Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, born in a tiny Austrian town, was the fourth kid out of six in a pretty messy household. His dad, Alois, was strict as hell and loved to dish out beatings, while his mom, Klara, just couldn’t stand up to him. School? Not really Hitler’s thing—he failed a lot and got picked on. When his older brother bailed, things got even rougher at home. Hitler himself tried to escape at 11, but that didn’t work out. Only when his dad died did he finally feel a sense of relief. He ditched high school at 16, moved to Vienna, and wanted to be an artist, but the art academy rejected him—twice. Somewhere along the way he got obsessed with German nationalism, despite being Austrian. When World War I broke out, he managed to join a Bavarian regiment. He worked as a messenger, got gassed, won the Iron Cross, and got promoted to corporal. When the war ended, he stuck around in the army, doing intelligence work. His new gig? Spying on political groups that were stirring up trouble. One of those was the German Workers’ Party, which he soon joined. In no time, he was running the show, renamed it the Nazi Party, and declared himself the leader. By 1923, with help from ex-soldiers and secret backers, Hitler tried to overthrow the Bavarian government. The attempt bombed—he got arrested and tossed in jail, where he dictated “Mein Kampf.” After his release, he rebuilt the party with support from wealthy industrialists, set up the infamous SS, and started gaining power. By 1933, through shady deals and political maneuvering, Hitler was Chancellor, setting the stage for the dictatorship to come.