Adolf Hitler was a German politician and leader of the Nazi Party. He rose to power as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and later became the dictator of the country. Hitler's aggressive expansionist policies led to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, as he sought to establish a vast empire across Europe. Hitler is also known for his role in the Holocaust, a horrific genocide that resulted in the deaths of six million Jews and millions of others deemed undesirable by the Nazi regime. His reign ended in 1945 when he died by suicide as Allied forces closed in on Berlin.