German Ambassador in London, Herbert von Dirksen, tended to send re ports that supported Ribbentrop's analysis such as a dispatch in August 1939 tha t reported British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain knew "the social structure of Britain, even the conception of the British Empire, would not survive the ch aos of even a victorious war", and so would back down.[244] The extent that Hitl er was influenced by Ribbentrop's advice can be seen in Hitler's orders to the G erman military on 21 August 1939 for a limited mobilization against Poland alone .[247] Hitler chose late August as his date for Fall Weiss in order to limit dis ruption to German agricultural production caused by mobilization.[248] The probl ems caused by the need to begin a campaign in Poland in late August or early Sep tember in order to have the campaign finished before the October rains arrived, and the need to have sufficient time to concentrate German troops on the Polish border left Hitler in a self-imposed situation in August 1939 where Soviet co-op eration was absolutely crucial if he were to have a war that year.[248] The Munich agreement appeared to be sufficient to dispel most of the remaining h

old which the "collective security" idea may have had in Soviet circles,[249] an d, on 23 August 1939, Joseph Stalin accepted Hitler's proposal to conclude a non -aggression pact (the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), whose secret protocols contained an agreement to partition Poland. A major historical debate about the reasons f or Hitler's foreign policy choices in 1939 concerns whether a structural economi c crisis drove Hitler into a "flight into war" as claimed by the Marxist histori an Timothy Mason or whether Hitler's actions were more influenced by non-economi c factors as claimed by the economic historian Richard Overy.[250] Historians su ch as William Carr, Gerhard Weinberg and Ian Kershaw have argued that a non-econ omic reason for Hitler's rush to war was Hitler's morbid and obsessive fear of a n early death, and hence his feeling that he did not have long to accomplish his work.[136][251][252] In the last days of peace, Hitler oscillated between the d etermination to fight the Western powers if he had to, and various schemes inten ded to keep Britain out of the war, but in any case, Hitler was not to be deterr ed from his aim of invading Poland.[253] Only very briefly, when news of the Ang lo-Polish alliance being signed on 25 August 1939 in response to the German-Sovi et Non-Aggression Pact (instead of the severing of ties between London and Warsa w predicted by Ribbentrop) together with news from Italy that Mussolini would no t honour the Pact of Steel, caused Hitler to postpone the attack on Poland from 25 August to 1 September.[254] Hitler chose to spend the last days of peace eith er trying to manoeuvre the British into neutrality through his offer of 25 Augus t 1939 to "guarantee" the British Empire, or having Ribbentrop present a last-mi nute peace plan to Henderson with an impossibly short time limit for its accepta nce as part of an effort to blame the war on the British and Poles.[255][256] On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded western Poland. Britain and France declared w ar on Germany on 3 September but did not immediately act. Hitler was most unplea santly surprised at receiving the British declaration of war on 3 September 1939 , and turning to Ribbentrop angrily asked "Now what?"[257] Ribbentrop had nothin g to say other than that Robert Coulondre, the French Ambassador, would probably be by later that day to present the French declaration of war.[257] Not long af ter this, on 17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland.[258] Members of the Reichstag greet Hitler in October 1939 after the conclusion of th e Polish campaign Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich, 1940 Adolf Hitler in Paris, 1940, with Albert Speer (left) and Arno Breker (right) Poland never will rise again in the form of the Versailles treaty. That is guara nteed not only by Germany, but also ... Russia.[259] Adolf Hitler in a public speech in Danzig at the end of September 1939. After the fall of Poland came a period journalists called the "Phoney War," or S itzkrieg ("sitting war"). In part of north-western Poland annexed to Germany, Hi tler instructed the two Gauleiters in charge of the area, namely Albert Forster and Arthur Greiser, to "Germanize" the area, and promised them "There would be n o questions asked" about how this "Germanization" was to be accomplished.[260] H itler's orders were interpreted in very different ways by Forster and Greiser. F orster followed a policy of simply having the local Poles sign forms stating the y had German blood with no documentation required, whereas Greiser carried out a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign of expelling the entire Polish population into the Government-General of Poland.[261] When Greiser, seconded by Himmler, compl ained to Hitler that Forster was allowing thousands of Poles to be accepted as " racial" Germans and thus "contaminating" German "racial purity", and asked Hitle r to order Forster to stop, Hitler merely told Himmler and Greiser to take up th eir difficulties with Forster, and not to involve him.[262] Hitler's handling of the Forster Greiser dispute has often been advanced as an example of Ian Kershaw' s theory of "Working Towards the Fhrer", namely that Hitler issued vague instruct

ions, and allowed his subordinates to work out policy on their own. After the conquest of Poland, another major dispute broke out between different factions with one centring around Reichsfherer SS Heinrich Himmler and Arthur Gre iser championing and carrying out ethnic cleansing schemes for Poland, and anoth er centring around Hermann Gring and Hans Frank calling for turning Poland into t he "granary" of the Reich.[263] At a conference held at Gring's Karinhall estate on 12 February 1940, the dispute was settled in favour of the Gring-Frank view of economic exploitation, and ending mass expulsions as economically disruptive.[2 63] On 15 May 1940, Himmler showed Hitler a memo entitled "Some Thoughts on the Treatment of Alien Population in the East", which called for expelling the entir e Jewish population of Europe into Africa and reducing the remainder of the Poli sh population to a "leaderless labouring class".[263] Hitler called Himmler's me mo "good and correct".