Name	Berlin
Image photo	Berlin skyline 2009wl2.jpg
State coa	Coat of arms of Berlin.svg
Coa size	70
Map	Berlin in Germany and EU.png
Map size	270
Map text	Location within European Union and Germany
Flag	Flag_of_Berlin.svg
Area	891.85
Population	3440441
Pop ref	and is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Significant industries include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, optoelectronics, traffic engineering, and renewable energy.
Valign	"top"|

Category:States of Germany Category:German state capitals Category:Capitals in Europe Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:Members of the Hanseatic League Category:States and territories established in 1237 Category:Populated places established in the 13th century Category:City-states Category:European Capitals of Culture

Name	Dash Berlin
Background	group_or_band
Birth name	Jeff X. Sutorius
Born	November 1979
Origin	The Hague, Netherlands
Genre	Trance
Years active	2008-Present
Label	Armada Music
Url

Dash Berlin is a progressive-trance project created in 2007 in The Hague, Netherlands by Eelke Kalberg and Sebastiaan Molijn . The front man of the group is the DJ Jeffrey Sutorius . Kalberg and Molijn have been contributing to the international dance scene for over ten years, with award-winning and platinum-selling hits for dance acts such as Alice Deejay, Vengaboys, Candee Jay, Pronti & Kalmani and Solid Sessions . They also have been working together with DJ Sander Kleinenberg on classic tracks like “This Is Miami” and “The Fruit” and remixes for major artists such as Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, BT, Usher, N.E.R.D., Lenny Kravitz, Junkie XL, Röyksopp, Mylo, and Annie Lennox .

Jeffrey Sutorius was born in November 1979 in The Hague, Netherlands . While in high school he became a fan of electronic music and in his late teens worked in a record store and became a collector of vinyl trance music. Inspired by pioneering figures such as Sven Vath, Oliver Lieb and Sander Kleinenberg, Sutorius began mixing and producing his own music. He started performing in the Dutch underground music scene in early 2006 and within a year teamed up with fellow producers and close friends Kalberg and Molijn to form Dash Berlin .

The breakthrough for the Dash Berlin project came in 2007 with their track “Till the Sky Falls Down”. The track shot straight to the top of the trance charts worldwide due in part to Armin van Buuren who included it on his acclaimed “Universal Religion” album. Van Buuren subsequently signed the group to the Armada Music label .

In early 2009 plans emerged to expand the Dash Berlin influence with its own label called “Aropa.” The first release under this new label was the anthem “Man on the Run”, a collaboration with fellow Armada artists Cerf, Mitiska, & Jaren. The track rocketed to the top of the international Trance charts and received a prestigious nomination for ‘Best Trance Track’ at the annual Trance Awards .

October 2009 brought the global release of Dash Berlin’s critically acclaimed debut album, “The New Daylight”, which contained the hits, “Till the Sky Falls Down”, “Man on the Run”, “Waiting” and “Never Cry Again”. A world tour followed beginning in January 2010 in Australia.

In March 2010 Dash Berlin released their first official mix album entitled, “United Destination”.

Trivia

Next to trance, Jeffrey Sutorius has a big passion for harder house music. Under his alter ego Jeff Bounce he played jump & hardstyle tunes, under the name Toxic he played hardcore and even terrortracks at parties like Dominator, P.O.R.N. & Raving Nightmare

Discography

The New Daylight (2009)

United Destination (2010)

The New Daylight: The Remixes (2010)

Singles

Till The Sky Falls Down (2008)

You Never Said (2008)

Man On The Run (2009)

Waiting (2009)

Never Cry Again (2010)

Janeiro (2010)

Disarm Yourself (2010)

External links

Category:Living people Category:Dutch musicians

Name	Sebastian Vettel
Caption	Vettel at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix
Nationality	German
Date of birth	July 03, 1987
2010 team	Red Bull Racing
2010 car number	5
2011 team	Red Bull Racing
2011 car number	1
Races	62
Championships	1 ()
Hat tricks	1
Wins	10
Podiums	19
Points	381
Poles	15
Fastest laps	6
First race	2007 United States Grand Prix
First win	2008 Italian Grand Prix
Last win	2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Last race
Last season	2010
Last position	1st (256 pts)

Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won in the 2010 season. In the same year he, along with teammate Mark Webber, helped Red Bull win the World Constructors' Championship.

Vettel was born in Heppenheim, Germany. He began racing karts in 1995, and rose quickly through the junior series before being brought into Formula One by BMW Sauber. By taking part in Friday practice for the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, at 19 years and 53 days. He went on to become the sixth youngest driver to start a Grand Prix at the 2007 US Grand Prix when he replaced the injured Robert Kubica and the youngest driver to score points in the same race. After moving to Toro Rosso, Vettel became the youngest driver to lead a race at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver to secure pole position. The nature of the victory and the story of the 21 year old's fledgling career led the German media to dub him "baby Schumi", although Vettel was quick to downplay the expectation the result has brought, particularly the comparison with the seven-time World Champion: "To compare me with Michael Schumacher is just a bit ridiculous...It will be difficult in normal conditions for us to repeat this achievement".1]]2 |bgcolor="#dfffdf"| NOR24 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| NÜR111 |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| NÜR22 |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| ZAN12 |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| ZAN22 |bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| LAU13 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| LAU215 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| HOC2113 |bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| HOC223 ! 5th ! 57 |- | 2006 ! ASM Formule 3 ! Dallara F305/059 ! Mercedes |bgcolor="#dfffdf"| HOC115 |bgcolor="#ffffbf"| HOC121 |bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| LAU13 |bgcolor="#dfffdf"| LAU26 |bgcolor="#dfffdf"| OSC15 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| OSC214 |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| BRH12 |bgcolor="#dfffdf"| BRH27 |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| NOR12 |bgcolor="#efcfff"| NOR2Ret |bgcolor="#ffffbf"| NÜR11 |bgcolor="#ffffbf"| NÜR21 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| ZAN124 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| ZAN22 |bgcolor="#ffffbf"| CAT11 |bgcolor="#efcfff"| CAT2Ret |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| LMS19 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| LMS29 |bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| HOC213 |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| HOC2212 |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| 2nd |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| 75 |}

