Hitler: a Pictorial Biography

Edited by Peter Schwartz, this illustrated book contains an extraordinary collection of contemporary photographs of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. Hitler, although born in Austria, always considered himself German. He was obsessively nationalistic believing that the Aryan German race to be superior to all others. Essentially, an opportunist, he used his oratory skills and propaganda techniques to gain power at a very unsettled time for Germany. Temporarily convincing the nation that Nazism, which was the product of his own beliefs, would solve the country's problems, he was duly elected as the supreme leader with absolute power. His hatred of minorities, in particular the Jews, but also anyone considered non Aryan, resulted in industrialised mass murder on an unimaginable scale. Desiring an empire, his actions resulted in worldwide conflict and the deaths of more than 50 million people. His fall ended Nazism, and consequences following the aftermath of the War changed the political landscape of the world. Even today, some 70 years after his death, his legacy still casts a shadow.