[263] Hitler's remark had the effect of scuttling the so-c alled Karinhall argreement, and led to the Himmler Greiser viewpoint triumphing as German policy for Poland. During this period, Hitler built up his forces on Germany's western frontier. In April 1940, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway. In May 1940, Hitler's for ces attacked France, conquering Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium in the p rocess. These victories persuaded Benito Mussolini of Italy to join the war on H itler's side on 10 June 1940. France surrendered on 22 June 1940. Britain, whose forces evacuated France by sea from Dunkirk, continued to fight a longside other British dominions in the Battle of the Atlantic. After having his overtures for peace rejected by the British, now led by Winston Churchill, Hitl er ordered bombing raids on the United Kingdom. The Battle of Britain was Hitler 's prelude to a planned invasion. The attacks began by pounding Royal Air Force airbases and radar stations protecting South-East England. However, the Luftwaff e failed to defeat the Royal Air Force. On 27 September 1940, the Tripartite Pac t was signed in Berlin by Saburo Kurusu of Imperial Japan, Hitler, and Ciano. Th e purpose of the pact, which was directed against an unnamed power that was clea rly meant to be the United States, was to deter the Americans from supporting th e British. It was later expanded to include Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. They were collectively known as the Axis powers. By the end of October 1940, air supe riority for the invasion Operation Sea Lion could not be assured, and Hitler ord ered the bombing of British cities, including London, Plymouth, and Coventry, mo stly at night. Adolf Hitler in his second visit to an occupied territory, in this case, Maribor , Yugoslavia in 1941. In the Spring of 1941, Hitler was distracted from his plans for the East by vari ous activities in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East. In February, G erman forces arrived in Libya to bolster the Italian forces there. In April, he launched the invasion of Yugoslavia which was followed quickly by the invasion o f Greece. In May, German forces were sent to support Iraqi rebel forces fighting against the British and to invade Crete. On 23 May, Hitler released Fhrer Direct ive No. 30.[264] Path to defeat On 22 June 1941, three million German troops attacked the Soviet Union, breaking the non-aggression pact Hitler had concluded with Stalin two years earlier. Thi s invasion seized huge amounts of territory, including the Baltic states, Belaru s, and Ukraine. It also encircled and destroyed many Soviet forces, which Stalin had ordered not to retreat. However, the Germans were stopped barely short of M oscow in December 1941 by the Russian Winter and fierce Soviet resistance. The i nvasion failed to achieve the quick triumph Hitler wanted. A major historical dispute concerns Hitler's reasons for Operation Barbarossa. S ome historians such as Andreas Hillgruber have argued that Barbarossa was merely one "stage" of Hitler's Stufenplan (stage by stage plan) for world conquest, wh ich Hillgruber believed that Hitler had formulated in the 1920s.[265] Other hist orians such as John Lukacs have contended that Hitler never had a stufenplan, an d that the invasion of the Soviet Union was an ad hoc move on the part of Hitler

due to Britain's refusal to surrender.[266] Lukacs has argued that the reason H itler gave in private for Barbarossa, namely that Winston Churchill held out the hope that the Soviet Union might enter the war on the Allied side, and that the only way of forcing a British surrender was to eliminate that hope, was indeed Hitler's real reason for Barbarossa.[267] In Lukacs's perspective, Barbarossa wa s thus primarily an anti-British move on the part of Hitler intended to force Br itain to sue for peace by destroying her only hope of victory rather than an ant i-Soviet move. Klaus Hildebrand has maintained that Stalin and Hitler were indep endently planning to attack each other in 1941.[268] Hildebrand has claimed that the news in the spring of 1941 of Soviet troop concentrations on the border led to Hitler engaging in a flucht nach vorn ("flight forward" i.e. responding to a danger by charging on rather than retreating.)[268] A third faction comprising a diverse group such as Viktor Suvorov, Ernst Topitsch, Joachim Hoffmann, Ernst Nolte, and David Irving have argued that the official reason given by the German s for Barbarossa in 1941 was the real reason, namely that Barbarossa was a "prev entive war" forced on Hitler to avert an impeding Soviet attack scheduled for Ju ly 1941. This theory has been widely attacked as erroneous; the American histori an Gerhard Weinberg once compared the advocates of the preventive war theory to believers in "fairy tales"[269] The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union reached its apex on 2 December 1941 as par t of the 258th Infantry Division advanced to within 15 miles (24 km) of Moscow, close enough to see the spires of the Kremlin,[270] but they were not prepared f or the harsh conditions brought on by the first blizzards of winter and in the d ays that followed, Soviet forces drove them back over 320 kilometres (200 miles) . On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and four days later, Hi tler's formal declaration of war against the United States officially engaged hi m in war against a coalition that included the world's largest empire (the Briti sh Empire), the world's greatest industrial and financial power (the United Stat es), and the world's largest army (the Soviet Union). On 18 December 1941, the appointment book of the Reichsfhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler shows he met with Hitler, and in response to Himmler's question "What to do with the Jews of Russia?", Hitler's response was recorded as "als Partisanen auszuro tten" ("exterminate them as partisans").[271] The 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 Holoca ust.[271] Adolf Hitler in Reichstag during his speech against Franklin D. Roosevelt. 11 De cember 1941. The destroyed 'Wolf's Lair' barracks after the 20 July 1944 plot In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the second battle of El Alamein, th warting Hitler's plans to seize the Suez Canal and the Middle East. In February 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended with the destruction of the German 6th Army . Thereafter came the Battle of Kursk. Hitler's military judgment became increas ingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated along w ith Hitler's health, as indicated by his left hand's severe trembling. Hitler's biographer Ian Kershaw and others believe that he may have suffered from Parkins on's disease.[272] Syphilis has also been suspected as a cause of at least some of his symptoms, although the evidence is slight.[273] Following the allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in 1943, Mussolini was deposed by Pietro Badoglio, who surrendered to the Allies. Throughout 1943 and 1944, the Soviet Union steadily forced Hitler's armies into retreat along the Ea stern Front. On 6 June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France in what was one of the largest amphibious operations in history, Operation Over lord. Realists in the German army knew defeat was inevitable, and some plotted t o remove Hitler from power.