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Sebastian Vettel website

Vettel's career details

BBC Profile

ESPN Profile

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Category:1987 births Category:Formula BMW ADAC drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers Category:Formula Three Euroseries drivers Category:German Formula One drivers Category:German racecar drivers Category:Kart racing drivers Category:Living people Category:People from Kreis Bergstraße Category:Spanish Formula Three Championship drivers

Playername	James Wade
Fullname	James Martin Wade
Nickname	The Machine
Dateofbirth	April 06, 1983
Cityofbirth	Aldershot
Countryofbirth	England
Hometown	Aldershot
Homecountry	England
Since	2001
Darts	20g Unicorn James Wade
Laterality	Left-handed
Music	I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas
Bdo	2001–2004
Pdc	2004 – present
Currentrank	3
Bdo world	Last 16 2004
World masters	Last 64 2002, 2003
World darts trophy	Last 16 2003
Int. darts league	QF 2004
Pdc world	SF 2009
Matchplay	Winner 2007
Grand prix	Winner 2007, 2010
Uk open	Winner 2008
European	SF 2009
Vegas	Runner-up 2008
Grand slam	Runner-up 2010
Premier league	Winner 2009
Championship league	Winner 2010
Pc finals	SF 2009
Tournament	Players Ch'ship
Resultyears	2008
Achievement	2006 PDC Young Player of the Year
Updated	23 October 2007

James Wade (born James Martin Wade on 6 April 1983 in Aldershot, Hampshire) is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007. He has since won the 2007 World Grand Prix, the 2008 UK Open, the 2009 Premier League, the 2010 World Grand Prix and 2010 Championship League Darts, and has been at a career-high ranking of second in the PDC Order of Merit.

Early career

Wade reached the final of the British Classic in 2001 at the age of just 18, losing to John Walton but the following year he won the Swiss Open and then made his television debut at the 2003 Lakeside World Championship, but lost 2–3 in the first round to Dennis Harbour having missed eight darts to win the match in the fourth set. In other BDO Open events during 2003, he reached the Norway Open final, Belgian Open semi-finals and Dutch Open quarter finals.

At the 2004 Lakeside World Championship, he beat Shaun Greatbatch 3–0 in the first round, before losing to Darryl Fitton in the second round. Later in 2004, he reached a series of quarter-finals including the German Open, the Isle of Man Open and the prestigious International Darts League in May – which was his last tournament as a BDO affiliated player.

PDC switch

In May 2004, despite having qualified for the final stages of many BDO tournaments, Wade took the decision to forfeit his automatic place in the 2004 World Darts Trophy and 2005 BDO World Championship to join the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA) and the PDC circuit.

He made his PDC World Darts Championship début in 2005, losing in the first round to Mark Holden. He bounced back from this to win the Irish Masters in February and reach the last 16 of the UK Open later that year. He also qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic (beating the experienced Ronnie Baxter) and the World Grand Prix during the year as well. He also qualified for the 2006 World Championship, losing again in the first round, this time 3–2 to Wayne Jones, who would go on to reach the semi-finals, despite having won the first six legs for a two-set lead.

Wade reached the last 16 of the 2007 PDC World Championship losing to Terry Jenkins having earlier beaten New Zealand qualifier Warren French and Dave Ladley.

Major breakthrough

He made his major breakthrough on television during the 2006 World Matchplay in July. He sensationally reached the final, beating four experienced and respected darts players, in his first ever appearance at the Winter Gardens. He beat Denis Ovens in the first round 10–1, having had darts to make it a 10–0 whitewash. In the second round he beat former World Championship finalist Kevin Painter 13–9, ending one leg with two double-20s to cause a minor controversy, and beat Chris Mason 16–4 in his quarter-final. In the semi-finals he came back from 1–5 down to beat Roland Scholten 19–17 in a tiebreaker, which requires the winner to win by two clear legs. In the final he played Phil Taylor but despite being 8–5 up, he lost 18–11.

He then returned to Blackpool in 2007 to claim the title – his first major televised tournament success and became the youngest player ever to win a PDC televised event in doing so. His route to the title and £50,000 cheque saw him beat Wayne Jones, Dennis Priestley, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis and Terry Jenkins (who beat Taylor in the semi-final) in the final.

Although Wade's victory was nothing short of emphatic over the ever-tenacious Jenkins, many believe his semi-final victory over Lewis was one of the finest performances ever seen at the Winter Gardens . He consistently checked out ton-plus scores whilst Lewis, fresh from defeating world champion Raymond van Barneveld, having a 3-dart average of over 100, was unable to keep up with the fast-improving Wade.

Wade also won the next PDC major tournament – the 2007 World Grand Prix in Dublin in October beating van Barneveld by 5 sets to 1 in the semi-final and repeating his Blackpool success over Jenkins in the final.

Wade's aforementioned successes in 2007 were rewarded with him winning the 2007 PDC Player of the Year. Wade became the second recipient of this award, following in the footsteps of Taylor in 2006. He was presented with it at the annual PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008.

Wade reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 PDC World Championship, being defeated 5 sets to 4 in a close encounter against John Part, who went on to win the tournament.

In January 2008, Wade became the first player to defeat Taylor in the Premier League, winning the match 8 legs to 6. Taylor however exacted revenge with a 16–8 victory in the final on 26 May 2008 after Wade had defeated van Barneveld in the semi-final.

On 8 June 2008, Wade beat American Gary Mawson 11–7 in the final to win the 2008 UK Open, claiming his third major trophy within a year. The following month, he reached the finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing 13–7 to Taylor. Then in July reached his 3rd World Matchplay final in a row, losing for the 2nd time in 3 years in the final to Taylor 18–9, making this the 3rd major final loss of the year against Taylor.

