Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 ?

30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born politician who led the National

Socialist German Workers Party. He became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 and F?hrer
in 1934. He ruled until 1945.

The Nazi Party gained power during Germany's period of crisis after World War I, exploiting effective
propaganda and Hitler's charismatic oratory to gain popularity. The Party emphasized nationalism,
antisemitism and anti-communism, and killed many of its opponents. After the restructuring of the
state economy and the rearmament of the German armed forces (Wehrmacht), a dictatorship
(commonly characterized as totalitarian or fascist) was established by Hitler, who then pursued an
aggressive foreign policy, with the goal of seizing Lebensraum. The German Invasion of Poland in
1939 drew the British and French Empires into World War II.

The Wehrmacht was initially successful and the Axis Powers occupied most of Mainland Europe and
parts of Asia. Eventually the Allies defeated the Wehrmacht. By 1945, Germany was in ruins. Hitler's
bid for territorial conquest and racial subjugation had caused the deaths of tens of millions of
people, including the systematic genocide of an estimated six million Jews, not including various
other "undesirable" populations, in what is known as the Holocaust.

During the final days of the war in 1945, as Berlin was being invaded and destroyed by the Red Army,
Hitler married Eva Braun. Less than 24 hours later, the two committed suicide in the F?hrerbunker.

Hitler said that, as a boy, he was often beaten by his father. Years later he told his secretary, "I then
resolved never again to cry when my father whipped me. A few days later I had the opportunity of
putting my will to the test. My mother, frightened, took refuge in the front of the door. As for me, I
counted silently the blows of the stick which lashed my rear end." [14]

The young Hitler was a good student in elementary school. But in the sixth grade, his first year of
high school (Realschule) in Linz he failed and had to repeat the grade. His teachers said that he had
"no desire to work." One of Hitler's fellow pupils in the Realschule was Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of
the great philosophers of the 20th century. A book by Kimberley Cornish suggests that conflict
between Hitler and some Jewish students, including Wittgenstein, was a critical moment in Hitler's
formation as an anti-Semite.

Hitler later said that his educational slump was a rebellion against his father, who wanted the
boy to follow him in a career as a customs official; he wanted to become a painter instead.
This explanation is further supported by Hitler's later description of himself as a
misunderstood artist. After Alois died on 3 January 1903, Hitler's schoolwork did not
improve. At age 16, Hitler dropped out of high school without a degree.

In Mein Kampf, Hitler attributed his conversion to German nationalism to a time during his
early teenage years when he read a book of his father's about the Franco-Prussian War, which
caused him to question why his father and other German Austrians failed to fight for the
Germans during the war.[

From 1905 on, Hitler lived a bohemian life in Vienna on an orphan's pension and support from his
mother. He was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (1907–1908), citing "unfitness for
painting," and was told his abilities lay instead in the field of architecture.[1
n 21 December 1907, Hitler's mother died of breast cancer at age 47. Ordered by a court in
Linz, Hitler gave his share of the orphans' benefits to his sister Paula. When he was 21, he
inherited money from an aunt. He struggled as a painter in Vienna, copying scenes from
postcards and selling his paintings to merchants and tourists.

After being rejected a second time by the Academy of Arts, Hitler ran out of money. In 1909,
he lived in a shelter for the homeless. By 1910, he had settled into a house for poor working
men.

Hitler said he first became an anti-Semite in Vienna, [20] which had a large Jewish community,
including Orthodox Jews who had fled from pogroms in Russia. But according to a childhood friend,
August Kubizek, Hitler was a "confirmed anti-Semite" before he left Linz, Austria. [20] Vienna at that
time was a hotbed of traditional religious prejudice and 19th century racism. Hitler may have been
influenced by the writings of the ideologist and anti-Semite Lanz von Liebenfels and polemics from
politicians such as Karl Lueger, founder of the Christian Social Party and Mayor of Vienna, the
composer Richard Wagner, and Georg Ritter von Schönerer, leader of the pan-Germanic Away from
Rome! movement.

