Nathan Bedford Forrest: Devil, Wizard, and Incomparable General

by Ben House

Most generals in the Civil War were trained at West Point. That training, along with experiences in the Mexican-American War and skirmishes with Indians, taught them how to lead men into battle. One Civil War general stands out in bold contrast to what he called the “P’inters.” That was Nathan Bedford Forrest.

A statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest in Forrest Park, Memphis, Tennessee

His military skills grew out of the rugged experiences of life in frontier western Tennessee, and his leadership skills grew out of his inborn commanding, even frightening, personality.
Forrest enlisted in the Confederate army, alongside his fifteen-year-old son, as a private. He was quickly made a cavalry officer and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General during the war.
He never wrote a book on military practices and likely never read one on that topic. As far as formal schooling was concerned, he had only about six months of it. In his own manner and by his example, he displayed a military prowess and innate genius that ranked him among the best generals of that war and of all times.
His sayings bear witness to his personality and style, but also capture the essence of a natural born leader of men in battle.

“When you see anything blue, shoot at it, and do all you can to keep up the skeer.”
“Always git the most men thar fust, and then, if you can’t whup ’em, outrun ’em.”
“Whenever you meet the enemy, no matter how few there are of you or how many of them, show fight.”
“The way to whip an enemy is to git ’em skeered, and then keep the skeer on ’em.”

When recruiting soldiers from among Tennessee boys, he told them, “I wish none but those who desire to be actively engaged,” and then no doubt with a gleam in his eye, he added, “Come on, boys, if you want to have a heap of fun and kill some Yankees.”

A depiction of Forrest and one of his horses, King Philip

To the Confederates, he was known as “the Wizard in the saddle,” but to the enemy, he was called “that devil Forrest.” Union General William Sherman said he was “the most remarkable man our Civil War produced.” The Union Secretary of War Stanton said, “There will never be peace in Tennessee until Forrest is dead.”
At least twenty-nine horses were killed out from under him, but he took consolation in having personally killed at least that many Union soldiers. He even killed one of his own subordinates in a fight after Forrest implied the officer was a coward. Forrest himself was wounded in that skirmish, which was just one of at least three times he was shot during the war.
For all of his aggressiveness, Forrest was quite adept at winning battles by stealth and deception. When parlaying with enemy officers, he would have troop movements going on in sight of the enemy officers giving the impression that his forces were larger than they really were. When one Yankee complained after surrendering that he had been deceived, Forrest replied, “Ah, Colonel, all is fair in love and war you know.” At other times, when surrounding an enemy stronghold, Forrest would warn them that unless they surrendered, “I will have every man put to the sword.” His reputation for ruthlessness caused many an enemy to bow before such threats.

Don Troiani’s painting of Forrest and his cavalry

When the occasion called for direct attack and battle, Forrest was always up to the task, both personally and as the commander. Finding himself having ridden into the middle of a group of Yankee soldiers at the Battle of Shiloh, Forrest began lashing right and left with his sword. A Yankee soldier put a gun in Forrest’s side and fired, lifting him up out of the saddle. Forrest continued fighting and then grabbed a Yankee soldier by the neck and used him as shield until he escaped from the enemy.
When Forrest’s cavalry found itself surrounded at the Battle of Parker’s Crossroads, he gave the command, “Charge them both ways.” Once again, his boldness and unorthodoxy in battle paid off. Until the very end of the war when he told his men, “You may do as you damn please, but I’m a-going home,” Forrest fought to win. This fighting spirit not only undid the courage of his opponents, it often put him at odds with the Confederate higher command.
Early in the war, Forrest’s cavalry found itself surrounded along with other Confederate troops at Fort Donelson in northwestern Tennessee. The other generals met to talk about how to go about surrendering to U. S. Grant’s surrounding forces. Forrest fumed at their decision. “I did not come here to surrender my command.” Taking his men and others who could ride along behind them, Forrest’s cavalry, which he called his “Critter Company,” broke through the lines and escaped.
Much later in the war, when General Braxton Bragg refused to pursue the fleeing Yankee army after the Battle of Chickamauga, Forrest reached his limits of serving under Bragg. Then when portions of his command were taken away, Forrest confronted Bragg personally. After calling him a coward and a liar, Forrest concluded his verbal attack on Bragg by telling him, “You have threatened to arrest me for not obeying your orders promptly. I dare you to do it, and I say to you that if you ever again try to interfere with me or cross my path it will be at the peril of your life.”

Confederate re-enactors honor Forrest at the statue in Memphis

It would be the independent commands, and especially raids on enemy forts, where Forrest excelled as a commander. When Forrest was cut loose from the larger army units and command structure and was given free rein to disrupt supply lines and harass the enemy from the rear, he excelled. One of his staff officers said, “He was unfit for command under a superior; he was like a caged lion on the field of battle where he was not himself commanding.”
Forrest himself summed up his accomplishments by noting that he and his Critter Company had fought in some 50 battles, inflicting 16,000 casualties on the Union, had captured or destroyed some 300 wagons and 67 artillery pieces, had dismantled some 200 miles of railroad, and had cost the United States at least $15 million.
It is no wonder that Nathan Bedford Forrest has been viewed as one of the great military leaders of the war. It is not surprising that his name sent shivers into the hearts of his enemies. At the same time, Southerners took comfort in hearing the pounding of the hoofs of Forrest’s cavalry as it rode throughout middle Tennessee and other parts of the Confederacy.

A portrait of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest hangs in the St. Francis County Museum in Forrest City, Arkansas

Ben House

Ben House teaches history and literature at Veritas Classical Christian Academy in Texarkana, Arkansas. Much of his teaching, reading, and writing, and many of his rabbit trails in lectures are about Southern life. Ben is married to Stephanie, and they have four children.

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Full History Of Ancient Egypt

 
For almost 30 centuries—from its unification around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.—ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world. From the great pyramids of the Old Kingdom through the military conquests of the New Kingdom, Egypt’s majesty has long entranced archaeologists and historians and created a vibrant field of study all its own: Egyptology. The main sources of information about ancient Egypt are the many monuments, objects and artifacts that have been recovered from archaeological sites, covered with hieroglyphs that have only recently been deciphered. The picture that emerges is of a culture with few equals in the beauty of its art, the accomplishment of its architecture or the richness of its religious traditions.

Predynastic Period (c. 5000-3100 B.C.)

Few written records or artifacts have been found from the Predynastic Period, which encompassed at least 2,000 years of gradual development of the Egyptian civilization.

Did You Know?

During the rule of Akhenaton, his wife Nefertiti played an important political and religious role in the monotheistic cult of the sun god Aton. Images and sculptures of Nefertiti depict her famous beauty and role as a living goddess of fertility.