Attempted assassination There were numerous attempts or ideas by private individuals, organisations or s tates wishing to assassinate Hitler. Some of the plans proceeded to significant degrees. While some attempts occurred before World War II, the most famous attem pt came from within Germany. The plan was at least partly driven by the prospect of the increasingly imminent defeat of Germany in the war. In July 1944, as part of Operation Valkyrie in what became known as the 20 July plot, Claus von Stauffenberg planted a bomb in Hitler's headquarters, the Wolfss chanze (Wolf's Lair) at Rastenburg. Hitler narrowly escaped death due to random chance, as someone unknowingly moved the briefcase that contained a bomb by push ing it behind a leg of the heavy conference table. When the bomb exploded, the t able subsequently deflected much of the blast away from Hitler. Later, Hitler or dered savage reprisals, resulting in the executions of more than 4,900 people,[2 74] sometimes by starvation in solitary confinement followed by slow strangulati on. The main resistance movement was destroyed, although smaller isolated groups continued to operate. Defeat and death Main article: Death of Adolf Hitler By late 1944, the Red Army had driven the Germans back into Central Europe and t he Western Allies were advancing into Germany. After watching the twin defeats i n his Ardennes Offensive from his Adlerhorst command complex - Operation Wacht a m Rhein and Operation Nordwind - Hitler realized that Germany had lost the war, but allowed no retreats. He hoped to negotiate a separate peace with America and Britain, a hope buoyed by the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 April 1945.[ 275][276][277][278] Hitler's stubbornness and defiance of military realities all owed the Holocaust to continue. He ordered the complete destruction of all Germa n industrial infrastructure before it could fall into Allied hands, saying that Germany's failure to win the war forfeited its right to survive.[279] Rather, Hi tler decided that the entire nation should go down with him. Execution of this s corched earth plan was entrusted to arms minister Albert Speer, who quietly diso beyed the order.[279] On 20 April, Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday in the Fhrerbunker ("Fhrer's shel ter") below the Reichskanzlei (Reich Chancellery). Elsewhere, the garrison comma nder of the besieged Festung Breslau ("fortress Breslau"), General Hermann Nieho ff, had chocolates distributed to his troops in honour of Hitler's birthday.[280 ] By 21 April, Georgi Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front had broken through the last d efences of German General Gotthard Heinrici's Army Group Vistula during the Batt le of the Seelow Heights. Facing little resistance, the Soviets advanced headlon g into the outskirts of Berlin.[281] Ignoring the facts, Hitler saw salvation in the ragtag units commanded by Waffen SS General Felix Steiner. Steiner's comman d became known as Armeeabteilung Steiner ("Army Detachment Steiner"). But "Army Detachment Steiner" existed primarily on paper. It was more than a corps but les s than an army. Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the huge salient created by the breakthrough of Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front. Meanwhile , the German Ninth Army, which had been pushed south of the salient, was ordered to attack north in a pincer attack. Late on 21 April, Heinrici called Hans Krebs, chief of the Oberkommando des Heer es (Supreme Command of the Army or OKH), and told him that Hitler's plan could n ot be implemented. Heinrici asked to speak to Hitler but was told by Krebs that Hitler was too busy to take his call. On 22 April, during the military conference, Hitler interrupted the report to as k what had happened to Steiner's offensive. There was a long silence. Then Hitle r was told that the attack had never been launched and the Russians had broken t hrough into Berlin. Hitler asked everyone except Wilhelm Keitel, Hans Krebs, Alf red Jodl, Wilhelm Burgdorf, and Martin Bormann to leave the room,[282] and launc hed into a tirade against the treachery and incompetence of his commanders. This culminated with Hitler openly declaring for the first time the war was lost.[28 3] Hitler announced he would stay in Berlin, head up the defence of the city and then shoot himself.[284]

Before the day ended, Hitler again found salvation in a new plan that included G eneral Walther Wenck's Twelfth Army.[285] This new plan had Wenck turn his army currently facing the Americans to the west and attack towards the east to reliev e Berlin.[285] Twelfth Army was to link up with Ninth Army and break through to the city. Wenck did attack and, in the confusion, made temporary contact with th e Potsdam garrison. But the link with the Ninth Army, like the plan in general, was ultimately unsuccessful.[286] On 23 April, Joseph Goebbels made the following proclamation to the people of Be rlin: I call on you to fight for your city. Fight with everything you have got, for th e sake of your wives and your children, your mothers and your parents. Your arms are defending everything we have ever held dear, and all the generations that w ill come after us. Be proud and courageous! Be inventive and cunning! Your Gaule iter is amongst you. He and his colleagues will remain in your midst. His wife a nd children are here as well. He, who once captured the city with 200 men, will now use every means to galvanize the defence of the capital. The Battle for Berl in must become the signal for the whole nation to rise up in battle ...