Hitler claimed that Jews were enemies of the Aryan race. He held them responsible for Austria's
crisis. He also identified certain forms of Socialism and Bolshevism, which had many Jewish leaders,
as Jewish movements, merging his anti-Semitism with anti-Marxism. Later, blaming Germany's
military defeat on the 1918 revolutions, he considered Jews the culprit of Imperial Germany's
downfall and subsequent economic problems as well.

Gandhi practiced non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the
same. He lived simply, organizing an ashram that was self-sufficient in its needs. Making his
own clothes—the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he hand spun on a
charkha—he lived on a simple vegetarian diet; he also undertook long fasts as forms of both
self-purification and social protest.

In South Africa, Gandhi faced discrimination directed at Indians. Initially, he was thrown off
a train at Pietermaritzburg, after refusing to move from the first class to a third class coach
while holding a valid first class ticket. Traveling further on by stagecoach, he was beaten by a
driver for refusing to travel on the foot board to make room for a European passenger. He
suffered other hardships on the journey as well, including being barred from many hotels. In
another of many similar events, the magistrate of a Durban court ordered him to remove his
turban, which Gandhi refused. These incidents have been acknowledged as a turning point in
his life, serving as an awakening to contemporary social injustice and helping to explain his
subsequent social activism. It was through witnessing firsthand the racism, prejudice and
injustice against Indians in South Africa that Gandhi started to question his people's status
within the British Empire, and his own place in society.

Gandhi extended his original period of stay in South Africa to assist Indians in opposing a bill
to deny them the right to vote. Though unable to halt the bill's passage, his campaign was
successful in drawing attention to the grievances of Indians in South Africa. He founded the
Natal Indian Congress in 1894, and through this organization, he molded the Indian
community of South Africa into a homogeneous political force. In January 1897, when
Gandhi returned from a brief trip to India, a white mob attacked and tried to lynch him. In an
early indication of the personal values that would shape his later campaigns, he refused to
press charges against any member of the mob, stating it was one of his principles not to seek
redress for a personal wrong in a court of law.

In 1906, the Transvaal government promulgated a new Act compelling registration of the
colony's Indian population. At a mass protest meeting held in Johannesburg on September 11
that year, Gandhi adopted his still evolving methodology of satyagraha (devotion to the
truth), or non-violent protest, for the first time, calling on his fellow Indians to defy the new
law and suffer the punishments for doing so, rather than resist through violent means. This
plan was adopted, leading to a seven-year struggle in which thousands of Indians were jailed
(including Gandhi), flogged, or even shot, for striking, refusing to register, burning their
registration cards, or engaging in other forms of non-violent resistance. While the
government was successful in repressing the Indian protesters, the public outcry stemming
from the harsh methods employed by the South African government in the face of peaceful
Indian protesters finally forced South African General Jan Christiaan Smuts to negotiate a
compromise with Gandhi. Gandhi's ideas took shape and the concept of Satyagraha matured
during this struggle.

Born: September 27, 1907

Martyrdom: March 23, 1931
Achievements: Gave a new direction to revolutionary movement in India, formed 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha' to spread the message of revolution
in Punjab, formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha' along with Chandrasekhar Azad to establish a republic in India, assassinated police
official Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, dropped bomb in Central Legislative Assembly along with Batukeshwar Dutt.

Bhagat Singh was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom struggle. He was a revolutionary ahead of his times. By Revolution he
meant that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice must change. Bhagat Singh studied the European revolutionary
movement and was greatly attracted towards socialism. He realised that the overthrow of British rule should be accompanied by the socialist
reconstruction of Indian society and for this political power must be seized by the workers.

Though portrayed as a terrorist by the British, Sardar Bhagat Singh was critical of the individual terrorism which was prevalent among the
revolutionary youth of his time and called for mass mobilization. Bhagat Singh gave a new direction to the revolutionary movement in India. He
differed from his predecessors on two counts. Firstly, he accepted the logic of atheism and publicly proclaimed it. Secondly, until then
revolutionaries had no conception of post-independence society. Their immediate goal was destruction of the British Empire and they had no
inclination to work out a political alternative. Bhagat Singh, because of his interest in studying and his keen sense of history gave revolutionary
movement a goal beyond the elimination of the British. A clarity of vision and determination of purpose distinguished Bhagat Singh from other
leaders of the National Movement. He emerged as the only alternative to Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, especially for the youth.

