The new comprehensive biography of Hitler for our time. Would the greatest civilizational break in history - the war of extermination in Eastern Europe and the murder of European Jews - have been conceivable without Hitler? With authoritative expertise and based on new sources, contemporary historian Volker Ullrich demonstrates the extent to which the dictator shaped the nature of warfare and the development of the Holocaust. It becomes clear: the monstrous crimes were only possible because Hitler could rely on the cooperation of the military leadership and broad segments of society until the very end. In his masterful biography, Volker Ullrich convincingly makes Hitler's personality tangible. Only then does it become apparent how all of this could happen - and what place the dictator occupies in history. A brilliantly written account at the forefront of research.