Neolithic (late Stone Age) communities in northeastern Africa exchanged hunting for agriculture and made early advances that paved the way for the later development of Egyptian arts and crafts, technology, politics and religion (including a great reverence for the dead and possibly a belief in life after death).
Around 3400 B.C., two separate kingdoms were established: the Red Land to the north, based in the Nile River Delta and extending along the Nile perhaps to Atfih; and the White Land in the south, stretching from Atfih to Gebel es-Silsila. A southern king, Scorpion, made the first attempts to conquer the northern kingdom around 3200 B.C. A century later, King Menes would subdue the north and unify the country, becoming the first king of the first dynasty.

Archaic (Early Dynastic) Period (c. 3100-2686 B.C.)

King Menes founded the capital of ancient Egypt at White Walls (later known as Memphis), in the north, near the apex of the Nile River delta. The capital would grow into a great metropolis that dominated Egyptian society during the Old Kingdom period. The Archaic Period saw the development of the foundations of Egyptian society, including the all-important ideology of kingship. To the ancient Egyptians, the king was a godlike being, closely identified with the all-powerful god Horus. The earliest known hieroglyphic writing also dates to this period.
In the Archaic Period, as in all other periods, most ancient Egyptians were farmers living in small villages, and agriculture (largely wheat and barley) formed the economic base of the Egyptian state. The annual flooding of the great Nile River provided the necessary irrigation and fertilization each year; farmers sowed the wheat after the flooding receded and harvested it before the season of high temperatures and drought returned.

Old Kingdom: Age of the Pyramid Builders (c. 2686-2181 B.C.)

The Old Kingdom began with the third dynasty of pharaohs. Around 2630 B.C., the third dynasty’s King Djoser asked Imhotep, an architect, priest and healer, to design a funerary monument for him; the result was the world’s first major stone building, the Step-Pyramid at Saqqara, near Memphis. Pyramid-building reached its zenith with the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Built for Khufu (or Cheops, in Greek), who ruled from 2589 to 2566 B.C., the pyramid was later named by classical historians as one of the ancient world’s Seven Wonders. Two other pyramids were built at Giza for Khufu’s successors Khafra (2558-2532 B.C) and Menkaura (2532-2503 B.C.).
During the third and fourth dynasties, Egypt enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity. The pharaohs held absolute power and provided a stable central government; the kingdom faced no serious threats from abroad; and successful military campaigns in foreign countries like Nubia and Libya added to its considerable economic prosperity. Over the course of the fifth and sixth dynasties, the king’s wealth was steadily depleted, partially due to the huge expense of pyramid-building, and his absolute power faltered in the face of the growing influence of the nobility and the priesthood that grew up around the sun god Ra (Re). After the death of the sixth dynasty’s King Pepy II, who ruled for some 94 years, the Old Kingdom period ended in chaos.

First Intermediate Period (c. 2181-2055 B.C.)

On the heels of the Old Kingdom’s collapse, the seventh and eighth dynasties consisted of a rapid succession of Memphis-based rulers until about 2160 B.C., when the central authority completely dissolved, leading to civil war between provincial governors. This chaotic situation was intensified by Bedouin invasions and accompanied by famine and disease.
From this era of conflict emerged two different kingdoms: A line of 17 rulers (dynasties nine and 10) based in Heracleopolis ruled Middle Egypt between Memphis and Thebes, while another family of rulers arose in Thebes to challenge Heracleopolitan power. Around 2055 B.C., the Theban prince Mentuhotep managed to topple Heracleopolis and reunited Egypt, beginning the 11th dynasty and ending the First Intermediate Period.

Middle Kingdom: 12th Dynasty (c. 2055-1786 B.C.)

After the last ruler of the 11th dynasty, Mentuhotep IV, was assassinated, the throne passed to his vizier, or chief minister, who became King Amenemhet I, founder of dynasty 12. A new capital was established at It-towy, south of Memphis, while Thebes remained a great religious center. During the Middle Kingdom, Egypt once again flourished, as it had during the Old Kingdom. The 12th dynasty kings ensured the smooth succession of their line by making each successor co-regent, a custom that began with Amenemhet I.
Middle-Kingdom Egypt pursued an aggressive foreign policy, colonizing Nubia (with its rich supply of gold, ebony, ivory and other resources) and repelling the Bedouins who had infiltrated Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. The kingdom also built diplomatic and trade relations with Syria, Palestine and other countries; undertook building projects including military fortresses and mining quarries; and returned to pyramid-building in the tradition of the Old Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom reached its peak under Amenemhet III (1842-1797 B.C.); its decline began under Amenenhet IV (1798-1790 B.C.) and continued under his sister and regent, Queen Sobekneferu (1789-1786 B.C.), who was the first confirmed female ruler of Egypt and the last ruler of the 12th dynasty.

Second Intermediate Period (c. 1786-1567 B.C.)

The 13th dynasty marked the beginning of another unsettled period in Egyptian history, during which a rapid succession of kings failed to consolidate power. As a consequence, during the Second Intermediate Period Egypt was divided into several spheres of influence. The official royal court and seat of government was relocated to Thebes, while a rival dynasty (the 14th), centered on the city of Xois in the Nile delta, seems to have existed at the same time as the 13th.
Around 1650 B.C., a line of foreign rulers known as the Hyksos took advantage of Egypt’s instability to take control. The Hyksos rulers of the 15th dynasty adopted and continued many of the existing Egyptian traditions in government as well as culture. They ruled concurrently with the line of native Theban rulers of the 17th dynasty, who retained control over most of southern Egypt despite having to pay taxes to the Hyksos. (The 16th dynasty is variously believed to be Theban or Hyksos rulers.) Conflict eventually flared between the two groups, and the Thebans launched a war against the Hyksos around 1570 B.C., driving them out of Egypt.

New Kingdom (c. 1567-1085 B.C.)

