At the beginning of World War I he volunteered for service in the Bavarian army. There he proved to be a brave soldier, but was never promoted beyond the rank of a "Gefreiter", because his superior officers didn't believe he would have any qualities in leadership. Short before the end of the war in 1918, he was injured by an English gas attack. Thereby he lost his eyes sight temporally and spent several months in hospital. This is the best-known face of the century. Its appearance on the cover of a book or magazine is known to increase sales by 25-50%, the closest rival for this distinction being the present Princess of Wales. The political career of Adolf Hitler is the most fully documented this century, and more has been written about him than anyone else in history - with the possible exception of Jesus Christ. He provokes endless, sometimes barmy, Internet questions andcomments . Over 1000 biographies have been published. Yet after 50 years of historical debate the phenomenon of Hitler still amazes.

The best video sources on Hitler, the Nazis and the Holocaust are the relevant episodes of the outstanding documentary, The World at War. Rare film footage of a entire Hitler speech, affording amazing insights into his technique, comes in a documentary entitled The Double-Headed Eagle. Made by VPS Ltd in 1973, It was broadcast by Channel 4 some years ago and

J Noakes, 'Who Supported Hitler?', Modern History Review, April 1995, pages 28-31

1944June Britain and USA invade German-occupied France July Group of disillusioned German generals try unsuccessfully to assassinate Hitler

1934 June Hitler's SS eliminates SA (his former private army) in Night of Long Knives 2 August Death of President Hindenburg - Hitler combines latter's job with his as Führer

Some topics in this essay:
World War, Alan Bullock, Nazi Party, Fascism History, Adolf Hitler, Hitler German, Führer Hitler, Collins Brown, Spain Instead, Power Europe, world war, hitler invades, nazi party, foreign policy, adolf hitler, german history, origins world war, social economic, hitler annexes, hitler nazis, 1995 pages, world war 1961,