Adolf Hitler was a man who many consider to be one of the most evil men in history. He lead the German Nazi party during the Second World War, who persecuted millions of Jewish, Homosexual, Disabled, men, women and children, under this mans command. This process is referred to as the Holocaust. And is so titled this because of concentration camps such as Auschwitz, where the prisoners were made to work manual labour, usually untill they died of exhaustion, or ill health. The people who were deemed unfit for work were sent into shower rooms where they were locked in together and the poisonous gas Zyklon B or Carbon Monoxide was pumped in through the shower heads, killing those trapped inside the locked rooms. Between the years of 1941 and 1945 several million people were killed in this way, leaving hordes of people dead all over Germany, Poland etc. The skies over camps such as the afformentioned Auschwitz were a sickly red colour, as once the people had been murdered, or died naturally, they were burned in the crematorium leaving no trace of them having died.

Adolf Hitler was the man in command of this operation, but is often stated by individuals as being evil. Few people actually delve into the reasons behind this mans hatred of a non-Aeryan race of people. Hitler famously hated Austrian people, but was himself of the Austrian origin. When he was a young adult, he was broke on the streets of Vienna, where at this time most wealthy people were Jewish. He states in his Autobiography ‘Mein Kampf’ (My Struggle) that these people cared about nobody but themselves, and would not give people the time of day. Is this an excuse to commit mass genocide to a race of people? No, but it does help us to see where the stem of such a powerful hatred first showed itself.

Hitler rose to power in Germany being the leader of the Nazi party since 1921 only a year after he joined. He Promoted German Nationalism, Anti-Semetism and Anti-Communism with his authority and Propaganda usage. In 1933 he was made chancellor and his dream of a One-party Dictatorship was realised, and in 1934 he was made Head of State. He made a foreign policy to seize “Living Space” for Germany, and in 1939 they invaded Poland, leading to the outbreak of World War 2 in Europe. After invading most of Europe, in 1945 Allied forces invaded Germany from every direction, causing the downfall of the Dictator.

During the war Hitler had a mistress called Eva Braun, whom he had known since she was 17. She swore that she was loyal to him, and in 1944 moved into the Bunker where he was hiding to be with him. On the 29th April 1945 the two married, but less than two days later both committed suicide. Braun resulting from a Cyanide capsule, and him by gunshot to the head. This was after finding out that the leader of the SS was planning surrender terms, leading to the realisation that the end was immenant. And on the 2nd of May Germany surrendered.

What is interesting about the man is that while loving and fighting for the perfect Germany, in his last days, after realising his defeat, he ordered that the entire state go down with him. This was called the Scorched Earth Policy, which is often used during a war, and involves destroying anything of use to the enemy when withdrawing or in this case pending an immenant defeat. So while he fought for the country to be the way he dreamed of it, it seems that he was stating that if he couldn’t have Germany then nobody else would either.

Many movies have portrayed this man, many ignoring certain facts such as his origins, and personal life. One of the most powerful movies was a German one which was released in the UK under the title Downfall, which shows his last days in the bunker. A very outstanding performance is given here, much more realistic than that of other movies on the subject.

While Hitler was a hateful man, a drug addict (something most people would leave out), and obsessed with mass genocide and invasion, he was still a Human. No matter how much you hate the man credit must be given for the way he stood up for what he believed in, no matter how wrong he was. There is no excuse for what was done, but given the chance to stand up and take what you want or live your life as someone else tells you is the difference between a truly powerful man, and a coward. Even though he exterminated millions of Jews, the fact still remains that he was one of the most powerful men we have ever seen in History, and quite probably ever will see.