In the 2009 PDC World Championship, Wade reached a stage further than the previous year, reaching the semi-finals before losing 4-6 to van Barneveld.

Wade won the 2009 Premier League Darts tournament, defeating Mervyn King 13–8 at the Wembley Arena. However, he failed to defend his UK Open title in 2009 after losing to Peter Manley 9–8 in the third round. He then failed to reach the World Matchplay final for the first time, losing in the quarter-finals to Ronnie Baxter.

Wade lost to an on-fire Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Championship. Whitlock won 5–3 in sets.

Defending his Premier League title, Wade reached the final of the 2010 Premier League, where he played against Phil Taylor. Taylor won 10–8, hitting two nine-dart finishes during the match.

Wade won the 2010 World Grand Prix, beating Adrian Lewis 6–3 in the final. Four days later, he won his second major tournament inside a week by defeating Taylor 6–5 in the 2010 Championship League Darts final.

Wade reached another major final in 2010 at the Grand Slam, seeing both Terry Jenkins and Mervyn King squander match darts against him before Wade himself threw away an 8–0 lead against BDO player Scott Waites as Waites won 16–12.

Despite the loss at the Grand Slam, Wade was touted by many as the favourite to win the 2011 World Championship due to his Grand Prix and Champions League Darts victories as well as Taylor's slight dip in form. However, Wade was beaten by world number 47 Mensur Suljovic 4–2 in the second round.

Nicknames

Whilst it is somewhat traditional for a darts player to adopt a sobriquet, Wade has adopted several in his short career so far. His first nickname, The Gladiator was changed following his nine-dart exploits in 2006 to 009 – a take on James Bond's 007. This was used during the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship.

In November 2007, during the 2007 Grand Slam of Darts – he was introduced on television graphics as having "no nickname". In December 2007, following a competition which invited fans to provide him with a new nickname, Wade became known as Spectacular. A play on the fact that Wade is one of the few players who wears spectacles when he plays. For his Premier League debut in January 2008 he unveiled another nickname – "The Machine" which is now regarded as his permanent nickname and used in his walk on in all tournaments.

Nine dart finishes

He became the first player to hit three tournament nine-dart finishes in a calendar year during 2006. They came at the North-West UK Open Regional Final in March, the PDPA Players Championship at Hayling Island in June and he completed his hat-trick at the Vauxhall Men's Open in November. None of these achievements were in televised competitions.

Wade came within one dart of achieving the first ever nine-darter with a double start at the 2007 World Grand Prix in Dublin. In the semi-final against van Barneveld he hit double top to open the leg, then six treble 20s, treble 17 then missed a bullseye for a unique nine-darter.

On 20 November 2008, Wade completed his first live nine-darter hitting two 180s then T20, T19 and D12 against Gary Anderson in the second round of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts which was shown on ITV4. However, Anderson went on to win the match 10–8, therefore Wade became the first man to hit a nine-dart finish in a major televised tournament in the UK and then go on to lose the match. (Michael van Gerwen had previously done so in a tournament on Dutch television.)

Outside darts

Wade quit his job at a garage in Aldershot twelve days before the World Matchplay 2006, to concentrate on becoming a full-time professional darts player.

Wade dated Soccer AM presenter Helen Chamberlain but the pair split after roughly a year together. The pair had reportedly "drifted apart" from each other. Wade has admitted it hit him hard, affecting his darts.

World Championship Performances

2003 (BDO) – First Round lost to Dennis Harbour 2–3

2004 (BDO) – Second Round lost to Darryl Fitton 1–3

2005 (PDC) – First Round lost to Mark Holden 0–3

2006 (PDC) – First Round lost to Wayne Jones 2–3

2007 (PDC) – Third Round lost to Terry Jenkins 3–4

2008 (PDC) – Quarter-finalist lost to John Part 4-5

2009 (PDC) – Semi-finalist lost to Raymond van Barneveld 4–6

2010 (PDC) – Quarter-finalist lost to Simon Whitlock 3–5

2011 (PDC) – Second Round lost to Mensur Suljovic 2–4

Career finals

PDC premier event finals: 12 (6 titles, 6 runner-ups)

{| | valign=top width=40% align=left |

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- |width="80"|Outcome |width="20"|No. |width="50"|Year |width="250"|Championship |width="200"|Opponent in the final |width="100"|Score |- bgcolor="dfe2e9" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 1. | 2006 | World Matchplay | | 11–18 (l) |- bgcolor="dfe2e9" | style="background:#98FB98"|Winner | 1. | 2007 | World Matchplay | | 18–7 (l) |- | style="background:#98FB98"|Winner | 2. | 2007 | World Grand Prix | | 6–3 (s) |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 2. | 2008 | Premier League Darts | | 8–16 (l) |- | style="background:#98FB98"|Winner | 3. | 2008 | UK Open | | 11–7 (l) |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 3. | 2008 | Las Vegas Desert Classic | | 7–13 (l) |- bgcolor="dfe2e9" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 4. | 2008 | World Matchplay (2) | | 9–18 (l) |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#98FB98"|Winner | 4. | 2009 | Premier League Darts | | 13–8 (l) |- bgcolor="#d0f0c0" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 5. | 2010 | Premier League Darts (2) | | 8–10 (l) |- | style="background:#98FB98"|Winner | 5. | 2010 | World Grand Prix (2) | | 6–3 (s) |- | style="background:#98FB98"|Winner | 6. | 2010 | Championship League Darts | | 6–5 (l) |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 6. | 2010 | Grand Slam of Darts | | 12–16 (l) |} :1 (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

References

External links

James Wade's official web site

James Wade wins PDC Player Of The Year award

Category:1983 births Category:English darts players Category:Living people Category:People from Aldershot Category:Professional Darts Corporation players

Name	Adolf Hitler
Nationality	Austrian citizen until 7 April 1925 No evidence had, at that time, ever been produced to support Frank's claim, and Frank himself said Hitler's full Aryan blood was obvious.