[282] The same day, Gring sent a telegram from Berchtesgaden in Bavaria. Gring argued th at, since Hitler was cut off in Berlin, he should assume leadership of Germany a s Hitler's designated successor. Gring mentioned a time limit after which he woul d consider Hitler incapacitated.[287] Hitler responded, in anger, by having Gring arrested. Later when Hitler wrote his will on 29 April, Gring was removed from a ll his positions in the government.[287][288][289] Further on the 23 April, Hitl er appointed General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling as the commander of the Ber lin Defense Area. Weidling replaced Lieutenant General (Generalleutnant) Helmuth Reymann and Colonel (Oberst) Ernst Kaether. Hitler also appointed Waffen-SS Bri gadefhrer Wilhelm Mohnke the (Kommandant) Battle Commander for the defence of the government district (Zitadelle sector) that included the Reich Chancellery and Fhrerbunker.[290] By the end of the day on 27 April, Berlin was completely cut off from the rest o f Germany. As the Soviet forces closed in, Hitler's followers urged him to flee to the mountains of Bavaria to make a last stand in the National Redoubt. Howeve r, Hitler was determined to either live or die in the capital. On 28 April, Hitler discovered that Reichsfhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler was trying to discuss surrender terms with the Western Allies (through the Swedish diplomat C ount Folke Bernadotte).[291] Hitler ordered Himmler's arrest and had Hermann Feg elein (Himmler's SS representative at Hitler's HQ in Berlin) shot.[288][292] Cover of US military newspaper The Stars and Stripes, May 1945 During the night of 28 April, Wenck reported that his Twelfth Army had been forc ed back along the entire front. He noted that no further attacks towards Berlin were possible. General Alfred Jodl (Supreme Army Command) did not provide this i nformation to Hans Krebs in Berlin until early in the morning of 30 April. After midnight on 29 April, Hitler married Eva Braun in a small civil ceremony i n a map room within the Fhrerbunker. Antony Beevor stated that after Hitler hoste d a modest wedding breakfast with his new wife, he then took secretary Traudl Ju nge to another room and dictated his last will and testament.[293][294] Hitler s igned these documents at 4:00 AM. The event was witnessed and documents signed b y Hans Krebs, Wilhelm Burgdorf, Joseph Goebbels, and Martin Bormann.[288] Hitler then retired to bed.[295] That afternoon, Hitler was informed of the assassinat ion of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, which is presumed to have increased hi s determination to avoid capture.[296] On 30 April 1945, after intense street-to-street combat, when Soviet troops were within a block or two of the Reich Chancellery, Hitler and Braun committed suic ide; Eva by biting into a cyanide capsule[297] and Hitler by shooting himself wi th his Walther PPK 7.65 mm pistol.[298][299][300][301] Hitler had at various tim es in the past contemplated suicide, and the Walther was the same pistol that hi s niece, Geli Raubal had used in her suicide.[302] The lifeless bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun were carried up the stairs and through the bunker's emergency exi

t to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery where they were placed i n a bomb crater[303][304] and doused with petrol. The corpses were set on fire[3 05] as the Red Army advanced and the shelling continued.[306] On 2 May, Berlin surrendered. In the postwar years there were conflicting report s about what happened to Hitler's remains. After the fall of the Soviet Union, r ecords found in the Soviet archives revealed that the remains of Hitler, Eva Bra un, Joseph and Magda Goebbels, the six Goebbels children, General Hans Krebs and Hitler's dogs, were collected, moved and secretly buried in graves near Ratheno w in Brandenburg.[307] In 1970, the remains were disinterred, cremated and scatt ered in the Elbe River by the Soviets.[308][309] According to the Russian Federa l Security Service, a fragment of human skull stored in its archives and display ed to the public in a 2000 exhibition came from the remains of Hitler's body. Th e authenticity of the skull has been challenged by historians and researchers.[3 10] DNA analysis conducted in 2009 showed the skull fragment to be that of a wom an, and analysis of the sutures between the skull plates indicated an age betwee n 20 and 40 years old at the time of death.[311] Legacy Further information: Consequences of German Nazism and Neo-Nazism Outside the building in Braunau am Inn, Austria where Adolf Hitler was born is a memorial stone warning of the horrors of World War II The actions of Hitler, the Nazi Party and the results of Nazism are typically re garded as gravely immoral.[312] Historians, philosophers, and politicians have o ften applied the word evil.[313] Historical and cultural portrayals of Hitler in the west are overwhelmingly condemnatory. Holocaust denial, along with the disp lay of Nazi symbols such as swastikas, is prohibited in Germany and Austria. Outside of Hitler's birthplace in Braunau am Inn, Austria, the Memorial Stone Ag ainst War and Fascism is engraved with the following message: FR FRIEDEN FREIHEIT UND DEMOKRATIE NIE WIEDER FASCHISMUS MILLIONEN TOTE MAHNEN Loosely translated it reads: "For peace, freedom // and democracy // never again fascism // millions of dead warn [us]" Some people have referred to Hitler's legacy in neutral or favourable terms. For mer Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat spoke of his 'admiration' of Hitler in 195 3, when he was a young man, though it is possible he was speaking in the context of a rebellion against the British Empire.