On July 29, 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National
Socialist German Workers’ (Nazi) Party. Under Hitler, the Nazi
Party grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany as a
totalitarian state from 1933 to 1945.

Hitler’s early years did not seem to predict his rise as a political
leader. Born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria, he
was a poor student and never graduated from high school.

During World War I, he joined a Bavarian regiment of the German
army and was considered a brave soldier, but his commanders
felt he lacked leadership potential and never promoted him beyond corporal.