If this account is true, Hitler apparently did not act on his new belief. He often was a guest for dinner in a noble Jewish house, and he interacted well with Jewish merchants who tried to sell his paintings. The book, dedicated to Thule Society member Dietrich Eckart, was an autobiography and an exposition of his ideology. Mein Kampf was influenced by The Passing of the Great Race by Madison Grant, which Hitler called "my Bible." During his testimony, Hitler insisted that his party was determined to come to power legally, that the phrase "National Revolution" was only to be interpreted "politically", and that his Party was a friend, not an enemy of the Reichswehr. Hitler came in second on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one in April. Although he lost to Hindenburg, the election established Hitler as a realistic alternative in German politics. A more successful initiative in foreign policy occurred with relations with Poland. In spite of intense opposition from the military and the Auswärtiges Amt who preferred closer ties with the Soviet Union, Hitler, in the fall of 1933 opened secret talks with Poland that were to lead to the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact of January 1934.

In February 1934, Hitler met with the British Lord Privy Seal, Sir Anthony Eden, and hinted strongly that Germany already possessed an Air Force, which had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

Although a secret German armaments programme had been on-going since 1919, in March 1935, Hitler rejected Part V of the Versailles treaty by publicly announcing that the German army would be expanded to 600,000 men (six times the number stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles), introducing an Air Force (Luftwaffe) and increasing the size of the Navy (Kriegsmarine). Britain, France, Italy and the League of Nations quickly condemned these actions. However, after re-assurances from Hitler that Germany was only interested in peace, no country took any action to stop this development and German re-armament continued. Later in March 1935, Hitler held a series of meetings in Berlin with the British Foreign Secretary Sir John Simon and Eden, during which he successfully evaded British offers for German participation in a regional security pact meant to serve as an Eastern European equivalent of the Locarno pact while the two British ministers avoided taking up Hitler's offers of alliance. From Hitler's perspective, it was imperative to bring in harsh new anti-Semitic laws as a consolation prize for those Party members who were disappointed with Hitler's halt order of 8 August, especially because Hitler had only reluctantly given the halt order for pragmatic reasons, and his sympathies were with the Party radicals. The annual Nazi Party Rally held at Nuremberg in September 1935 was to feature the first session of the Reichstag held at that city since 1543. Hitler had planned to have the Reichstag pass a law making the Nazi Swastika flag the flag of the German Reich, and a major speech in support of the impending Italian aggression against Ethiopia. On the evening of 15 September, Hitler presented two laws before the Reichstag banning sex and marriage between Aryan and Jewish Germans, the employment of Aryan woman under the age of 45 in Jewish households, and deprived "non-Aryans" of the benefits of German citizenship. Given the economic problems which was affecting his popularity by early 1936, Hitler felt the pressing need for a foreign policy triumph as a way of distracting public attention from the economy.

In an interview with the French journalist Bertrand de Jouvenel in February 1936, Hitler appeared to disavow Mein Kampf by saying that parts of his book were now out of date and he was not guided by them, though precisely which parts were out of date was left unclear. Documents such as the Four Year Plan Memo have often been used by right historians such as Henry Ashby Turner and Karl Dietrich Bracher who argue for a "primacy of politics" approach (that Hitler was not subordinate to German business, but rather the contrary was the case) against the "primacy of economics" approach championed by Marxist historians (that Hitler was an "agent" of and subordinate to German business).

Hitler had suffered severely from stomach pains and eczema in 1936–37, leading to his remark to the Nazi Party's propaganda leadership in October 1937 that because both parents died early in their lives, he would probably follow suit, leaving him with only a few years to obtain the necessary Lebensraum. A striking change in the Hossbach Memo was Hitler's changed view of Britain from the prospective ally of 1928 in the Zweites Buch to the "hate-inspired antagonist" of 1937 in the Hossbach memo.

Late in November 1937, Hitler received as his guest the British Lord Privy Seal, Lord Halifax who was visiting Germany ostensibly as part of a hunting trip. Speaking of changes to Germany's frontiers, Halifax told Hitler that: "All other questions fall into the category of possible alterations in the European order which might be destined to come about with the passage of time. Amongst these questions were Danzig, Austria and Czechoslovakia. England was interested to see that any alterations should come through the course of peaceful evolution and that the methods should be avoided which might cause far-reaching disturbances." In retaliation for ending German support to China in its war against Japan, Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek canceled all Sino-German economic agreements, depriving the Germans of raw materials such as tungsten that the Chinese had previously provided. The ending of the Sino-German alignment increased the problems of German rearmament, as the Germans were now forced to use their limited supply of foreign exchange to buy raw materials on the open market.

Austria and Czechoslovakia

In March 1938, Hitler pressured Austria into unification with Germany (the Anschluss) and made a triumphant entry into Vienna on 14 March. Hitler's determination to go through with Fall Grün in 1938 provoked a major crisis in the German command structure. Hitler called Beck's arguments against war "kindische Kräfteberechnungen" ("childish power play calculations").

On 30 September 1938, a one-day conference was held in Munich attended by Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier and Mussolini that led to the Munich Agreement, which gave in to Hitler's ostensible demands by handing over the Sudetenland districts to Germany. Though Hitler professed happiness in public over the achievement of his ostensible demands, in private he was determined to have a war the next time around by ensuring that Germany's future demands would not be met. In the same speech, Hitler complained that his peace propaganda of the last five years had been too successful, and it was time for the German people to be subjected to war propaganda. Later in November 1938, Hitler expressed frustration with the more cautious advice he was receiving from some quarters. This was the origin of the Action T4 program. Subsequently Dr. Brandt and Bouhler, acting on their own initiative in the expectation of winning Hitler's favour, expanded the T4 program to killing, first, all physically or mentally disabled children in Germany, and, second, all disabled adults. The "Export or die" speech of 30 January 1939 is also known as Hitler's "Prophecy Speech". The name which that speech is known comes from Hitler's "prophecy" issued towards the end of the speech:

"One thing I should like to say on this day which may be memorable for others as well for us Germans: In the course of my life I have very often been a prophet, and I have usually been ridiculed for it. During the time of my struggle for power it was in the first instance the Jewish race which only received my prophecies with laughter when I said I would one day take over the leadership of the State, and that of the whole nation, and that I would then among many other things settle the Jewish problem. Their laughter was uproarious, but I think that for some time now they have been laughing on the other side of the face. Today I will be once more the prophet. If the international Jewish financiers outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the bolsheviszation of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!" Functionalist historians such as Christopher Browning have dismissed this interpretation on the grounds that if Hitler were serious with the intentions expressed in the "Prophecy Speech", then there would not have been a 30-month "stay of execution" between the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, and the opening of the first Vernichtungslager in late 1941. In his opinion, the "Prophecy Speech" was simply an expression of bravado on Hitler's part, and had little connection with the actual unfolding of anti-Semitic policies.