[314] Louis Farrakhan has referred to him as a "very great man".[315] Bal Thackeray, leader of the right-wing Hindu n ationalist Shiv Sena party in the Indian state of the Maharashtra, declared in 1 995 that he was an admirer of Hitler.[316] Friedrich Meinecke, the German histor ian, said of Hitler's life that "it is one of the great examples of the singular and incalculable power of personality in historical life".[317] Religious views Main article: Adolf Hitler's religious views Hitler was raised by Roman Catholic parents, but after he left home, he never at tended Mass or received the sacraments.[318] Hitler favoured aspects of Protesta ntism if they were more suitable to his own objectives. At the same time, he ado pted some elements of the Catholic Church's hierarchical organization, liturgy a nd phraseology in his politics.[319][320] After he had moved to Germany, where t he Catholic and the Protestant church are largely financed through a church tax collected by the state, Hitler never "actually left his church or refused to pay church taxes. In a nominal sense therefore," the historian Richard Steigmann-Ga ll (whose views on Christianity and Nazism are admittedly outside the consensus) states, Hitler "can be classified as Catholic."[321] Yet, as Steigmann-Gall has also pointed out in the debate about religion in Nazi Germany: "Nominal church membership is a very unreliable gauge of actual piety in this context."[322]

In public, Hitler often praised Christian heritage, German Christian culture, an d professed a belief in an Aryan Jesus Christ, a Jesus who fought against the Je ws.[323] In his speeches and publications Hitler spoke of his interpretation of Christianity as a central motivation for his antisemitism, stating that "As a Ch ristian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice."[324][325] His private statements, as reported by his intimates, show Hitler as critical of traditional Christianity, consideri ng it a religion fit only for slaves; he admired the power of Rome but had sever e hostility towards its teaching.[326] Here Hitler's attack on Catholicism "reso nated Streicher's contention that the Catholic establishment was allying itself with the Jews."[327] In light of these private statements, for John S. Conway an d many other historians it is beyond doubt that Hitler held a "fundamental antag onism" towards the Christian churches.[328] The various accounts of Hitler's pri vate statements vary strongly in their reliability; most importantly, Hermann Ra uschning's Hitler speaks is considered by most historians to be an invention.[32 9][330] In the political relations with the churches in Germany however, Hitler readily adopted a strategy "that suited his immediate political purposes".[328] Hitler h ad a general plan, even before the rise of the Nazis to power, to destroy Christ ianity within the Reich.[331][332][333] The leader of the Hitler Youth stated "t he destruction of Christianity was explicitly recognized as a purpose of the Nat ional Socialist movement" from the start, but "considerations of expedience made it impossible" publicly to express this extreme position.[331] His intention wa s to wait until the war was over to destroy the influence of Christianity.[326] Hitler for a time advocated for Germans a form of the Christian faith he called "Positive Christianity",[334][335] a belief system purged of what he objected to in orthodox Christianity, and featuring added racist elements. By 1940 however, it was public knowledge that Hitler had abandoned advocating for Germans even t he syncretist idea of a positive Christianity.[336] Hitler maintained that the " terrorism in religion is, to put it briefly, of a Jewish dogma, which Christiani ty has universalized and whose effect is to sow trouble and confusion in men's m inds."[337] Hitler once stated, "We do not want any other god than Germany itself. It is ess ential to have fanatical faith and hope and love in and for Germany."[338] Attitude to occultism Some writers believe that, in contrast to some Nazi ideologues, Hitler did not a dhere to esoteric ideas, occultism, or Ariosophy.[326] Hitler ridiculed such bel iefs in Mein Kampf.[334][339] Nevertheless, other writers believe the young Hitl er was strongly influenced, particularly in his racial views, by an abundance of occult works on the mystical superiority of the Germans, such as the occult and antisemitic magazine Ostara, and give credence to the claim of its publisher La nz von Liebenfels that Hitler visited Liebenfels in 1909 and praised his work.[3 40] The historians are still divided on the question of the reliability of von L iebenfels' claim of a contact with Hitler.[341] Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke conside rs his account reliable, Brigitte Hamann leaves the question open[342] and Ian K ershaw, although questioning to what degree he was influenced by it, notes that, "Most likely, Hitler did read Ostara, along with other racist pulp which was pr ominent on Vienna newspaper stands."[26] Kershaw notes that it is usually taken for granted that Hitler did so, and was to some extent influenced by the occult publication, pointing to Hitler's account of conversion to antisemitism after re ading some unnamed antisemitic pamphlets.[343] Health Hitler's health has long been the subject of debate. He has variously been said to have had irritable bowel syndrome, skin lesions, irregular heartbeat, Parkins on's disease,[273] syphilis,[273] tinnitus,[344] and Asperger syndrome.[345][346 ] He had problems with his teeth and his personal dentist Hugo Blaschke stated t hat he fitted a large dental bridge to his upper jaw in 1933 and that on 10 Nove mber 1944 he carried out surgery to cut off part of the left rear section of the