Under Ahmose I, the first king of the 18th dynasty, Egypt was once again reunited. During the 18th dynasty, Egypt restored its control over Nubia and began military campaigns in Palestine, clashing with other powers in the area such as the Mitannians and the Hittites. The country went on to establish the world’s first great empire, stretching from Nubia to the Euphrates River in Asia. In addition to powerful kings such as Amenhotep I (1546-1526 B.C.), Thutmose I (1525-1512 B.C.) and Amenhotep III (1417-1379 B.C.), the New Kingdom was notable for the role of royal women such as Queen Hatshepsut (1503-1482 B.C.), who began ruling as a regent for her young stepson (he later became Thutmose III, Egypt’s greatest military hero), but rose to wield all the powers of a pharaoh.
The controversial Amenhotep IV (c. 1379-1362), of the late 18th dynasty, undertook a religious revolution, disbanding the priesthoods dedicated to Amon-Re (a combination of the local Theban god Amon and the sun god Re) and forcing the exclusive worship of another sun-god, Aton. Renaming himself Akhenaton (“servant of the Aton”), he built a new capital in Middle Egypt called Akhetaton, known later as Amarna. Upon Akhenaton’s death, the capital returned to Thebes and Egyptians returned to worshiping a multitude of gods. The 19th and 20th dynasties, known as the Ramesside period (for the line of kings named Ramses) saw the restoration of the weakened Egyptian empire and an impressive amount of building, including great temples and cities. According to biblical chronology, the Exodus of Moses and the Israelites from Egypt possibly occurred during the reign of Ramses II (1304-1237 B.C.).
All of the New Kingdom rulers (with the exception of Akhenaton) were laid to rest in deep, rock-cut tombs (not pyramids) in the Valley of the Kings, a burial site on the west bank of the Nile opposite Thebes. Most of them were raided and destroyed, with the exception of the tomb and treasure of Tutankhamen (c.1361-1352 B.C.), discovered largely intact in A.D. 1922. The splendid mortuary temple of the last great king of the 20th dynasty, Ramses III (c. 1187-1156 B.C.), was also relatively well preserved, and indicated the prosperity Egypt still enjoyed during his reign. The kings who followed Ramses III were less successful: Egypt lost its provinces in Palestine and Syria for good and suffered from foreign invasions (notably by the Libyans), while its wealth was being steadily but inevitably depleted.

Third Intermediate Period (c. 1085-664 B.C.)

The next 400 years–known as the Third Intermediate Period–saw important changes in Egyptian politics, society and culture. Centralized government under the 21st dynasty pharaohs gave way to the resurgence of local officials, while foreigners from Libya and Nubia grabbed power for themselves and left a lasting imprint on Egypt’s population. The 22nd dynasty began around 945 B.C. with King Sheshonq, a descendant of Libyans who had invaded Egypt during the late 20th dynasty and settled there. Many local rulers were virtually autonomous during this period and dynasties 23-24 are poorly documented.
In the eighth century B.C., Nubian pharaohs beginning with Shabako, ruler of the Nubian kingdom of Kush, established their own dynasty–the 25th–at Thebes. Under Kushite rule, Egypt clashed with the growing Assyrian empire. In 671 B.C., the Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon drove the Kushite king Taharka out of Memphis and destroyed the city; he then appointed his own rulers out of local governors and officials loyal to the Assyrians. One of them, Necho of Sais, ruled briefly as the first king of the 26th dynasty before being killed by the Kushite leader Tanuatamun, in a final, unsuccessful grab for power.

From the Late Period to Alexander’s Conquest (c.664-332 B.C.)

Beginning with Necho’s son, Psammetichus, the Saite dynasty ruled a reunified Egypt for less than two centuries. In 525 B.C., Cambyses, king of Persia, defeated Psammetichus III, the last Saite king, at the Battle of Pelusium, and Egypt became part of the Persian Empire. Persian rulers such as Darius (522-485 B.C.) ruled the country largely under the same terms as native Egyptian kings: Darius supported Egypt’s religious cults and undertook the building and restoration of its temples. The tyrannical rule of Xerxes (486-465 B.C.) sparked increased uprisings under him and his successors. One of these rebellions triumphed in 404 B.C., beginning one last period of Egyptian independence under native rulers (dynasties 28-30).
In the mid-fourth century B.C., the Persians again attacked Egypt, reviving their empire under Ataxerxes III in 343 B.C. Barely a decade later, in 332 B.C., Alexander the Great of Macedonia defeated the armies of the Persian Empire and conquered Egypt. After Alexander’s death, Egypt was ruled by a line of Macedonian kings, beginning with Alexander’s general Ptolemy and continuing with his descendants. The last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt–the legendary Cleopatra VII–surrendered Egypt to the armies of Octavian (later Augustus) in 31 B.C. Six centuries of Roman rule followed, during which Christianity became the official religion of Rome and its provinces (including Egypt). The conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in the seventh century A.D. and the introduction of Islam would do away with the last outward aspects of ancient Egyptian culture and propel the country towards its modern incarnation.

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Earth’s Beginnings: The Origins of Life

Earth is the only planet we know of that can support life. This is an amazing fact, considering that it is made out of the same matter as other planets in our solar system, was formed at the same time and through the same processes as every other planet, and gets its energy from the sun.
To a universal traveler, Earth may seem to be a harmless little planet in the far reaches of one of billions of spiral galaxies in the universe. It has an average size star of average brightness and is joined by seven other planets — which support no known life forms — in its solar system. While this may be fitting for a passage from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, in the grand scheme of the universe, it would be a fairly accurate description.
However, Earth is a planet teeming with vitality and is home to billions of plants and animals that share a common evolutionary track. How and why did we get here? What processes had to take place for this to happen? And where do we go from here? The fact is, no one has been able to come close to knowing exactly what led to the origins of life, and we may never know. After 5 billion years of Earth’s formation and evolution, the evidence may have been lost. But scientists have made significant progress in understanding what chemical processes that may have led to the origins of life.
There are many theories, but most have the same general perspective of how things came to be the way they are. Following is an account of life’s beginnings based on some of the leading research and theories related to the subject, and of course, fossil records dating back as far as 3.5 billion years ago.

Earth’s Beginnings

The solar system was created from gas clouds and dust that remained from the Sun's formation some 6-7 billion years ago. This material contained only about .2% of the solar system's mass with the Sun holding the rest. (NASA graphic, by N. A. Cabrol)

Earth began to form over 4.6 billion years ago from the same cloud of gas (mostly hydrogen and helium) and interstellar dust that formed our sun, the rest of the solar system and even our galaxy. In fact, Earth is still forming and cooling from the galactic implosion that created the other stars and planetary systems in our galaxy. This process began about 13.6 billion years ago when the Milky Way Galaxy began to form.
As our solar system began to come together, the sun formed within a cloud of dust and gas that continued to shrink in upon itself by its own gravitational forces. This caused it to undergo the fusion process and give off light, heat and other radiation. During this process, the remaining clouds of gas and dust that surrounded the sun began to form into smaller lumps called planetesimals, which eventually formed into the planets we know today.

A large number of small objects, called planetesimals, began to form around the Sun early in the formation of the solar system. These objects were the building blocks for the planets that exist today. (NASA graphic, by N. A. Cabrol.)

The Earth went through a period of catastrophic and intense formation during its earliest beginnings 4.6-4.4 billion years ago. By 3.8 to 4.1 billion years ago, Earth had become a planet with an atmosphere (not like our atmosphere today) and an ocean. This period of Earth’s formation is referred to as the pre-Cambrian Period. The pre-Cambrian is divided into three parts: the Hadean, Archean and Proterozoic Periods.