Bhagat Singh was born in a Sikh family in village Banga in Layalpur district of Punjab (now in Pakistan). He was the third son of Sardar Kishan
Singh and Vidyavati. Bhagat Singh's family was actively involved in freedom struggle. His father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were members
of Ghadr Party founded in the U.S to oust British rule from India. Family atmosphere had a great effect on the mind of young Bhagat Singh and
patriotism flowed in his veins from childhood.

While studying at the local D.A.V. School in Lahore, in 1916, young Bhagat Singh came into contact with some well-known political leaders like
Lala Lajpat Rai and Ras Bihari Bose. Punjab was politically very charged in those days. In 1919, when Jalianwala Bagh massacre took place,
Bhagat Singh was only 12 years old. The massacre deeply disturbed him. On the next day of massacre Bhagat Singh went to Jalianwala Bagh
and collected soil from the spot and kept it as a memento for the rest of his life. The massacre strengthened his resolve to drive British out from
India.

In response to Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-cooperation against British rule in 1921, Bhagat Singh left his school and actively participated in the
movement. In 1922, when Mahatma Gandhi suspended Non-cooperation movement against violence at Chauri-chaura in Gorakhpur, Bhagat was
greatly disappointed. His faith in non violence weakened and he came to the conclusion that armed revolution was the only practical way of
winning freedom. To continue his studies, Bhagat Singh joined the National College in Lahore, founded by Lala Lajpat Rai. At this college, which
was a centre of revolutionary activities, he came into contact with revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others.

To avoid early marriage, Bhagat Singh ran away from home and went to Kanpur. Here, he came into contact with a revolutionary named Ganesh
Shankar Vidyarthi, and learnt his first lessons as revolutionary. On hearing that his grandmother was ill, Bhagat Singh returned home. He
continued his revolutionary activities from his village. He went to Lahore and formed a union of revolutionaries by name 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha'.
He started spreading the message of revolution in Punjab. In 1928 he attended a meeting of revolutionaries in Delhi and came into contact with
Chandrasekhar Azad. The two formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha'. Its aim was to establish a republic in India by means of an
armed revolution.
In February 1928, a committee from England, called Simon Commission visited India. The purpose of its visit was to decide how much freedom
and responsibility could be given to the people of India. But there was no Indian on the committee. This angered Indians and they decided to
boycott Simon Commission. While protesting against Simon Commission in Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally Lathicharged and later on
succumbed to injuries. Bhagat Singh was determined to avenge Lajpat Rai's death by shooting the British official responsible for the killing,
Deputy Inspector General Scott. He shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders instead, mistaking him for Scott. Bhagat Singh had to flee
from Lahore to escape death punishment.

Instead of finding the root cause of discontent of Indians, the British government took to more repressive measures. Under the Defense of India
Act, it gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. The Act brought in the
Central Legislative Assembly was defeated by one vote. Even then it was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the public."
Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, volunteered to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly where the meeting to pass the
ordinance was being held. It was a carefully laid out plot, not to cause death or injury but to draw the attention of the government, that the modes
of its suppression could no more be tolerated. It was decided that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after throwing the
bomb.

On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs
did not hurt anyone. After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the
scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence counsel. In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment of
fellow-political prisoners by jail authorities. On October 7, 1930 Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru were awarded death sentence by a special
tribunal. Despite great popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders of India, Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the
early hours of March 23, 1931.

Lal bahudur shastri

Courage and self-respect were two virtues, which took deep root in him
from his childhood. While in Kashi, he went with his friends to see a fair on
the other bank of the Ganga. On the way back he had no money for the
boat fare. His self-respect did not allow him to ask his friends for money.
He slipped from their company without their knowledge. His friends forgot
him in their talk and boarded the boat. When the boat had moved away, Lal
Bahadur jumped into the river; as his friends watched breathlessly he
swam to the other bank safely.