bridge that was causing an infection of his gums. He was also suffering from a sinus infection.[347] After the early 1930s, Hitler generally followed a vegetarian diet, although he ate meat on occasion. There are reports of him disgusting his guests by giving t hem graphic accounts of the slaughter of animals in an effort to make them shun meat.[348] A fear of cancer (from which his mother died) is the most widely cite d reason, though it is also asserted that Hitler, an antivivisectionist, had a p rofound concern for animals.[349] Martin Bormann had a greenhouse constructed fo r him near the Berghof (near Berchtesgaden) to ensure a steady supply of fresh f ruit and vegetables for Hitler throughout the war. Hitler was a non-smoker and promoted aggressive anti-smoking campaigns throughou t Germany. (See Anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany.)[350] Hitler "despised" a lcohol.[351] Syphilis Hitler's tremors and irregular heartbeat during the last years of his life could have been symptoms of tertiary (late stage) syphilis,[352] which would mean he had a syphilis infection for many years. Along with another doctor, Theodor More ll diagnosed the symptoms as such by early 1945 in a joint report to SS head Hei nrich Himmler.[352] Some historians have cited Hitler's preoccupation with syphi lis across 14 pages of Mein Kampf, where he called it a "Jewish disease", leadin g to speculation he may have had the disease himself. His possible discovery in 1908 that he had the disease may have been responsible for his demeanor; while h is life course may have been influenced by his anger at being a syphilitic, as w ell as his belief that he had acquired the disease from undesirable societal ele ments which he intended to eliminate. In several chapters of Mein Kampf, he wrot e about the temptation of prostitution and the spreading of syphilis, specifical ly volume 1, chapter 10 "Causes of the Collapse".[353] Historians have speculate d he may have caught the affliction from a German prostitute at a time when the disease was not yet treatable by modern antibiotics, which would also explain hi s avoidance of normal sexual relations with women. However, syphilis had become curable in 1910 with Dr. Paul Ehrlich's introduction of the drug Salvarsan. Since the 1870s, however, it was a common rhetorical practice on the vlkisch righ t to associate Jews with diseases such as syphilis. Historian Robert Waite claim s Hitler tested negative on a Wassermann test as late as 1939, which does not pr ove that he did not have the disease, because the Wassermann test was prone to f alse-negative results. Regardless of whether he actually had syphilis or not, Hi tler lived in constant fear of the disease, and took treatment for it no matter what his doctors told him.[352] In his biography of Doctor Felix Kersten called The Man with the Miraculous Hand s,[354] journalist and Acadmie franaise member Joseph Kessel wrote that in the win ter of 1942, Kersten heard of Hitler's medical condition. Consulted by his patie nt, Himmler, as to whether he could "assist a man who suffers from severe headac hes, dizziness and insomnia," Kersten was shown a top-secret 26-page report. It detailed how Hitler had contracted syphilis in his youth and was treated for it at a hospital in Pasewalk, Germany. However, in 1937, symptoms re-appeared, show ing that the disease was still active, and by the start of 1942, signs were evid ent that progressive syphilitic paralysis (Tabes dorsalis) was occurring. Himmle r advised Kersten that Morell (who in the 1930s claimed to be a specialist vener eologist) was in charge of Hitler's treatment, and that it was a state secret. T he book also relates how Kersten learned from Himmler's secretary, Rudolf Brandt , that at that time, probably the only other people privy to the report's inform ation were Nazi Party chairman Martin Bormann and Hermann Gring, the head of the Luftwaffe. Monorchism See also: Hitler's possible monorchism It has been alleged that Hitler had monorchism, the medical condition of having only one testicle. Hitler's personal doctor, Johan Jambor, supposedly described the dictator's condition to a priest who later wrote down what he had been told in a document which was uncovered in 2008, 23 years after the doctor's death.[35 5]

Soviet doctor Lev Bezymensky, allegedly involved in the Soviet autopsy, stated i n a 1967 book that Hitler's left testicle was missing. Bezymensky later admitted that the claim was falsified.[356] Hitler was routinely examined by many doctor s throughout his childhood, military service and later political career, and no clinical mention of any such condition has ever been discovered. Records do show he was wounded in 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, and some sources do desc ribe his injury as a wound to the groin. Parkinson's disease It has also been speculated Hitler had Parkinson's disease.