At least part of the reason why Hitler violated the Munich Agreement by seizing the Czech half of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 was to obtain Czechoslovak assets to help with the economic crisis. In August 1939, Hitler spoke to his generals that his original plan for 1939 had to "... establish an acceptable relationship with Poland in order to fight against the West" but since the Poles would not co-operate in setting up an "acceptable relationship" (i.e. becoming a German satellite), he believed he had no choice other than wiping Poland off the map. In his private discussions with his officials in 1939, Hitler always described Britain as the main enemy that had to be defeated, and in his view, Poland's obliteration was the necessary prelude to that goal by securing the eastern flank and helpfully adding to Germany's Lebensraum. As part of the new course, in a speech before the Reichstag on 28 April 1939, Adolf Hitler, complaining of British "encirclement" of Germany, renounced both the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact.

As a pretext for aggression against Poland, Hitler claimed the Free City of Danzig and the right for "extra-territorial" roads across the Polish Corridor which Germany had unwillingly ceded under the Versailles treaty. For Hitler, Danzig was just a pretext for aggression as the Sudetenland had been intended to be in 1938, and throughout 1939, while highlighting the Danzig issue as a grievance, the Germans always refused to engage in talks about the matter. Ribbentrop only showed Hitler diplomatic cables that supported his analysis. The extent that Hitler was influenced by Ribbentrop's advice can be seen in Hitler's orders to the German military on 21 August 1939 for a limited mobilization against Poland alone.

The Munich agreement appeared to be sufficient to dispel most of the remaining hold which the "collective security" idea may have had in Soviet circles, Not long after this, on 17 September, Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland. On 15 May 1940, Himmler showed Hitler a memo entitled "Some Thoughts on the Treatment of Alien Population in the East", which called for expelling the entire Jewish population of Europe into Africa and reducing the remainder of the Polish population to a "leaderless labouring class". Hitler called Himmler's memo "good and correct". Hitler's remark had the effect of scuttling the so-called Karinhall argreement, and led to the Himmler–Greiser viewpoint triumphing as German policy for Poland.

During this period, Hitler built up his forces on Germany's western frontier. In April 1940, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway. In May 1940, Hitler's forces attacked France, conquering Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium in the process. These victories persuaded Benito Mussolini of Italy to join the war on Hitler's side on 10 June 1940. France surrendered on 22 June 1940.

Britain, whose forces evacuated France by sea from Dunkirk, continued to fight alongside other British dominions in the Battle of the Atlantic. After having his overtures for peace rejected by the British, now led by Winston Churchill, Hitler ordered bombing raids on the United Kingdom. The Battle of Britain was Hitler's prelude to a planned invasion. The attacks began by pounding Royal Air Force airbases and radar stations protecting South-East England. However, the Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force. On 27 September 1940, the Tripartite Treaty was signed in Berlin by Saburo Kurusu of Imperial Japan, Hitler, and Ciano. The purpose of the Tripartite Treaty, which was directed against an unnamed power that was clearly meant to be the United States, was to deter the Americans from supporting the British. It was later expanded to include Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. They were collectively known as the Axis Powers. By the end of October 1940, air superiority for the invasion Operation Sealion could not be assured, and Hitler ordered the bombing of British cities, including London, Plymouth, and Coventry, mostly at night.

,Yugoslavia in 1941]] In the Spring of 1941, Hitler was distracted from his plans for the East by various activities in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East. In February, German forces arrived in Libya to bolster the Italian forces there. In April, he launched the invasion of Yugoslavia which was followed quickly by the invasion of Greece. In May, German forces were sent to support Iraqi rebel forces fighting against the British and to invade Crete. On 23 May, Hitler released Fuhrer Directive No. 30. A third faction comprising a diverse group such as Viktor Suvorov, Ernst Topitsch, Joachim Hoffmann, Ernst Nolte, and David Irving have argued that the official reason given by the Germans for Barbarossa in 1941 was the real reason, namely that Barbarossa was a "preventive war" forced on Hitler to avert an impeding Soviet attack scheduled for July 1941. This theory has been widely attacked as erroneous; the American historian Gerhard Weinberg once compared the advocates of the preventive war theory to believers in "fairy tales"

. 11 December 1941.]] ' barracks after the 20 July 1944 plot]]

In late 1942, German forces were defeated in the second battle of El Alamein, thwarting Hitler's plans to seize the Suez Canal and the Middle East. In February 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended with the destruction of the German 6th Army. Thereafter came the Battle of Kursk. Hitler's military judgment became increasingly erratic, and Germany's military and economic position deteriorated along with Hitler's health, as indicated by his left hand's severe trembling. Hitler's biographer Ian Kershaw and others believe that he may have suffered from Parkinson's disease.

On 20 April, Hitler celebrated his 56th birthday in the Führerbunker ("Führer's shelter") below the Reichskanzlei (Reich Chancellery). Elsewhere, the garrison commander of the besieged Festung Breslau ("fortress Breslau"), General Hermann Niehoff, had chocolates distributed to his troops in honour of Hitler's birthday. Twelfth Army was to link up with Ninth Army and break through to the city. Wenck did attack and, in the confusion, made temporary contact with the Potsdam garrison. But the link with the Ninth Army, like the plan in general, was ultimately unsuccessful. Hitler then retired to bed. Hitler had a general plan, even before the rise of the Nazis to power, to destroy Christianity within the Reich. His intention was to wait until the war was over to destroy the influence of Christianity.