Pre-Cambrian Period

The Earth formed under so much heat and pressure that it formed as a molten planet. For nearly the first billion years of formation (4.5 to 3.8 billion years ago) — called the Hadean Period (or hellish period) — Earth was bombarded continuously by the remnants of the dust and debris — like asteroids, meteors and comets — until it formed into a solid sphere, pulled into orbit around the sun and began to cool down.

Jupiter Atmosphere

Earth's early atmosphere most likely resembled that of Jupiter's atmosphere, which contains hydrogen, helium, methane and ammonia, and is poisonous to humans. (Photo: NASA, from Voyager 1)

As Earth began to take solid form, it had no free oxygen in its atmosphere. It was so hot that the water droplets in its atmosphere could not settle to form surface water or ice. Its first atmosphere was also so poisonous, comprised of helium and hydrogen, that nothing would have been able to survive.
Earth’s second atmosphere was formed mostly from the out gassing of such volatile compounds as water vapor, carbon monoxide, methane, ammonia, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrochloric acid and sulfur produced by the constant volcanic eruptions that besieged the Earth. It had no free oxygen.
About 4.1 billion years ago, the Earth’s surface — or crust — began to cool and stabilize, creating the solid surface with its rocky terrain. Clouds formed as the Earth began to cool, producing enormous volumes of rainwater that formed the oceans. For the next 1.3 billion years (3.8 to 2.5 billion years ago), the Archean Period, first life began to appear and the world’s landmasses began to form. Earth’s initial life forms were bacteria, which could survive in the highly toxic atmosphere that existed during this time.
Toward the end of the Archean Period and at the beginning of the Proterozoic Period, about 2.5 billion years ago, oxygen-forming photosynthesis began to occur. The first fossils were a type of blue-green algae that could photosynthesize.

Earth's atmosphere was first supplied by the gasses expelled from the massive volcanic eruptions of the Hadean Era. These gases were so poisonous, and the world was so hot, that nothing could survive. As the planet began to cool, its surface solidified as a rocky terrain, much like Mars' surface (center photo) and the oceans began to form as the water vapor condensed into rain. First life came from the oceans. Source: NASA, NWS

Some of the most exciting events in Earth’s history and life occurred during this time, which spanned about two billion years until about 550 million years ago. The continents began to form and stabilize, creating the supercontinent Rodinia about 1.2 billion years ago. Although Rodinia is composed of some of the same land fragments as the more popular supercontinent, Pangea, they are two different supercontinents. Pangea formed some 225 million years ago and would evolve into the seven continents we know today.
Free oxygen began to build up around the middle of the Proterozoic Period — around 1.8 billion years ago — and made way for the emergence of life as we know it today. This increased oxygen created conditions that would not allow most of the existing life to survive and thus made way for the more oxygen-dependent life forms.
By the end of the Proterozoic Period, Earth was well along in its evolutionary processes leading to our current period, the Holocene Period,  or Anthropocene Period, also known as the Age of Man. Thus, about 525 million years ago, the Cambrian Period began. During this period, life “exploded,” developing almost all of the major groups of plants and animals in a relatively short time. It ended with the massive extinction of most of the existing species about 500 million years ago, making room for the future appearance and evolution of new plant and animal species.
About 498 million years later — 2.2 million years ago — the first modern human species emerged.
(Compiled with the assistance of a broad range of science and research resources and review by Dr. Jack C. Hall, Director of Environmental Studies, UNC Wilmington)

Did You Know?

The first modern human being was called homo habilis, the first of the homo genus. This species developed stone tools for use in daily life. Homo habilis means “Handy Man.” He existed from about 2.2 to 1.5 million years ago. There are earlier species related to modern man, called hominids. The images show the skull shape and probable appearance of homo habilis.
The Pre-Cambrian Period — accounts for about 90 percent of Earth’s history. It lasted for about four billion years until about 550 million years ago.
About 70 percent of the world’s land masses were created in the Archean Era, between 3.8 and 2.5 million years ago. Rodinia, widely recognized as the first supercontinent, formed during the Proterozoic Era, about 2.5 billion years ago.
It is believed that the oldest human family member was discovered in Ethiopia and lived 4.4 million years ago. It was named “Ardi,” short for Ardipithecus ramidus