[357] Newsreels of Hi tler show he had tremors in his hand and a shuffling walk (also a symptom of ter tiary syphilis, see above) which began before the war and continued to worsen un til the end of his life. Morell treated Hitler with a drug agent that was common ly used in 1945, although Morell is viewed as an unreliable doctor by most histo rians and any diagnoses he may have made are subject to doubt. A more reliable doctor, Ernst-Gnther Schenck, who worked at an emergency casualty station in the Reich Chancellery during April 1945, also claimed Hitler might h ave Parkinson's disease. However, Schenck only saw Hitler briefly on two occasio ns and, by his own admission, was extremely exhausted and dazed during these mee tings (at the time, he had been in surgery for numerous days without much sleep) . Also, some of Schenck's opinions were based on hearsay from Dr. Haase. Other complaints From the 1930s he suffered from stomach pains, in 1936 a non-cancerous polyp was removed from his throat and he developed eczema on his legs.[358] He suffered r uptured eardrums as a result of the July 20 plot bomb blast in 1944 and 200 wood splinters had to be removed from his legs.[359] Hitler's otologist observed tha t Hitler had developed tinnitus after the Rhm-putsch, and considered it psychogen ic in origin.[344] Hitler treated the condition with the prescription-free lipid lecithin.[344] Addiction to amphetamine Hitler began using amphetamine occasionally after 1937 and became addicted to am phetamine after the late summer of 1942.[360] Albert Speer stated he thought thi s was the most likely cause of the later rigidity of Hitler s decision making (nev er allowing military retreats).[361] Historians' views In a 1980 article, the German historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler dismissed theories th at sought to explain Nazi Germany as due to some defect, medical or otherwise in Hitler. In his opinion, besides the problem that such theories about Hitler's m edical condition were extremely difficult to prove, they had the effect of perso nalizing the phenomena of Nazi Germany by attributing everything that happened i n the Third Reich to one flawed individual.[362] The British historian Sir Ian K ershaw agreed that it was better to take a broader view of German history by see king to examine what social forces led to the Third Reich and its policies, as o pposed to the "personalized" explanations for the Holocaust and World War II.[26 8] Sexuality

Hitler with his long-time mistress Eva Braun, whom he married 29 April 1945 Main article: Sexuality of Adolf Hitler Hitler presented himself publicly as a man without a domestic life, dedicated en tirely to his political mission. However, he had a fiance in the 1920s, Mimi Reit er, and later had a mistress, Eva Braun. He had a close bond with his half-niece Geli Raubal, which some commentators have claimed was sexual, though there is n o evidence that proves this.[363] All three women attempted suicide (two succeed ed), a fact that has led to speculation that Hitler may have had sexual fetishes ,[clarification needed] such as urolagnia (aroused by urine or urination), as wa s claimed by Otto Strasser, a political opponent of Hitler. Reiter, the only one to survive the Nazi regime, denied this.[364] Some theorists have claimed that Hitler had a relationship with British fascist Unity Mitford.[365] Lothar Machta

n argues in The Hidden Hitler that Hitler was homosexual.[366] Family Main article: Hitler (disambiguation) Paula Hitler, the last living member of Adolf Hitler's immediate family, died in 1960. The most prominent and longest-living direct descendant of Adolf Hitler's father , Alois, was Adolf's nephew William Patrick Hitler. With his wife Phyllis, he ev entually moved to Long Island, New York, changed his last name, and had four son s. None of William Hitler's children have had any children of their own. Over the years, various investigative reporters have attempted to track down oth er distant relatives of the Fhrer. Many are now alleged to be living inconspicuou s lives and have long since changed their last name. Adolf Hitler's genealogy Klara Hitler, mother Alois Hitler, father Alois Hitler, Jr., half-brother Angela Hitler Raubal, half-sister Bridget Dowling, sister-in-law Eva Braun, mistress and then wife Geli Raubal, niece Gretl Braun, sister-in-law through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun Heinz Hitler, nephew Hermann Fegelein, brother-in-law through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun Ilse Braun, sister-in-law through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun Johann Georg Hiedler, presumed grandfather Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, maternal great-grandfather, presumed great uncle and pos sibly Hitler's true paternal grandfather Leo Raubal Jr, nephew Maria Schicklgruber, grandmother Paula Hitler, sister William Patrick Hitler, nephew Hitler in media

Video of Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden See also: Adolf Hitler in popular culture Oratory and rallies Main article: List of speeches given by Adolf Hitler Hitler was a gifted orator who captivated many with his beating of the lectern a nd growling, emotional speech. He honed his skills by giving speeches to soldier s during 1919 and 1920. He became adept at telling people what they wanted to he ar (the stab-in-the-back, the Jewish-Marxist plot to conquer the world, and the betrayal of Germany in the Versailles treaty) and identifying a scapegoat for th eir plight. Over time, Hitler perfected his delivery by rehearsing in front of m irrors and carefully choreographing his display of emotions[citation needed]. He was allegedly coached by Erik-Jan Hanussen, a self-styled clairvoyant who focus ed on hand and arm gestures and who, ironically, had Jewish heritage. Munitions minister and architect Albert Speer, who may have known Hitler as well as anyone , said that Hitler was above all else an actor.[367][368] Hitler and Baron Mannerheim (June 1942) Massive Nazi rallies staged by Speer were designed to spark a process of self-pe rsuasion for the participants. By participating in the rallies, by marching, by shouting heil, and by making the stiff armed salute, the participants strengthen

