Under the guidance of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the state of Prussia managed to defeat Austria-Hungary and France - the latter in the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War. Following this, Prussia combined the German confederation of states into a single country. King Wilhelm I of Prussia now became Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, the largest and most powerful country in Europe. Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany all had empires which they wanted to expand. Soon alliances were made - Austria-Hungary allied with Germany in 1879, Italy joined in 1882, to form the Triple Alliance. France formed an alliance with Russia in 1894. Britain later joined this, allying with France in 1904, and Russia in 1907, giving the Triple Entente. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand (heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire) in June 1914 in Sarajevo by a Serb terrorist, led to Austria-Hungary issuing a demand to Serbia. This declared that the country would be virtually incorporated into Austria-Hungary's empire. Serbia rejected this, and Austria-Hungary declared war soon after. All the other European powers soon entered, followed later by the United States. Four years later, World War I ended with Germany's defeat. The circumstances of the time - the discontent of the army (feeling it had been stabbed in the back by politicians), the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and the financial crises of the 1920s were ideal for an extremist party to exploit.

• On 20 April 1889, Adolf Hitler was born to Alois Hitler (also formerly known by his mother's surname of Schickelgruber since he was an illegitimate child), and Klara, the third wife of Alois. He was one of five children, although only he and his younger sister survived.
• He was born in Braunau am-Inn (on the river Inn), which was in Austria, but next to the German border. His father worked as a customs official at this border.
• Adolf was initially a good student at primary school, but later on he only did well in subjects that interested him, which were the more artistic ones.
• When he was 14 (in 1903), his father died. Hitler had not loved his father much - he was allegedly violent towards the children, and had tried to force Adolf into becoming a government employee.
• At the age of 16, Hitler left school without passing his exams. He stayed in Linz for two years, living off his mother's savings, passing the time by painting.
• In 1907, he decided to go and apply to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. He was rejected - which came as a shock to him.
• His mother died late the same year. Distraught by this, he decided now to remain in Vienna. The next year, 1908, he applied to the Academy again, but was rejected again.
• After that, Hitler stayed in Vienna, using part of his parent's savings, and an allowance for orphans - since this was insufficient, he took to selling sketches and postcards of Vienna too. During this time, until 1913, Hitler lived on the streets or in charity homes. This was probably when he developed his anti-Semitic views, both from other anti-Jewish literature and direct contact (and hence resentment) with the large Jewish minority in Vienna.
• In 1913, he moved to Munich (Munchen). Here he continued a similar lifestyle - selling paintings - except in private lodgings. He was arrested for not registering with the military, but later released for being unfit.
• After the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Hitler joined the army and was assigned to the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. His task was to be a regimental runner, and he did this job very well.
• A gas attack caused him to be in hospital as the war ended, although he received the Iron Cross First Class for bravery (he already received the Iron Cross Second Class during the war).
• Like some others in the army, Hitler felt betrayed by the 1918 Armistice and the following Treaty of Versailles of 1919 (which had imposed humiliating terms upon Germany that the Germans were forced to sign) and returned to Munich, where there was hostility against the new Weimar republic in Germany set up after the war.
• He remained in army employment, spending some time working in a POW camp in 1918-1919. He was then told by the army to spy on some of the new parties forming in Bavaria at the time.
• On 12 September 1919, he went to a meeting of the 'Deutsch Arbeiterpartei' (German Workers' Party), led by a man called Drexler. At this meeting, Hitler had an argument with Drexler and impressed him, and so was invited to join the party. After pondering it, Hitler accepted, and was in charge of publicity for them.
• In early 1920, a communist uprising in Munich was put down by the army. This then allowed right-wing parties to flourish.
• In February 1920, he left the army, but remained with the Party, delivering very successful and persuasive speeches. By April, he presented his own 25-Point Programme listing the main aims of the Party, and renamed the party 'National-sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei' (the 'National Socialist Workers' Party', nicknamed the 'Nazis'). He also chose the swastika as the party emblem during the year.
• By 1921, Hitler was virtually in control of the party (and also raised most of the funds from his speeches), and therefore he consolidated his position by replacing Drexler as the President in July 1921. He achieved this by a threat of resignation, which of course would have been immensely damaging to the party, and thus the other members gave in.
• Hitler had also been organising a squad of thugs to protect the party's meetings and to disrupt the meetings of other parties. This was put under command of Ernst Roehm, who had joined the previous year. These were termed the SturmAbteilung - SA ('Brownshirts').
• In 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr industrial heartland to force German repayments (as stated in the Treaty of Versailles). This led to a period of hyperinflation, wiping out savings, and sending most Germans into poverty. Of course, Germans turned to the extremist parties - both left-wing and right-wing - for solutions. The Nazis benefited greatly from this.
