Adolf Hitler was a Nazi.
Adolf Hitler ( [ ˈadɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ ] ; 20 April 1889 -- 30 April 1945 ) was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party ( Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei ; NSDAP ) , Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 , and Führer ( `` Leader '' ) of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945 . Under Hitler 's leadership and racially motivated ideology , the Nazi regime was responsible for the genocide of at least 5.5 million Jews and millions of other victims whom he and his followers deemed Untermenschen ( `` sub-humans '' ) and socially undesirable . Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians and prisoners of war .