Famous Leaders of World War II
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Born in Austria in 1889, Adolf Hitler rose to power in German politics as leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, also known as the Nazi Party. Hitler was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as dictator from 1934 to 1945. His policies influenced the start of World War II and the Holocaust. Hitler committed suicide with his wife Eva Braun on April 30, 1945.
Born on December 18, 1879, in Gori, Georgia, Joseph Stalin rose to power as General Secretary of the Communist Party, becoming a Soviet dictator after Vladimir Lenin's death. Stalin forced rapid industrialization and the collecting of agricultural land, resulting in millions dying from famine while others were sent to camps. His Red Army helped defeat Nazi Germany during WWII.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito was born on April 29, 1901, in Tokyo, Japan. He was crowned prince at age 15, he was Japan's longest-reigning monarch, ruling from 1926 to 1989. The level of his involvement with Japan's military during World War II is still debated, but he did announced the country's surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945. After the war, the new constitution drafted by the United States transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy so that power was with the people instead of the emperor. Hirohito died in Tokyo on January 7, 1989. His son, Akihito, succeeded him.
Born in 1883 in Dovia di Predappio, Forlì, Italy, Benito Mussolini was a socialist during his "young age," following in his father's political footsteps, but was expelled by the party for his support of World War I. In 1919, he created the Fascist Party, eventually making himself dictator and holding all the power in Italy. He overextended his forces during World War II and was eventually killed by his own people, on April 28, 1945, in Mezzegra, Italy.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Churchill helped lead a successful Allied strategy with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and General Secretary Joseph Stalin during WWII to defeat the Axis powers and craft post-war peace. After the breakdown of the alliance, he alerted the West to the expansionist threat of Soviet Communism.
Born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, Franklin D. He became the 32nd U.S. president in 1933, and was the only president to be elected four times. Roosevelt led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II, and greatly expanded the powers of the federal government through a series of programs and reforms known as the New Deal. Roosevelt died in Georgia in 1945.
Douglas MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880. After graduating from West Point in 1903, he fought in World War I, and in World War II. He was the commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific. MacArthur died on April 5, 1964, and was buried in Norfolk, Virginia.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas. In 1945 he was appointed U.S. Army chief of staff. He became the first Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1951. In 1952 he was elected U.S. president. He served two terms before retiring to Gettysburg in 1961. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969, at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.
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