Though Lal Bahadur was, a man of small build, he was unusually strong.
His moral strength was even greater. As in water so in life he swam quite
successfully. Twice he was about to be drowned but was saved. It is said
that when he was saved the second time, he had his teacher’s three-year-
old baby on his shoulders.

Lal Bahadur acquired virtues likeboldness, love of adventure, patience,

self-control, courtesy and selflessness in hischildhood.

Even as a boy he loved to read books. He read whatever books he came

across, whether he understood them or not. He was fond of Guru Nanak's
verses.

He used to repeat the following lines often:

"0 Nanak! Be tiny like grass,

For other plants will whither away, but grass will remain ever green."
An incident, which took place when he was six years old, seems to have
left a deep mark on his mind. Once he went to an orchard with his friends.
He was standing below while his friends climbed the trees. He plucked a
flower from a bush.

The gardener came in the meantime and saw Lal Bahadur. The boys on
the trees climbed down and ran away. The gardener caught Lal Bahadur.
He beat him severely.

Lal Bahadur wept and said, "I am orphan. Do not beat me."

The gardener smiled with pity and said, "Because you are an orphan, you
must learn better behavior, my boy."

The words of the gardener had a great effect on him. He swore to him, "I
shall behave better in future. Because I am an orphan I must learn good
behavior."

Though short he was not timid at school. All boys were friendly with him.
Like the grass he always looked fresh and smiling. Not only during his
school days but also in his later life he did not hate anyone. It seems he
used to act in plays at school. He played the role of Kripacharya in the play
'Mahabharatha'. Kripacharya was in the court of Duryodhana and yet was
loved by the Pandavas. Lal Bahadur Shastri had acquired the same worth.

Even when Lal Bahadur was a student of Harischandra. High School at

Varanasi a whirlwind had disturbed India.

Everywhere there was the cry of 'Freedom'! "Swaraj is our birth right" - Bala
Gangadhara Tilak had declared. This had become the nation's battlecry.

Lal Bahadur reverenced Tilak. He longed to see him and hear his speech.
Once Tilak visited Varanasi. Lal Bahadur was away in a village fifty miles
from Varanasi. He borrowed money and traveled in a train to see and hear
Tilak. He saw him and heard his speech. It reverberated in his ears like
Krishna's conch, thePanchajanya. Like Bharata, carrying Rama's sandals
on his head, Lal  Bahadur carried Tilak's message in his heart. This
message guided him all through his life.The greatest influence on Lal
Bahadur was that of Mahatma Gandhi. Lal Bahadur was electrified when
he heard a speech of Gandhi at Varanasi in 1915. Then and there he
dedicated his life to the service of the country.

The Young Satyagrahi

In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement
against British Government and declared that the country would not
cooperate with the Government in its unjust rule. Lal Bahadur was then
only seventeen years. When Mahatma Gandhi gave a call to the youth to
come out of Government schools and colleges, offices and courts and to
sacrifice everything for the sake of freedom, Lal Bahadur came out of his
school.

His mother and other relatives advised him not to give up his studies. But
Lal Bahadur was firm in his decision -Lai Bahadur joined the procession,
which disobeyed the prohibitory order. The police arrested him. But as he
was too young, he was let off.

Lal Bahadur did not go back to his school. He became a student of Kashi
Vidya Peeth. During his four years' stay there, he made excellent progress.
Dr.Bhagawandas's   lectures on philosophy went straight to his heart. In
later life Lal Bahadur displayed surprising poise in the midst of conflict and
confusion. This he learnt from his teacher, Bhagawandas.

'The Servants of the People Society'

It was in 1926 that Lal Bahadur got the degree of 'Shastri' and left the Kashi
Vidya Peeth. The whole country became the arena of his activity. He
became the life- member of The Servants of the People Society, which Lala
Lajpat Rai had started in 1921. The aim of the Society was to train youths
that were prepared to dedicate their lives to the service of the country.