• During the Holocene Period, the descendants of Homo Habilis became “too handy” and created machines capable of once again changing the atmosphere of Planet Earth through injection of extremely large amounts of carbon dioxide and other polluting chemicals into the atmosphere itself…and the waters of the ocean. Equally important “nuclear explosive” compounds were developed and began to be utilized in disturbances known as wars.  These two factors combined nearing the end of the “Human Episode” and Planet Earth once again faced a “major extinction”.  This “Holocaust” occurred only a short geologic time period ago…and galactic scientists
  must now wait for nuclear radiation to decline before further investigating the results of the Nuclear Period upon life that once existed and thrived on Planet Earth.
  (Galactic Ency Article 14.3b)
• H2kil_21
  is this possible? how about the divine theory?
  • Nicholette
    My hypothesis is that Christians (of which, I am) and Scientists are both correct, they just need to stop fighting and combine their theories.
    I just think Earth time and God time are different.
    For Example:
    When I play a video game, one hour in my house is or day in my virtual world. This allows me (the goddess of the game) to watch over my little world (the game).
    According to the Bible, God created the world in 7 days.
    Scientists say: 5 billion years.
    What if (slightly under) 1 Billion Years on Earth is just a day in Heaven?
    • http://www.facebook.com/pitheos Derek Dean
      What reason do you have to suggest that Genesis is an allegory and not an ancient myth, like other ancient myths during the time which tried to explain their world?
      Further, why should we take myths seriously when it comes to science?
      • Vivienne Eggers
        What reason Derek do you have to think that ancient myths are actually not ‘real’? They symbolic or allegorical telling of a story about historic events is perhaps the most memorable way to transfer information from generation to generation. It is now well known that many so called ‘myths’ are stories actually based on real events or descriptions – many distorted at the time of Patriarchal uprising 3000 years ago when it became unsafe to pass on knowledge from earlier matriarchal flood survivors – or simply because the information became distorted and subverted as it was ‘forbidden’ and needed to fit in with new political dogma and control. Our society and its education is based on this propaganda. some of it valid – much of it not or half distorted.
    • truth
      thats what the Quran says. days in heaven are very long compared to Earth
    • me
      even better yet… factor in einstein’s relativity. if you’re traveling in space really really close to the speed of light for one day and then you slow down and head back to earth – your friends back on earth could be millions of years dead and gone. so if god said i created the universe in 7 days, maybe in our relative time it was millions of years!
      • Dan
        I could take that theory, but saying that the earth was created before all stars (the 4th day), which were added to mark day and night and seasons, is really hard for me to believe. And those who still strongly believe the earth is only 6000 years or so old are totally lost in my opinions.
  • Kevin
    Divine theory? That’s just a theory. This is more of scientific fact so I believe they are trying to educate rather than indoctrinate into Easter Bunny theology. I’d guess you’re a Christian? They usually feel the need to ram that down the throats of everyone else even though the Bible is a proven disaster of lies. As for a God, sure, might be one that caused Evolution but if ya think the God writes books or has a need to “inspire” humans to write for it then forget science and become a monk.
• Ginghy
  so was Homo Hablis the first member of the human family covered by religion let only Christianity? The idea of attempting to reconcile science and religion is rediculous. Do all the time shifting you want—–2 million years vs. 2 thousand years and ask yourself if our early relatives qualify to be saved?
• http://twitter.com/agustinant #om
  “The first fossils were a type of blue-green algae that could photosynthesize.” This is not correct if we attend to actual classification. They are bacteria (Cyanobacteria). Confusing algae with bacteria is also common with “Spirulina”, that many people feed thinking they are algae… Thanks for the Web!
• http://www.facebook.com/debra.roesser Debra Roesser
  now i am confused i always thought god created earth ,so how is there a b..c. if god created the earth when was god born///???????
  • QuestionEverything
    B.C. was traditionally linked to the approximate birth of christ. According to the scriptures, god existed long before that. But the fact that you are confused leads me to question whether the religious teachings you’ve been subjected to are in any way tied to reality.
  • http://en.pcfavour.info Naeem Moavia Siddiqui
    Time is nothing…. It is used for our (human’s) understanding only…. And time depends on relativity and speed….. God wasn’t born….. Free from the limitation of time…. There is no past, no present and no future…. Scientifically, we say…. matter, cannot be produced or destroyed but transforms….. According to some saying…. Nothing exists but the God…. So everything was created by God from His Own Body (we say to understand)…. a part of God…. God is not a personality I think….. He is something out of our mind…. He’s the whole universe….. He experiences everything in us and in all the living and non-living things….. We’re too weak to go out of our solar system….. And, surely, too too weak to talk or face God…… Yes God created the whole universe including earth……. Time does not exist for God because He is everywhere, every time experiencing a lot of things at a time…. Experiencing past, preset and future at a time…. because in no time He is everywhere in the whole universe….
• joe
  Earth was created 4.5 million years ago and 8.64 billion
  years after the big bang. god didnt know that so he said 2 days…the Hindu
  myth says god day is 4.32 billion years which is a pretty ridiculous number for ancient people to contemplate.
  Once the 2 myths are combined it suggests earth was created 8.64 billion years after the big bang
  Life was created about 3.5 billion years a ago. Before life was created
  nature, god or aliens, chose, cut, shaped, four different phosphates, 4 real and physical DNA Letters, 4 different complex molecules of specific shape, size and weight, that were paired (2+2, AT, GC) then used/combined by someone or due to series of yet inexplicable accidents to physically write programs for different energy manufacturing systems and unique replication systems that determine varied but limited options for growth and behavior.
  Since letters were created before life and since it happened
  once and never again suggests life was intelligently designed…BUT VERYONE wants to believe that nature created letters and wrote million of complex programs by accident..Really? how?…Tell that to silicon valley…tell them they should try nature creation system – accident…nature does so much better than it.
  • Vivienne Eggers
    that’s because the assumption is made that everything by nature is ‘accidental’ ‘random’ and without ‘intelligence’. If a cell in the human body could look out at other cells in the body system – I am sure he/she/it would also think their purpose unique and all worlds outside their view are disconnected, void and without ‘intelligence’.
    We should remember that if humans are made from the molecule – the DNA letters, phosphates or any other materials ‘of Earth’ then we too are simply small cells, atoms, electrons – whatever -components of a much greater whole – that ‘whole’ Earth is also a micro component of a greater whole – that universe a component of much greater universes – that infinity exists within us and external to us as a transient point of reference. We are just a particle of divine cosmos beyond the smallness of intellectual comprehension.
• Elizabeth Sarah Morata
  When will scientist believe that the human species are different from the animal and plant species? When will Biology separate living things into: man, plants and animals? There are so many obvious reasons why man is man and animal is animal. Man is provided with intelligence, dignity, the power of speech, reading, writing and become leaders. It takes only 8 to 10 years to finish a course in sciences and become expert, yet why it took thousands of years and still mankind is not substantially feed with the right information regarding the ‘evolution/creation’ of man? The best consultant in these questions that scientists cannot solve is the Creator, Himself. Scientists or learned men are greatly honored people even in the Book of divine guidance revealed 1500 yrs ago. I hate ‘missing links’. It gives me a feeling of hunger in my mind, unstable. Question marks without the right answers are silent poison.
  When I consulted Al Qur’an, I became stable. Even if i were not a scientist, I understand now that everything is created to favor man, the Family or Tribe of Adam. More on this in a soon to be published book. “ECOLOGY, IN THE LIGHT OF AL QUR’AN”, “THE MACRO-ECOLOGY” and “UNIVERSAL PSYCHOLOGY USING WISDOM PART I, II, III and IV”and “THE DIAGNOSIS OF THE ‘SICK EARTH’ are new topics that can help man understand the reason for the existing things to come into being. It is a well planned creation by the ALL-WISE, ALL-KNOWING CREATOR with a definite purpose.
  • ChildofGod
    My question is, why do we human and animal species reproduce,
    instead of just continue to emerge? You said “the first modern human species
    emerged”. You scientist need stop
    disrespecting God, you will one day answer to Him.
• Jc Dels Santos
  Ugh… No… This is not what i was finding… So, how did we survive those things that were in the Earth??? How can we live in that too much heat?? Don’t tell me, we were once Bacteria’s, don’t kid me :3… If the Earth was really formed that way, why is the earth the only one who has a atmosphere and all, and you claim that there is another earth-like with atmosphere in another solar system and has a population of humanity, give me some evidences… I believed God’s Theory or Sayings than this….Explain me.. I will come back and see your so-called *theory* which was just made up… It wasn’t even explained here, how life was created… So you want to tell me that we were made up from atom’s to beings?????? Or should i say that we just transported in the earth by extraterrestrial beings.. I will come back to see your T.H.E.O.R.Y
  • anonymous
    You are so right man
  • anonymous
    How do we know what happened when we weren’t there?
  • nospecialperson
    you realize that every planet has a different atmosphere.
  • Vivienne Eggers
    Well we DO have extra-terrestrial origins. Life as we ‘know it’ formed – first Earth out of the same gases and matter as other ‘extra-terrestrial beings’ or planets. The atmospheric layer parted, dispersed or cleared sufficiently to allow the infusion of light from extra-terrestrial stars, planets and cosmic influencers. When our post-flood ancestors tell the cosmogony of the formation of Earth – their symbolic representation of our origins is in fact quite accurate – it is only that we modern humans don’t understand the richness of the heritage and the knowledge that was held. We read or hear it as children stories or words of primitive ignorants. We are ‘stardust’ after all. That light energy that travels billions of light years to reach our visual field has actually penetrated our Earth atmosphere with matter – energy. This is how early life began and it is how we continue to be impacted – if we were still sensitive enough to know this. Perhaps soon we will – as surgeons and scientists improve laser and other technologies that utilise the energy factor and the butterfly effect of light waves.
• theodore yuan
  wow! it is so cool! <3
  • andre
    yeah! you’re right!
• trisha das
  thank u it was a very helpful article thank u once again.
• Ollolloopollolol
  Lol
• TheTruthinFaithandLife
  the Earth was not made in any that way. It WAS created by GOD. here are some facts of how it happens to be true that God made the earth. the Bible. How could the earth have been made from gas and dust, or rocks colliding, if there was NOTHING? here is something I’d like people who think that this theory they’re sayings is true to answer, ‘If the earth was made by gas and dust or rocks colliding, then how was the universe made if there was nothing?’.
  God made the Earth perfect for us to live in.
  • Ben Cartwright
    Who made God?
  • ERIC P.
    a HUMAN DEVELOPED THE BIBLE TO CREATE LAW ON THE EARTH AND THERE HOPE THAT PEOPLE WOULD BELIEVE IN A HIGHER BEING SO THEY WOULD QUIT BREAKING THE LAW. THE BIBLE NEVER MENTIONS DINOSAURS BUT WE HAVE PROOF THEY WERE HERE. THEY DONT TALK ABOUT CAVE MEN OR HOMOSAPIENS BUT WE KNEW THEY WERE HERE. YOU SEE WHEN THEY CREATED THE BIBLE NO ONE FOUND BONES OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT SPECIMEN SO THEY DIDNT KNOW THEY EXISTED. NOT ONE BODY HAS BEEN FOUND OF DISCIPLES OR ADAM AND EVE OR NO EVIDENCE EXISTS TO SUGGESTS THE BIBLE IS TRUE. YOU PEOPLE WANT TO BELIEVE LIFE AFTER EARTH EXISTS BUT IT HAS BEEN FALSELY TOLD IN FAIRYTALES YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD. NO ONE WAS AROUND BACK THEN TO KNOW IF ANYTHING FROM THE BIBLE EXISTED BUT THERE IS PROOF OF EVOLUTION HERE SO I TEND TO BELIEVE FACTS NOT A BOOK SOMEONE WROTE TO CONTROL PEOPLE FROM STEALING LYING AND CHEATING. WE HAVE MANY BOOKS NOWADAYS THAT DO THE EXACT THING ONLY NOW THERE CALLED LAW BOOKS.
    • Don B
      The bible does mention and describe them in detail.you obviously never read the bible. Read the book of job .I think its in chapter 40
      • me
        he’s right… there are several parts that describe huge creatures. the instance in job that don refers to provides an excellent description.
    • Mike Turn
      So how did life form? At what point it didn’t exist, and then it did? Did it pop out of nothing? How did that happen? And where did those gas clouds that created the sun and the earth come from? At some point they weren’t there and then they were. Did they pop out of nothingness as well? How? How does that occur? These are important points that evolutionists seem to just skip over.
    • unkown
      just wow
• TheTruthinFaithandLife
  For the theory that people evolved into humans from Ape’s, it is TOTALLY NOT TRUE. How could we have gotten THOUGHT, and KNOWLEDGE and LANGUAGE? God made Adam, and Eve, in his own image.
  • lope
    Please, before Adam and Eve there were only the animals of modern time (as the bible describes them). Why does the bible not describe the dinosaurs or single celled animals before them? The creation of man seems to be totally incomplete because there is no mention of animals like Homo Habilis. Your creator seems to incomplete to a flaw. Or, maybe he is trying to hide his mistakes?
    • eric
      the bible was made by people to control the population from breaking the laws i e the ten commandments. You have to believe in the bible. why would the almighty god let babies die every day and good people die of cancer with no cure. a loving god would not let these things happen. The bible was presented to give people hope instead of knowing they were just going to die. Read about how the bible actually came to be and it will stun you. there is not one proof or evidence that supports the bible come on people. I could tell you the earth was flat 300 years ago and you would believe me. now you know its round. stick to the facts not the lies in a book created by your own people
      • Vinod Kumar Ojha
        god is not something like a super human sitting in heaven. it is pure intelligence and energy encompassing all, if you want evidence of god you will have to experience it, like you experience love, hate beauty. they seems to exist but cannot be comprehended by our 5 sense organs , get into meditation drop all the thoughts and experiance it
• Chris Robinson
  How did the scientist knows all this number ? please reply
  • Ben Cartwright
    Fox news.
• Jeremy
  The Cambrian Period began about 540 million years ago. This mistakenly says it began about 525 million years ago.
• Justin
  You people are ignoring the questions you ask can be answered by any scientist.
• Emma
  I asked for learning about earths atmospheric gases for kids and this is what I get?!?!?!?!??!?!?! Unbelievable!!!!!!! We didn’t understand this at all.
  • Akaiteddy
    This is obviously not an article for kids.
    • Chris
