World War Two and the Failure of the Third Reich
In March 1938, Hitler was able to annex Austria into Germany (called the Anschluss) without firing a single shot. Soon after he dismembered Czechoslovakia. It was in September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland, that other nations took a stand, declaring the start of World War II. This was not unappealing to Hitler who believed Germany should make itself great through war, and invasions in 1940 went well. However, arguably his fatal mistake occurred in 1941 with the invasion of Russia, through which he wished to create Lebensraum, or "room to live". After initial success, German forces were pushed back by Russia, and defeats in Africa and West Europe followed as Germany was slowly beaten. During this time Hitler became gradually more paranoid and divorced from the world, retreating to a bunker. On July 20, 1944, Hitler barely survived an assassination attempt. One of his top military officers had placed a suitcase bomb under the table during a conference meeting at Hitler's Wolf's Lair. Because the table leg blocked much of the blast, Hitler survived with only injuries to his arm and some hearing loss. Not everyone in the room was so lucky.
As armies approached Berlin from two directions, Hitler married his long-term mistress, Eva Braun on April 29th 1945. The following day they committed suicide together.