21 Brutal Dictators of the 20th Century Posted on September 18, 2016November 11, 2017 by TFE Times Prev2 of 21Next Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; NSDAP), Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and Führer (“Leader”) of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As dictator, he initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and was central to the Holocaust. Related