Wax works of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin at Madam Tussaud's. Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 - 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then assuming the title of Fuhrer und Reichskanzler in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust, the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (6 December 1878 - 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who governed the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He served as both General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1952) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (1941-1953).