German dictator Adolf Hitler began his career as an aspiring artist. He was unsucessful in his artistic endeavors, however, and eventually enlisted in the German army during World War I.
He was wounded, and received two Iron Crosses. In 1919, he founded the National Socialist (Nazi) Party. His attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government in 1923 failed and resulted in a prison term that gave him the opportunity to articulate his political philosophy in a book entitled Mein Kampf ("My Struggle").
In 1933, he seized power and began the immediate rearmament of Germany. Hitler also instituted a series of anti-Semitic policies, that eventually led to the annihilation of more than six million Jews in Europe.
Hitler single-handedly led Germany into World War II. Until the end of the war and the final Russian assault on Berlin, Hitler maintained strict control over all aspects of the German military.
With Germany's defeat assured, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker.