Adolf Hitler served as a dispatch runner in the German Army during World War I. After the war, he joined the Nazi party and became its leader. He was an engaging public speaker who gained popularity for his anti-Semitic book Mein Kampf. In 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany and transformed the government into a dictatorship. He pursued an aggressive military campaign across Europe during World War II but committed suicide in 1945 as Allied forces closed in on Berlin.