• Hitler decided the time was right to overthrow the Bavarian government. On 8 November 1923, the leader of the State, Baron von Kahr, was giving a speech in the Buergerbraukeller beer hall in Munich. Hitler interrupted this, and along with General Erich Ludendorff, the ministers were made to declare a new Nazi government in Bavaria. Later they were released and recanted their declaration.
• The next day, 9 November 1923, Hitler, Ludendorff & 3000 SA troops marched to the centre of Munich. They were confronted by police. After a shoot-out (which Hitler fled), the Nazis scattered and aborted their coup.
• For this Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was put on trial for treason, and became famous nationwide. He was allowed to expound his views and his party's objectives during the case. However he was sentenced to prison for five years.
• He only served nine months (released towards the end of 1924) in the Landsberg prison. During this time, Mein Kampf ('My Struggle') was written. In it Hitler states that he wants to increase the Aryan population. To accommodate this, land was needed from other countries. He says the Aryan race (north Europeans) were superior to the others, which should be removed from society - the Jews, the Slavs, etc.
• Upon Hitler's release, the economic climate had changed. The new Chancellor, Gustav Streseman, introduced a new currency (the Rentenmark) and started a period of co-operation with the Americans and the French leading to the Dawes and Young Plans to reduce reparations and increase foreign investment.
• This led to a diminished interest in the Nazi Party, which lost 20 of its 32 seats in the 1928 elections. However during this time, Hitler did manage to incorporate the northern Germany Nazi movement of Gregor Strasser under his leadership, as well as establishing the Schutzstaffel (SS) ('Blackshirts') under Heinrich Himmler, as his personal bodyguard.
• On 24 October 1929 (Black Thursday), the Wall Street Crash began. The recession hit Germany hard due to the American investment into its economy, which was now withdrawn. Unemployment started to shoot up, and once again, the working and middle classes turned to more desperate solutions.
• In the summer of 1930, the government was unable to pass a bill, and was dissolved by President Hindenburg. In the resulting elections, the Nazis gained a huge number of seats making them the second largest party in the Reichstag.
• The Communists also gained many more votes. Due to this, industrialists and the army began to support Hitler more strongly, as they feared the Communists would get into power and had lost faith in the traditional centre parties. Hitler's more recent policy of banning trade unions encouraged this.
• From 1929 onwards, Hitler was attracted to his half-sister's daughter, Geli Raubal, but his constant attentions finally made her commit suicide in September 1931. After this, he transferred his affections to Eva Braun.
• Hitler did not smoke or drink coffee, tea or alcohol. He was also almost completely vegetarian.
• In 1932, Hitler failed to become President standing against Hindenburg, but managed to gain over 36% of the vote. In the November 1932 elections, the Nazis lost 34 seats, whilst the Communists gained 11.
• Hindenburg was reluctant to appoint Hitler as Chancellor, but after his first two choices were rejected by the Reichstag, he was forced to appoint Hitler on 30 January 1933.
• On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag was set alight by a Dutch man, called Marinus van der Lubbe - a communist, although it was most probably instigated by the Nazis. Hitler decreed a state of emergency, and called for new elections.
• In the March 1933 elections, the Nazis intimidated voters but still failed to gain a majority - only 43% of the vote.
• Exaggerating the Communist threat, Hitler managed to pass the Enabling Bill on 23 March 1933, allowing him to make laws with his cabinet without calling upon the Reichstag. This was supported by the central and nationalist parties in the Reichstag.
• By July 1933, Hitler had outlawed all other political parties and banned trade unions.
• The SA (now with 3 million members) were now embarrassing to Hitler, and the army distrusted him whilst he retained them. They were also becoming more independent under Roehm's leadership and could constitute a danger. Therefore, on 30 June 1934, in the Night of the Long Knives, senior SA leaders, including Roehm, were rounded up and shot by Himmler's SS and the Gestapo.
• President Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934, meant Hitler assumed the Presidency with the support of the army. In a referendum, 90% of the country approved of the Nazi government. Hitler was in total and unopposed control of the country.
• He called himself the 'Fuhrer', and the Third Reich was born.
• From then onwards, Hitler began to prepare for war. The army was enlarged, factories were built, autobahns constructed, and freedom for workers restricted.
• The Nazis began to persecute the Jews from 1933. After 1938, the Final Solution was implemented against Jews, Slavs, gypsies and homosexuals - they were killed in the concentration camps.
• Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda, and there was total censorship of the press, and radio throughout this time. The children were controlled by the Hitler Youth organisation. Women were encouraged to have more children and support their husbands. Hitler then decided more lebensraum (living space) was needed for the Germans, as well as uniting them all.
• The demilitarised Rhineland was occupied by Hitler in 1936.
• In 1938, Austria was annexed in the Anschluss uniting all German people together. Czechoslovakia was taken next on the pretext that the Sudetenland Germans were not yet united to the Greater Germany.
• Hitler formed an alliance with Benito Mussolini, and decided to conclude a secret agreement with Josef Stalin, whereby Poland would be carved up between them.
• On 1 September 1939, Poland was invaded, and Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War II had begun (which is really too complex to include here).
• By April 1945, it was obvious even to Hitler that there was no chance of winning the war. He married his loving companion since 1931, Eva Braun, on the night of 28 April 1945. On 30 April 1945, she poisoned herself. Hitler either did the same or shot himself, after appointing Karl Donitz as President and Joseph Goebbels as Chancellor. Hitler's body was then burned.

A Brief Biography of Adolf Hitler

The Rise of Adolf Hitler