      I have faith to do but until I do it is only faith that I can as a child’s first steps. I believe I have knowledge to understand therefore I believe I understand and through it justify my faith or lack of.. Who is to judge the will and purpose and workings of GOD. In the beginning our fall was for the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which brings us forward and leaves us as spiritually confused and confounded and trapped now as since then as Satan would have us. You will never have faith if you do not wholeheartedly seek it, and to question or doubt it will void it. The paradox, we thought we could be more than we are with knowledge regardless of GOD. A personal choice of faith is of our freewill it is not collective or debatable but can only be found tested and proved in oneself, those that would question it obviously don’t have it or can’t find it, those that do have it have it. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” and inverse is true unless like like Paul GOD has some greater calling.
      • Pablo
        what kind of mind would think that the Creator is so small that the Creator won’t forgive “sins” without a “Blood Sacrifice?” What kind of Soul would allow another to “Die for their sins”? What kind of person needs the threat of “Eternal Damnation” to behave in a decent manner? What kind of man would live their lives by a book they have no idea who the Author was and as such could have no idea what really inspired them?
        • Chris
          Who is to judge the will and purpose and workings of GOD.
          I don’t know you, and question myself as to whether you actually wrote this or perhaps it was an auto response from my computer, yet in a hundred or thousand or several years we can agree this transpired or did it?.
          Faith is not found in doubt, the devil is in the details as they were in garden and now.
          “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
          I can not give you what you do not want, or perhaps your doubting and I have. Neither can you take what I will not give up, my faith.
          In Jesus
• jane
  from the initial formation of Earth to the beginning of the Archean Eon, what changes or events were happening that prohibited ALL life form existing
• Vivienne Eggers
  What an interesting comment thread. Much conjecture about religion and God as there is about scientific knowledge of “history”. HIS story is just that. Prior to 10,000 years ago history was actually her story. It wasn’t about a patriarchal implanted queen sitting on a throne anymore than about a man sitting on a throne with thunderbolts. When we consider ‘time’ as a human we measure by linear passage of light over distance through space. In our genes we hold the memories of our origins as part of Earth. Earth as part of the solar system spinning around the sun up there is of course the early cosmic creation symbol of most early post-flood civilisations. We can be from God and have a scientific material reality. God or Goddess is the energy of consciousness that we personify while in mortal form. Earth was created from that same cosmic consciousness and we are the units or building blocks that have been formed out of Earth constituents. We now know that more than one species of ‘humans’ ancestors lived concurrently – and it is speculated our DNA or gene codes demonstrate humans to be a system of complex virus consolidated – I presume post mushroom and bacterial period. Whatever we ‘were’ – it is certain what we are ‘now’ is neither permanent nor sustainable. It is only our ego that would have the gaul to assume one mortal life is the greatest we can hope for out of existence.
• Mike Turn
  During the Proterozoic era, oxygen begins to form creating the conditions for life and then by the Cambrian period life exploded. That’s quite a simplistic explanation, for how did life begin? There was no life, then there was. How did that happen? Did life just pop out of nowhere? For a scientific explanation, this article is sorely lacking in how life began. And while we are at it, what formed that cloud of dust that formed our sun. What created that? Was it not there and then it was, just popping out of nowhere? Again, if this is what passes for science, it’s science for the simple-minded.
  • oligarchynot
    This article is just a general outline explaining the basics. If you want detail, go to a university or a library and prepare to read volumes. Science does not claim to be absolute or fixed; if other scientists discover evidence contrary to our current understanding, and that evidence stands up to scrutiny, then the scientific consensus shifts. Scientists have not discovered exactly when or how life first formed on earth, but they have been able to find evidence for how it progressed once formed and they do know what the chemical makeup needs to be for life to form and thrive. I was looking for information about the missing 2 billion years of earth’s history and this site came up in the search results. I would imagine that life first formed during those 2 billion missing years on earth and that we may never know the answer to the question of when life began. I am personally of the opinion that life existed long before the earth formed and that it is spread throughout the universe, in the form of single-celled life forms or spores, on rocks (meteors, comets), where it lays dormant until conditions are right. Once conditions are right, the dormant organisms come to life and begin the process of learning to cope with their environment, whatever that may be. Since every environment can differ, how life evolves depends on the environment it begins in, and is rarely ever repeated or exactly the same. This in no way interferes with my belief in a spiritual realm. Our current religions are an attempt to describe such spiritual realm, but they were all developed by humans, not God. All life is sacred, in all its various forms. Humans are just one of many life forms and are no more or less important than any other life form. But they are more dangerous.
    • Frank
      Apology for my pore English, not my native language. Its funny to read all comments and what keeps people busy. But I didn’t read anything new. What if sience and religion are both wrong. What if Earth is way much older then wee can recollect. What if the Univers always have been there. Maybe and thats just a simple other theory like all others and all planets are just seeds in a pot of soil we call Univers and life in any form always have excisted. The fact is that we are here and we can only be sure of our young history. I read we humans this and that and diferent then animals. We humans think we are superior but we just are a tiny part of what we call nature, Everything you read or hear is once been written or told by humans, animals do communicate to, just like us only we don’t understand each other, same as if I never learned a bit of English. Maybe if we could understand them a turtle could tell you much more about our past then any other human being. Everything is life, like plants and trees, animals and all equal to us only diference is that we evolved diferently. But we all are part of Nature, we be born out of seeds, we blossom a periode of time, reproduce and die. The prove how and why we are here and how it all came together is irrelevant because we are simply not intellegent enough to figure that out. But a realistic version, also theory and not based on any prove, could be that one ice planet collapsed with a boiling hot planet we call earth now, then there was water and soil, then another one exploded and kept on burning which made materials able to combine, like fungus in many ways, and they all evolved in diferent ways, So you can see the human race as a fungus, spreading around over this planet. All we see is violence in nature and even the univers is a violent invironment. Its all about survival what keeps nature alive.And that goes on now for millions? Billions? Trilions or maybe zilions years in a row. Years, time it all is a invention of the human race, like distance, like everything you learned so far. In the unevolved world when we were all equal in nature there was nothing written. So what ever you want to believe, believe because it does not matter, we are here just to reproduce and vanish and live through in our children. If we look to our planet we can see the prove of how nature act, adjust, continues and fullfill its cicle, time after time. And the Univers is just to big for us to understand, we cant even understand how it came there, all is based on assumptions and only what we can prove is what they digged out from the ground, the fossils. That shows only what transformations this planet went through but doesnt prove anything from before that time and we will never know, its just a to big mistery to comprehend for us Humans, the fungus of this planet. Be Realisic.
• StudyingScienceDEC
  We Humans are so stupid, we fight among our selves over the most ridicules things, so what if that person thinks differently to another! WHY CAN’T HUMANS JUST accept others ideas! I agree with Nicholette.