One of the rules of the Society required the members to take an oath to
serve the Society at least for twenty years and to lead a simple and honest
life till the end. Lal Bahadur earned the love and affection of Lajpat Rai by
his earnestness and hard work. Later he became the President of the
Society.

Shastriji married in 1927. Lalitha Devi, his bride, came from Mirzalyur. The
wedding was celebrated in the simplest way. All that the bridegroom took
as a gift from father-in-law was a charaka and a few yards of Khadi.

The greatness of Lal Bahadur was that he maintained his self-respect 'even
in prison. Once when he was in prison, one of his daughters fell seriously
ill. The officers agreed to let him out for a short time but on condition that
he should agree in writing not to take part in the freedom 'movement during
this period. Lal Bahadur did not wish to participate in the freedom
movement during his temporary release from prison; but he said that he
would not give it in writing. He thought that it was against his self-respect to
give it in writing. The officers knew that he was truthful. Therefore they did
not insist. Lal Bahadur was released for fifteen days.

But his daughter died before he, reached home. After performing the
obsequies he returned to his prison even before the expiry of the period.

A year passed. His son was laid up with influenza this time. Lal Bahadur
was permitted unconditionally to go home for a week. But the fever did not
come down in a week. Lal Bahadur got ready to go back to prison. The boy
pleaded dumbly with his tearful eyes.

In a weak voice he urged his father to stay.

For a moment the father's mind was shaken. Tears rolled down from his
eyes.

But the next moment his decision was made. He bade good bye to all and
left his home for prison. His son survived.

Two qualities, which the leader of any nation must have, are devotion and
efficiency. Lal Bahadur had both the qualities in a large measure. He would
not swerve from his aim, come what may. When the people of India. Were
fighting for freedom he brushed aside all thought of personal happiness
and plunged into the freedom struggle. His daughter'sdeath, his son's
illness, poverty - none of these made him swerve from his selection path.
Even when he became a minister and, later, the Prime Minister he was
never attracted to a life of luxury and comfort.

One of the greatest emperors of all times, Emperor Asoka was a Mauryan ruler whose empire
spread across the Indian sub continent and the present day Pakistan and Afghanistan thus
covering a vast area. He is known as Asoka the Great since he was one of the most able rulers
who ruled India. Under his rule, the whole of India was united as one single entity with
smooth administration. His life is an inspiration to many as he excelled in everything that he
did. The name Ashoka means "without any sorrow" in Sanskrit. Read on this biography about
the life history of famous Buddhist emperor Ashoka.

Born in 265 B.C, the great king Ashoka was the grandson of the famous ruler Chandragupta
Maurya. As a young lad, Ashoka excelled in whatever he was taught. Be it the art of warfare
or reading the Holy Scriptures, Asoka excelled in whatever he did. Ashoka had many half
brothers and he was loved by one and all. Thus, after his father died, he was crowned as the
king of Magadha around 268 B.C. After being crowned as the king, he proved himself by
smoothly administrating his territory and performing all his duties as an able and courageous
king.

After a period of eight years of being a king, Ashoka planned

to seize the territory of Kalinga, the present day Orissa. He led a huge army and fought a
gruesome battle with the army of Kalinga. The battle of Kalinga made him pledge to never
wage a war again. The battle took place on the Dhauli hills that are located on the banks of
River Daya. Though Ashoka emerged victorious at the end, the sight of the battlefield made
his heart break with shame, guilt and disgust. It is said that the battle was so furious that the
waters of River Daya turned red with the blood of the slain soldiers and civilians.

The sight of numerous corpses lying strewn across the battlefield made his heart wrench. He
felt sick inside. The battle ground looked like a graveyard with bodies of not just soldiers but
men, women and children. He saw young children crying over the bodies of their dead
parents, women crying over the bodies of their dead husbands, mothers crying over the loss
of a child. This made him heartbroken and he made a pledge to never ever fight a battle
again. To seek solace, he converted to Buddhism. He was so inspired by the teachings of the
Buddhist monks and Buddhist philosophies that he used his status to impart this knowledge
all over the world. He is credited to be the first Emperor to make a serious attempt at
developing Buddhist policies.