To this day, Hitler and his charismatic rule exert a troubling fascination. Works on the central questions of his regime fill entire libraries. In this new, concise political biography, Hans-Ulrich Thamer succinctly summarizes our current state of knowledge and particularly highlights the connection between staging and power, as well as between consensus and violence. The renowned expert on the Nazi era clearly and understandably demonstrates how the cult of the Führer and a politically astute response to societal expectations became the foundation of Hitler's politics. Together, these elements allowed him to wear the mask of the people's chancellor, to amass a unique concentration of power, and to conduct a singular campaign of annihilation against ideologically defined enemies, both internal and external—a timeless and pressing danger.