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Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He was the leader of the Nazi Party, became Chancellor in 1933, and then took the title Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. His invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of World War II, and he was central to the Holocaust, which led to the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.

Born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, Hitler served in the German Army during World War I and was decorated for bravery. He joined the German Workers' Party (the precursor to the Nazi Party) in 1919, and by 1921, he was its leader. His rise to power included a failed coup attempt in Munich in 1923 that resulted in a prison sentence, during which he wrote his autobiography and political manifesto, Mein Kampf.

With the economic recovery in Germany during his early years in power, Hitler gained significant popular support through nationalist, antisemitic, and anti-communist rhetoric. He envisioned expanding German territory to provide "living space" (Lebensraum) for the German people, which contributed to the aggressive foreign policies leading to World War II.

Following the war, as the Allied forces closed in, Hitler and his partner Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker in Berlin on April 30, 1945. The couple's bodies were burned, in line with his instructions.

Hitler's regime is infamous for its role in the genocide of Jews and others deemed undesirable, and the resulting atrocities of World War II have made his legacy one of the most studied and discussed topics in history.