Adolf Hitler
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Real Identity: Adolf Hitler
Affiliation(s): German Worker's Party, National Socialist German Worker's Party, The Reichstag, Nazi Party, and Axis Powers
Appearances (JL): The Savage Time Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
Skills: Leadership, Charisma, Manipulation, and Oration
Voiced By:
Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889 to an Austrian customs official. He later dropped out of high school and drifted to Vienna. After failing to enter an art school, Hitler took a job making paintings on postcards. Over the years, he became race conscious and observed how Marxists assimilated into Germany and took distinguished positions. He blamed the liberal practices of the government. Hitler fancied himself as a pure German and developed a dislike of Semites, socialism, capitalism, and aristocracy.
In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, the capital of Bavaria. When World War I broke out, he joined the army and rose to the rank of a highly decorated corporal from runner. After the war ended, he remained in the army. In 1919, communist fears circulated. Secret societies and military groups formed. Meanwhile, Hitler began working in the army's propaganda unit but got involved in a fringe party called the German Worker's Party. One year later, he established a party platform called the 25 points and formed a split off group, the National Socialist German Worker's Party.
The German government, the Weimar Republic, a product of the Treaty of Versailles, was weakened by constant street fights between communists and private armies. The three most crucial events were the Kapp Putsch of 1920, the murder of Jewish foreign minister named Rathenau in 1922, and the murder of a moderate Catholic Center politician named Erzberger who signed the Treaty.
In 1923, the French were fed up with waiting for wartime repayments and occupied the Ruhr, a significant part of Germany's industrial sector. The escalated tensions were an opportunity for the National Socialists to seize power. Just as Mussolini staged his March on Rome, Hitler staged a putsch at a Munich beer hall. Police suppressed the revolt and Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five years. He only served one year. In this time, Hitler became famous and he compiled his ideas into the Mein Kampf, which would later become the Nazi Party's platform. The book included thoughts on the pure race, Greater Germany Lebensraum, Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia, Anti-Communism, Anti-Democracy, and Fascism.
In 1924, the Dawes Plan for economic revival weakened the National Socialists' appeal. However, the advent of the Great Depression reversed that trend. Foreign loans ended, factories closed, unemployment increased, and the middle class weakened. Suddenly, communism was held in high regard by the people. The upper class was desperate for support to fight communism. Hitler took advantage of this and called for a true democracy by the Volk, people, led by one leader. He also denounced socialism, unearned income, war profit, department stores, land speculations, interest slavery, unfair taxes such as America's Hawley-Smoot Tariff, and Jews. In the parlimentary election of 1930, the new Nazi party won 107 seats in the Reichstag from 28 seats in 1928. The conservative and industrial elements of the parliament tolerated Hitler because he was useful in controlling the people.
On January 30, 1933, Hitler was named chancellor, through legal means. Set on total control of the Reichstag, the Nazis created a red scare of communists and used a private army of Brown Shirts to intimidate communists. In fear of communism, the Reichstag appointed emergency dictatorial powers to Hitler. The Reichstag was politically polarized and no parties could effectively form a coalition to oust Hitler. He went to work installing Nazi officials into key positions such as the media and the police. In February, Hitler proclaimed the Gleichschaltung, a spiritual and emotional revolution of the people to bring out a new world order. The Reichstag was burned down and the event was used as an excuse to arrest and terrorize communists using the Nazi private army, the SA. On March 24, 1933, the Enabling Act was passed and Hitler became a full dictator. The government officials went along with this in hopes the Weimar Republic would be dismantled.
By the summer, the German communists were defeated and the country was made into a one-party state led by the Nazis. Hitler's last threat was his own army, the SA, which was led by a revolutionary named Roehm. Hitler used his elite army, the SS to liquidate the SA on the Night of Long Knives. Hitler became President on August 2, 1934 and made the army swear allegiance to him. Hitler proclaimed his new order as the Third Reich and took on the title of the Fuhrer, claiming to represent the German race. The state of Germany quickly became a cult that glorified nationalism. Defying the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler rearmed the army and carried out his goal of Lebensraum which expanded Germany across central Europe to take in scattered German groups. Austria, Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Poland fell to Germany. After central Europe was taken, France and Britain became the primary targets of Hitler and the Nazis. World War II officially began on September 3, 1939. By the 40's, France was defeated and Britain was not close behind. Luckily, the United States of American entered after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
During this time, a munitions worker named Vandal Savage usurped power from Hitler with his futuristic technology. The Nazi Party High Command decided to make Savage the new party leader and Fuhrer. Hitler was placed in cyrogenic stasis in a chamber located beneath the Berlin headquarters. Savage and the party officials focused on the Allied Powers' Operation Overlord, a planned drop into France. This ultimately took place on June 6, 1944 at Normandy. With superior firepower in the form of War Wheels, it looked as if the Allies were defeated. The sudden appearance of the Justice League turned the tide of war. After Savage's Operation Endgame failed, the High Command was desperate to continue the war and awakened Hitler. Soon after, Germany was defeated and Victory over Europe was proclaimed on May 8, 1945. Hitler isolated himself in a bunker in Berlin. It was infiltrated by a US agent called the Unknown Soldier. Hitler later committed suicide.