Hitler for a time advocated for Germans a form of the Christian faith he called "Positive Christianity", Hitler ridiculed such beliefs in Mein Kampf. Kershaw also notes that it is usually taken for granted that Hitler did so and was to some extent influence by the occult publication, pointing to Hitler's account of conversion to anti-semitism after reading some unnamed anti-semitic pamphlets. syphilis, Asperger syndrome. Some historians have cited Hitler's preoccupation with syphilis across 14 pages of Mein Kampf, where he called it a "Jewish disease", leading to speculation he may have had the disease himself. His possible discovery in 1908 that he had the disease may have been responsible for his demeanor; while his life course may have been influenced by his anger at being a syphilitic, as well as his belief that he had acquired the disease from undesirable societal elements which he intended to eliminate. In several chapters of Mein Kampf, he wrote about the temptation of prostitution and the spreading of syphilis, specifically volume 1, chapter 10 "Causes of the Collapse".

In his biography of Doctor Felix Kersten called The Man with the Miraculous Hands,

Sexuality

, whom he married 29 April 1945]] Hitler presented himself publicly as a man without a domestic life, dedicated entirely to his political mission. He had a fiancée in the 1920s, Mimi Reiter, and later had a mistress, Eva Braun. He had a close bond with his half-niece Geli Raubal, which some commentators have claimed was sexual, though there is no evidence that proves this. All three women attempted suicide (two succeeded), a fact that has led to speculation that Hitler may have had sexual fetishes, such as urolagnia (aroused by urine or urination), as was claimed by Otto Strasser, a political opponent of Hitler. Reiter, the only one to survive the Nazi regime, denied this. Some theorists have claimed that Hitler had a relationship with British fascist Unity Mitford. Lothar Machtan argues in The Hidden Hitler that Hitler was homosexual.

Family

Paula Hitler, the last living member of Adolf Hitler's immediate family, died in 1960.

The most prominent and longest-living direct descendant of Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, was Adolf's nephew William Patrick Hitler. With his wife Phyllis, he eventually moved to Long Island, New York, changed his last name, and had four sons. None of William Hitler's children have had any children of their own.

Over the years, various investigative reporters have attempted to track down other distant relatives of the Führer. Many are now alleged to be living inconspicuous lives and have long since changed their last name.

Klara Hitler, mother

Alois Hitler, father

Alois Hitler, Jr., half-brother

Angela Hitler Raubal, half-sister

Bridget Dowling, sister-in-law

Eva Braun, mistress and then wife

Geli Raubal, niece

Gretl Braun, sister-in-law through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun

Heinz Hitler, nephew

Hermann Fegelein, brother-in-law through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun

Ilse Braun, sister-in-law through Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun

Johann Georg Hiedler, presumed grandfather

Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, maternal great-grandfather, presumed great uncle and possibly Hitler's true paternal grandfather

Leo Raubal Jr, nephew

Maria Schicklgruber, grandmother

Paula Hitler, sister

William Patrick Hitler, nephew

Hitler in media

Oratory and rallies

Hitler was a gifted orator who captivated many with his beating of the lectern and growling, emotional speech. He honed his skills by giving speeches to soldiers during 1919 and 1920. He became adept at telling people what they wanted to hear (the stab-in-the-back, the Jewish-Marxist plot to conquer the world, and the betrayal of Germany in the Versailles treaty) and identifying a scapegoat for their plight. Over time, Hitler perfected his delivery by rehearsing in front of mirrors and carefully choreographing his display of emotions. He was allegedly coached by Erik-Jan Hanussen, a self-styled clairvoyant who focused on hand and arm gestures and who, ironically, had Jewish heritage. Munitions minister and architect Albert Speer, who may have known Hitler as well as anyone, said that Hitler was above all else an actor.

(June 1942)]] Massive Nazi rallies staged by Speer were designed to spark a process of self-persuasion for the participants. By participating in the rallies, by marching, by shouting heil, and by making the stiff armed salute, the participants strengthened their commitment to the Nazi movement. This process can be appreciated by watching Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, which presents the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. The camera shoots Hitler from on high and from below, but only twice head-on. These camera angles give Hitler a Christ-like aura. Some of the people in the film are paid actors, but most of the participants are not. Whether the film itself recruited new Nazis out of theatre audiences is unknown. The process of self-persuasion may have affected Hitler. He gave the same speech (though it got smoother and smoother with repetition) hundreds of times first to soldiers and then to audiences in beer halls.

Recorded in private conversation

Hitler visited Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim on 4 June 1942. During the visit an engineer of the Finnish broadcasting company YLE, Thor Damen, recorded Hitler and Mannerheim in conversation, something which had to be done secretly since Hitler never allowed recordings of him off-guard. Today the recording is the only known recording of Hitler not speaking in an official tone. The recording captures 11½ minutes of the two leaders in private conversation. Hitler speaks in a slightly excited, but still intellectually detached manner during this talk (the speech has been compared to that of the working class). The majority of the recording is a monologue by Hitler. In the recording, Hitler admits to underestimating the Soviet Union's ability to conduct war.

Patria picture disc

Adolf Hitler even released a 7-inch picture disc with one of his speeches. Known as the Patria (Fatherland) picture disc, the obverse bears an image of Hitler giving a speech and has a recording of both a speech by Hitler and also Party Member Hans Hinkel. The reverse bears a hand holding a swastika flag and the Carl Woitschach recording (1933 – Telefunken A 1431) "In Dem Kampf um die Heimat – Faschistenmarsch".

Documentaries during the Third Reich

Hitler appeared in and was involved to varying degrees with a series of films by the pioneering filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl via Universum Film AG (UFA):

Der Sieg des Glaubens (Victory of Faith, 1933).

Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will, 1934), co-produced by Hitler.

(Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces, 1935).

Olympia (1938).

Hitler was the central figure of the first three films; they focused on the party rallies of the respective years and are considered propaganda films. Hitler also featured prominently in the Olympia film. Whether the latter is a propaganda film or a true documentary is still a subject of controversy, but it nonetheless perpetuated and spread the propagandistic message of the 1936 Olympic Games depicting Nazi Germany as a prosperous and peaceful country. As a prominent politician, Hitler was featured in many newsreels.

Television

Hitler's attendance at various public functions, including the 1936 Olympic Games and Nuremberg Rallies, appeared on television broadcasts made between 1935 and 1939. These events, along with other programming highlighting activity by public officials, were often repeated in public viewing rooms. Samples from a number of surviving television films from Nazi Germany were included in the 1999 documentary Das Fernsehen unter dem Hakenkreuz (Television Under the Swastika).

Documentaries post Third Reich

The World at War (1974): a Thames Television series which contains much information about Hitler and Nazi Germany, including an interview with his secretary, Traudl Junge.

Adolf Hitler's Last Days: from the BBC series "Secrets of World War II" tells the story about Hitler's last days during World War II.

The Nazis: A Warning From History (1997): six-part BBC TV series on how the cultured and educated Germans accepted Hitler and the Nazis up to its downfall. Historical consultant is Ian Kershaw.

Cold War (1998): a CNN series about the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The series begins with World War II footage, including Hitler, and how the Cold War began in earnest after Germany surrendered.

Im toten Winkel – Hitlers Sekretärin (Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary) (2002): an exclusive 90 minute interview with Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary. Made by Austrian Jewish director André Heller shortly before Junge's death from lung cancer, Junge recalls the last days in the Berlin bunker. Clips of the interview were used in Downfall (film).

Undergångens arkitektur (The Architecture of Doom) (1989): documentary about the National Socialist aesthetic as envisioned by Hitler.

Das Fernsehen unter dem Hakenkreuz (Television Under the Swastika) (1999): documentary by Michael Kloft about the domestic use of television in Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes from 1935 to 1944.

Ruins of the Reich (2007): four-part series of the Rise and Fall of Hitler's Reich and its effects, created by Third Reich historian R.J. Adams

Films and series

Fritz Diez depicted Hitler in Ernst Thälmann - Führer seiner Klasse (East Germany, 1955), Die gefrorene Blitze (East Germany, 1967), Já, spravedlnost (Czechoslovakia, 1967), Osvobozhdenie (1970-1, Soviet Union), 17 Moments of Spring (1973, TV production, Soviet Union), Vibor Tzeli (1974, Soviet Union) and Soldaty Svobodee (1977, Soviet Union).

The Death of Adolf Hitler, a British (7 January 1973) made-for-television production, starring Frank Finlay. The movie depicts the last days of Hitler.

(1973): movie depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's death, starring Sir Alec Guinness.

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's Hitler – Ein Film aus Deutschland () (1977): a seven-hour work in four parts. The director uses documentary clips, photographic backgrounds, puppets, theatrical stages, and other elements.

The Bunker (1981): a U.S. made-for-television movie describing the last days in the Führerbunker covering 17 January 1945 to 2 May 1945. The film stars Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Europa, Europa (1990): based on the true story of a German Jew who joined the Hitler Youth in order to avoid capture. Hitler is portrayed by Ryszard Pietruski.

Fatherland (1994): a hypothetical view of Germany in 1964, had Hitler won World War II, adapted from the novel by former journalist Robert Harris.

The Empty Mirror (1996): a psychodrama which speculates on the events following Hitler (portrayed by Norman Rodway) surviving the fall of Nazi Germany.

Moloch (1999): Hitler portrayed by Leonid Mozgovoy in a fictional drama set at his Berghof Retreat in the Bavarian Alps.

Max (2002): fictional drama depicting a friendship between Jewish art dealer Max Rothman (John Cusack) and a young Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor) as a failed painter in Vienna.

(2003): two-part TV series about the early years of Adolf Hitler and his rise to power (up to 1933), starring Robert Carlyle.

Der Untergang (Downfall) (2004): German movie about the last days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, starring Bruno Ganz. This film is partly based on the autobiography of Traudl Junge, a favorite secretary of Hitler's. In 2002, Junge said she felt great guilt for "... liking the greatest criminal ever to have lived."

Valkyrie (2008): Hitler, played by David Bamber, is portrayed as a target of the famous assassination plot by Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg.

Plays

Dr Freud Will See You Now Mr Hitler (2008): radio drama by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran presenting an imagined scenario in which Sigmund Freud treats the young Hitler. Toby Jones played Hitler.

See also

Adolf Hitler's directives

Führermuseum

Glossary of Nazi Germany

Glossary of German military terms

List of books by or about Adolf Hitler

List of former Nazi Party members

List of Nazi Party leaders and officials

Poison Kitchen

Footnotes

References

Fischer, Thomas. Soldiers Of the Leibstandarte. J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc. 2008. ISBN 978-0-921991-91-5.

Joachimsthaler, Anton (1999), The Last Days of Hitler – The Legends – The Evidence – The Truth, Brockhampton Press, ISBN 1-86019-902-X

Linge, Heinz (2008), With Hitler to the End. Frontline Books-Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-60239-804-6.

}}

Further reading

Medical books

External links

;Images and videos (The Character portrayed in film and television)

Color Footage of Hitler during WWII

Adolf Hitler: Up Close - slideshow by Life magazine

Download "The Young Hitler I Knew" on archive.org

Did Hitler have only one testicle? from The Straight Dope

OSS document alleging sexual deviancy

History Channel's Episode – High Hitler

;Speeches and publications

A speech from 1932 (text and audiofile), German Museum of History Berlin

Hitler's book Mein Kampf (full English translation)

Adolf Hitler's Private Will, Marriage Certificate and Political Testament, April 1945 (34 pages)

"The Discovery of Hitler's Wills" Office of Strategic Services report on how the testament was found

The Testament of Adolf Hitler the Bormann-Hitler documents">The Testament of Adolf Hitler the Bormann-Hitler documents (transcripts of conversations in February–2 April 1945)

|years=1933–1945|after=Joseph Goebbels}} |years=1934–1945|after=Karl Dönitz (as President)}}

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For the Kenyan economist, Obama's father, see Barack Obama, Sr.