ed their commitment to the Nazi movement. This process can be appreciated by wat ching Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, which presents the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. The camera shoots Hitler from on high and from below, but only twice head -on. These camera angles give Hitler a Christ-like aura. Some of the people in t he film are paid actors, but most of the participants are not. Whether the film itself recruited new Nazis out of theatre audiences is unknown. The process of s elf-persuasion may have affected Hitler. He gave the same speech (though it got smoother and smoother with repetition) hundreds of times first to soldiers and t hen to audiences in beer halls. Recorded in private conversation Hitler visited Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim on 4 June 1942. During the visit an engineer of the Finnish broadcasting company YLE, Thor Damen, recorded Hitle r and Mannerheim in conversation, something which had to be done secretly since Hitler never allowed recordings of him off-guard.[369] Today the recording is th e only known recording of Hitler not speaking in an official tone. The recording captures 11 minutes of the two leaders in private conversation.[370] Hitler spea ks in a slightly excited, but still intellectually detached manner during this t alk (the speech has been compared to that of the working class). The majority of the recording is a monologue by Hitler. In the recording, Hitler admits to unde restimating the Soviet Union's ability to conduct war. Patria picture disc Adolf Hitler even released a 7-inch picture disc with one of his speeches. Known as the Patria (Fatherland) picture disc, the obverse bears an image of Hitler g iving a speech and has a recording of both a speech by Hitler and also Party Mem ber Hans Hinkel. The reverse bears a hand holding a swastika flag and the Carl W Faschis oitschach recording (1933 Telefunken A 1431) "In Dem Kampf um die Heimat tenmarsch". Documentaries during the Third Reich Hitler appeared in and was involved to varying degrees with a series of films by the pioneering filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl via Universum Film AG (UFA): Der Sieg des Glaubens (Victory of Faith, 1933). Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will, 1934), co-produced by Hitler. Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht (Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces, 1935). Olympia (1938). Hitler was the central figure of the first three films; they focused on the part y rallies of the respective years and are considered propaganda films. Hitler al so featured prominently in the Olympia film. Whether the latter is a propaganda film or a true documentary is still a subject of controversy, but it nonetheless perpetuated and spread the propagandistic message of the 1936 Olympic Games dep icting Nazi Germany as a prosperous and peaceful country.[371] As a prominent po litician, Hitler was featured in many newsreels. Television Hitler's attendance at various public functions, including the 1936 Olympic Game s and Nuremberg Rallies, appeared on television broadcasts made between 1935 and 1939. These events, along with other programming highlighting activity by publi c officials, were often repeated in public viewing rooms. Samples from a number of surviving television films from Nazi Germany were included in the 1999 docume ntary Das Fernsehen unter dem Hakenkreuz (Television Under the Swastika). Documentaries post Third Reich The World at War (1974): a Thames Television series which contains much informat ion about Hitler and Nazi Germany, including an interview with his secretary, Tr audl Junge. Adolf Hitler's Last Days: from the BBC series "Secrets of World War II" tells th e story about Hitler's last days during World War II. The Nazis: A Warning From History (1997): six-part BBC TV series on how the cult ured and educated Germans accepted Hitler and the Nazis up to its downfall. Hist orical consultant is Ian Kershaw. Cold War (1998): a CNN series about the Cold War between the United States and t he Soviet Union. The series begins with World War II footage, including Hitler, and how the Cold War began in earnest after Germany surrendered.

Im toten Winkel Hitlers Sekretrin (Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary) (2002): an exc lusive 90 minute interview with Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary. Made by Austri an Jewish director Andr Heller shortly before Junge's death from lung cancer, Jun ge recalls the last days in the Berlin bunker. Clips of the interview were used in Downfall (film). Undergngens arkitektur (The Architecture of Doom) (1989): documentary about the N ational Socialist aesthetic as envisioned by Hitler. Das Fernsehen unter dem Hakenkreuz (Television Under the Swastika) (1999): docum entary by Michael Kloft about the domestic use of television in Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes from 1935 to 1944. Ruins of the Reich (2007): four-part series of the Rise and Fall of Hitler's Re ich and its effects, created by Third Reich historian R.J. Adams