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A Biography of Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. He initiated World War II and oversaw fascist policies that resulted in millions of deaths.

Synopsis

Born in Austria in 1889, Adolf Hitler rose to power in German politics as leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, also known as the Nazi Party. Hitler was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as dictator from 1934 to 1945. His policies precipitated World War II and the Holocaust. Hitler committed suicide with wife Eva Braun on April 30, 1945, in his Berlin bunker.

Early Years

Dictator Adolf Hitler was born in Branau am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889, and was the fourth of six children born to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. When Hitler was 3 years old, the family moved from Austria to Germany. As a child, Hitler clashed frequently with his father. Following the death of his younger brother, Edmund, in 1900, he became detached and introverted. His father did not approve of his interest in fine art rather than business. In addition to art, Hitler showed an early interest in German nationalism, rejecting the authority of Austria-Hungary. This nationalism would become the motivating force of Hitler's life.
Alois died suddenly in 1903. Two years later, Adolf's mother allowed her son to drop out of school. He moved to Vienna and worked as a casual laborer and a watercolor painter. Hitler applied to the Academy of Fine Arts twice, and was rejected both times. Out of money, he moved into a homeless shelter, where he remained for several years. Hitler later pointed to these years as the time when he first cultivated his anti-Semitism, though there is some debate about this account.
At the outbreak of World War I, Hitler applied to serve in the German army. He was accepted in August 1914, though he was still an Austrian citizen. Although he spent much of his time away from the front lines, Hitler was present at a number of significant battles and was wounded at the Somme. He was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross First Class and the Black Wound Badge.
Hitler became embittered over the collapse of the war effort. The experience reinforced his passionate German patriotism, and he was shocked by Germany's surrender in 1918. Like other German nationalists, he believed that the German army had been betrayed by civilian leaders and Marxists. He found the Treaty of Versailles degrading, particularly the demilitarization of the Rhineland and the stipulation that Germany accept responsibility for starting the war.
After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich and continued to work for the military as an intelligence officer. While monitoring the activities of the German Workers’ Party (DAP), Hitler adopted many of the anti-Semitic, nationalist and anti-Marxist ideas of DAP founder Anton Drexler. Drexler invited Hitler to join the DAP, which he did in 1919.
To increase its appeal, the DAP changed its name to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP). Hitler personally designed the party banner, featuring a swastika in a white circle on a red background. Hitler soon gained notoriety for his vitriolic speeches against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians, Marxists and Jews. In 1921, Hitler replaced Drexler as NSDAP party chairman.
Hitler's vitriolic beer-hall speeches began attracting regular audiences. Early followers included army captain Ernst Rohm, the head of the Nazi paramilitary organization, the Sturmabteilung (SA), which protected meetings and frequently attacked political opponents.
On November 8, 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting of 3,000 people at a large beer hall in Munich. Hitler announced that the national revolution had begun and declared the formation of a new government. After a short struggle including 20 deaths, the coup, known as the "Beer Hall Putsch," failed.
Hitler was arrested three days later and tried for high treason. He served a year in prison, during which time he dictated most of the first volume of Mein Kampf ("My Struggle") to his deputy, Rudolf Hess. The book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society into one based on race.

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Rise to Power

The Great Depression in Germany provided a political opportunity for Hitler. Germans were ambivalent to the parliamentary republic and increasingly open to extremist options. In 1932, Hitler ran against Paul von Hindenburg for the presidency. Hitler came in second in both rounds of the election, garnering more than 35 percent of the vote in the final election. The election established Hitler as a strong force in German politics. Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor in order to promote political balance.
Hitler used his position as chancellor to form a de facto legal dictatorship. The Reichstag Fire Decree, announced after a suspicious fire at the Reichstag, suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. Hitler also engineered the passage of the Enabling Act, which gave his cabinet full legislative powers for a period of four years and allowed deviations from the constitution.
Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Hitler and his political allies embarked on a systematic suppression of the remaining political opposition. By the end of June, the other parties had been intimidated into disbanding. On July 14, 1933, Hitler's Nazi Party was declared the only legal political party in Germany.
Military opposition was also punished. The demands of the SA for more political and military power led to the Night of the Long Knives, which took place from June 30 to July 2, 1934. Ernst Röhm and other SA leaders, along with a number of Hitler's political enemies, were rounded up and shot.
The day before Hindenburg's death in August 1934, the cabinet had enacted a law abolishing the office of president and combining its powers with those of the chancellor. Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government, and was formally named as leader and chancellor. As head of state, Hitler became supreme commander of the armed forces. He began to mobilize for war. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations, and Hitler announced a massive expansion of Germany’s armed forces.
The Nazi regime also included social reform measures. Hitler promoted anti-smoking campaigns across the country. These campaigns stemmed from Hitler's self-imposed dietary restrictions, which included abstinence from alcohol and meat. At dinners, Hitler sometimes told graphic stories about the slaughter of animals in an effort to shame his fellow diners. He encouraged all Germans to keep their bodies pure of any intoxicating or unclean substance.
A main Nazi concept was the notion of racial hygiene. New laws banned marriage between non-Jewish and Jewish Germans, and deprived "non-Aryans" of the benefits of German citizenship. Hitler's early eugenic policies targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities, and later authorized a euthanasia program for disabled adults.
The Holocaust was also conducted under the auspices of racial hygiene. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazis and their collaborators were responsible for the deaths of 11 million to 14 million people, including about 6 million Jews, representing two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. Deaths took place in concentration and extermination camps and through mass executions. Other persecuted groups included Poles, communists, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and trade unionists, among others. Hitler probably never visited the concentration camps and did not speak publicly about the killings.

World War II

In 1938, Hitler, along with several other European leaders, signed the Munich Agreement. The treaty ceded the Sudetenland districts to Germany, reversing part of the Versailles Treaty. As a result of the summit, Hitler was named Time magazine's Man of the Year for 1938. This diplomatic win only whetted his appetite for a renewed German dominance. On September 1, Germany invaded Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany.
Hitler escalated his activities in 1940, invading Scandinavia as well as France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. Hitler ordered bombing raids on the United Kingdom, with the goal of invasion. Germany’s formal alliance with Japan and Italy, known collectively as the Axis powers, was signed to deter the United States from supporting and protecting the British.
On June 22, 1941, Hitler violated a non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin, sending 3 million German troops into the Soviet Union. The invading force seized a huge area before the German advance was stopped outside Moscow in December 1941.
On December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Hitler was now at war against a coalition that included the world's largest empire (Britain), the world's greatest financial power (the U.S.) and the world's largest army (the Soviet Union).
Facing these odds, Hitler's military judgment became increasingly erratic. Germany's military and economic position deteriorated along with Hitler's health. Germany and the Axis could not sustain Hitler's aggressive and expansive war. In late 1942, German forces failed to seize the Suez Canal. The German army also suffered defeats at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk. On June 6, 1944, the Western Allied armies landed in northern France. As a result of these significant setbacks, many German officers concluded that defeat was inevitable and that Hitler's denial would result in the destruction of the country.

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Death and Legacy

By early 1945, Hitler realized that Germany was going to lose the war. The Soviets had driven the German army back into Western Europe, and the Allies were advancing into Germany. On April 29, 1945, Hitler married his girlfriend, Eva Braun, in a small civil ceremony in his Berlin bunker. Around this time, Hitler was informed of the assassination of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Afraid of falling into the hands of enemy troops, Hitler and Braun committed suicide the day after their wedding, on April 30, 1945. Their bodies were carried to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where they were burned. Berlin fell on May 2, 1945. Five days later, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
Hitler's political program had brought about a world war, leaving behind a devastated and impoverished Eastern and Central Europe, including Germany. His policies inflicted human suffering on an unprecedented scale and resulted in the death of an estimated 40 million people, including about 27 million in the Soviet Union. Hitler's defeat marked the end of a phase of European history dominated by Germany, and the defeat of fascism. A new ideological global conflict, the Cold War, emerged in the aftermath of World War II.

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