Hitler and His Downfall

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, November 1996

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To many World War II has been the most devastating war in human history. It had been global military conflict that caused the loss of millions of lives as well as material destruction. The war began in Europe in September of 1939. It ended on May 8, 1945. This day was marked by the British government as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. The outcome of this war left a new world order dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union.

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunuam Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889 and died (committed suicide) on April 30, 1945. He was the son of a minor customs official and a peasant girl. He had a love for reading although he never completed high school and was rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna due to his lack of talent. Through reading he developed his anti-democratic and anti-Jewish beliefs, the admiration for the outstanding individual and contempt for the masses.

By volunteering for service in the Baverian Army during World War I, he proved himself as a dedicated and courageous soldier. Since his sponsors felt that he lacked in leadership quantities, he was never promoted beyond private first class. In September 1919, Hitler joined the Nationalist German Workers Party later changed its name to the National Social German Workers (Nazi) Party. To become the leader of Germany, he took advantage of the Great Depression of 1929 and explained it as a Jewish Communist plot. Through promises of a strong Germany, more jobs and national glory, he gained popularity and was appointed chancellor in January 1933. Once in power, he established himself as a dictator.

After World War I, Germany was dissatisfied with the outcome of the war. There were large reparations to pay, their military power had...