Name	Barack Obama
Alt	A portrait shot of a serious looking middle-aged African-American male (Barack Obama) looking straight ahead. He has short black hair, and is wearing a dark navy blazer with a blue striped tie over a light blue collared shirt. In the background are two flags hanging from separate flagpoles: an American flag, and one from the Executive Office of the President.
Order	44th
Office	President of the United States
Vicepresident	Joe Biden
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	George W. Bush
Jr/sr2	United States Senator
State2	Illinois
Term start2	January 3, 2005
Term end2	November 16, 2008
Predecessor2	Peter Fitzgerald
Successor2	Roland Burris
State senate3	Illinois
State3	Illinois
District3	13th
Term start3	January 8, 1997
Term end3	November 4, 2004
Predecessor3	Alice Palmer
Successor3	Kwame Raoul
Birth date	August 04, 1961
Party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Michelle Robinson Obama
Children	MaliaSasha
Residence	White House (official)Chicago, Illinois (private)
Alma mater	Occidental CollegeColumbia UniversityHarvard University
Profession	Community organizerLawyerConstitutional law professorAuthor
Religion	Christianity
Signature	Barack Obama signature.svg
Signature alt	Barack Obama
Website	The White HouseBarack Obama
Footnotes

Barack Hussein Obama II (; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008.

A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.

Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid against a Democratic incumbent for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he ran for United States Senate in 2004. Obama Sr. remarried and returned to Kenya, visiting Barack in Hawaii only once, in 1971. He died in an automobile accident in 1982. In February 1981, he made his first public speech, calling for Occidental's divestment from South Africa. In mid-1981, Obama traveled to Indonesia to visit his mother and sister Maya, and visited the families of college friends in India and Pakistan for three weeks.

Later in 1981 he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relationsreprinted in: In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time. from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago. Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations,

University of Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney

In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years—as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004—teaching constitutional law. In 1993 he joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.

From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project, and of the Joyce Foundation. He served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.

Legislative career: 1997–2008

State Senator: 1997–2004

Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from Illinois's 13th District, which at that time spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park – Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn.

In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority. Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally, and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war.

Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race resulted in wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.

In July 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts,

Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004.

U.S. Senator: 2005–2008

, on October 28, 2006.]] Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4, 2005, (the ranking has been criticized by liberal groups such as Media Matters for America

Legislation

(R-OK) and Obama discussing the Coburn–Obama Transparency Act Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.

Presidential campaign: 2008

, Illinois, Feb. 10, 2007.]] On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for president of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7, 2008. Obama delivered his acceptance speech, not at the convention center where the Democratic National Convention was held, on November 10, 2008.]]

During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976. On November 4, Obama won the presidency by winning 365 electoral votes to 173 received by McCain, capturing 52.9% of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7%, which is being distributed over the course of several years.

, Colorado. Vice President Joe Biden stands behind him.]] In March, Obama's Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, took further steps to manage the financial crisis, including introducing the Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets, which contains provisions for buying up to $2 trillion in depreciated real estate assets. Obama intervened in the troubled automotive industry The CBO released a report stating that the stimulus bill increased employment by 1–2.1 million, He proposed an expansion of health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured, to cap premium increases, and to allow people to retain their coverage when they leave or change jobs. His proposal was to spend $900 billion over 10 years and include a government insurance plan, also known as the public option, to compete with the corporate insurance sector as a main component to lowering costs and improving quality of health care. It would also make it illegal for insurers to drop sick people or deny them coverage for pre-existing conditions, and require every American carry health coverage. The plan also includes medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive plans. Obama's granting of his first television interview as president to an Arabic cable network, Al Arabiya, was seen as an attempt to reach out to Arab leaders. .]] On June 26, 2009, in response to the Iranian government's actions towards protesters following Iran's 2009 presidential election, Obama said: "The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. We see it and we condemn it." On December 1, 2009, Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 military personnel to Afghanistan. During his pre-inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, Obama has delivered a series of weekly Internet video addresses. He plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.]] Obama is a well known supporter of the Chicago White Sox, and threw out the first pitch at the 2005 ALCS when he was still a senator.

In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.See also: Their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5 million—up from about $4.2 million in 2007 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.

On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views saying "I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me." Obama resigned from Trinity during the Presidential campaign after controversial statements made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright became public. After a prolonged effort to find a church to attend regularly in Washington, Obama announced in June 2009 that his primary place of worship would be the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David.

Notes

}}

References

Further reading

Curry, Jessica. "Barack Obama: Under the Lights", Chicago Life, Fall 2004. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

Graff, Garrett. "The Legend of Barack Obama", Washingtonian, November 1, 2006. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

Koltun, Dave (2005) "The 2004 Illinois Senate Race: Obama Wins Open Seat and Becomes National Political "Star"" in "The Road to Congress 2004" Editors: Sunil Ahuja (Youngstown State University) and Robert Dewhirst (Truman State University), Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, New York, Binding: Hardcover Pub. Date: 2005, ISBN 1-59454-360-7

Lizza, Ryan. "Above the Fray", GQ, September 2007. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.

MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", New Yorker, May 7, 2007. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

McClelland, Edward, Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President, Bloomsbury Press, 2010.

Mundy, Liza. "A Series of Fortunate Events", The Washington Post Magazine, August 12, 2007. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

Zutter, Hank De. "What Makes Obama Run?", Chicago Reader, December 8, 1995. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

External links

;Official sites

President Barack Obama official White House website

* Full transcript and video of President Obama's inaugural address (from whitehouse.gov)

BarackObama.com (official website)

;Directories ;News media

Collected news and commentary at The New York Times

;Government service links

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