OOC: The last one was fun, but we have probably milked the last drop from that one (and I still have no idea what happened to Korea). So I think we start a new one. This one has a PoD in 1900, and I think we should start with our least favourite person (since him showing up in the beginning has become quite a trend).
Adolf Hitler (1889- 1966)
Served in the Austrian armies during the First European War (1911-14), but moved to Germany after the war. Became famous when as a member of the German National Unity Party (DNEP), a Party that started small, but grew to one of the most influencial political parties in the German Empire. Hitler succeeded Erich Ludendorf as leader of the Party, after the latter was assassinated by an Anarchist gunman in 1930. Unlike Ludendorf who believed German strength would return if Kaiser Wilhelm III was replaced by his father Wilhelm II (abdicated 1922), Hitler believed the monarchy itself was weak, and what Germany really needed was a "Strongman of the People". Like his predecessor Hitler did believe that Germany should gear up for war and reconquer the lands lost in the European War, i.e. Elsass- Lothringen, East Prussia, Posen and the Colonies. Hitler also believed Germany should unite the German people by annexing Austria and the Sudetes.
In 1932 DNEP together with the radical socialists of the USPD (the allies Hitler loved to hate) became strong enough to block almost any legislation in the Reichstag. The populiat parties were able to draw strength from the shape of the World Economy, as well as the instability of German politics in the 2nd Empire era. Like the USPD the DNEP had exploited the chaotic situation to arm a small militia. In 1933 the DNEP brownshirts were seen marching in many cities, usually ending up in a fight with the USPD red shirts. In German politics the governments fell more often than before, much thanks to the paralysis of the system the DNEP and USPD had created. Many feared either Adolf Hitler or Theodor Liebknecht would seize power in Germany.
However Hitler's power disappeared over night in June 1933 when Wilhelm III secretly ordered general Kurt von Schleicher to dissolve the Reichstag and take charge of the Reich. von Schleicher quickly dissolved the DNEP and the USPD, and had arrested many of the leaders before the militias had time to react. When Hitler realized what was happening he tried to flee to Austria, but was arrested on the Austrian border. He spent 20 years behind bars, but when he was released in 1953 he wrote in his memoirs that he had been wrong about the weakness of the German leaders, and he regretted never having seen the glory of the 2nd European War. Hitler spent the last years of his life in Vienna, taking up his passion of art again.