Who Is Jeff Bezos?

Entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Bezos had an early love of computers and studied computer science and electrical
engineering at Princeton University. After graduation he worked on Wall Street, and in 1990 he
became the youngest senior vice president at the investment firm D.E. Shaw. Four years later, he
quit his lucrative job to open Amazon.com, a virtual bookstore that became one of the internet's
biggest success stories. In 2013, Bezos purchased The Washington Post in a $250 million deal. His
successful business ventures have made him one of the richest people in the world.

Early Life and Career

Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a teenage mother,
Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen, and his biological father, Ted Jorgensen. The Jorgensens were married
less than a year, and when Bezos was 4 years old his mother re-married, to Cuban immigrant Mike
Bezos.

As a child, Jeff Bezos showed an early interest in how things work, turning his parents' garage into
a laboratory and rigging electrical contraptions around his house. He moved to Miami with his
family as a teenager, where he developed a love for computers and graduated valedictorian of his
high school. It was during high school that he started his first business, the Dream Institute, an
educational summer camp for fourth, fifth and sixth graders.

Bezos pursued his interest in computers at Princeton University, where he graduated summa cum
laude in 1986 with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering. After graduation, he
found work at several firms on Wall Street, including Fitel, Bankers Trust and the investment firm
D.E. Shaw. It was there he met his wife, Mackenzie, and became the company's youngest vice
president in 1990.

While his career in finance was extremely lucrative, Bezos chose to make a risky move into the
nascent world of e-commerce. He quit his job in 1994, moved to Seattle and targeted the untapped
potential of the internet market by opening an online bookstore.

Launching Amazon.com
Bezos set up the office for his fledgling company in his garage where, along with a few employees,
he began developing software. They expanded operations into a two-bedroom house, equipped
with three Sun Microstations, and eventually developed a test site. After inviting 300 friends to
beta test the site, Bezos opened Amazon.com, named after the meandering South American River,
on July 16, 1995.

The initial success of the company was meteoric. With no press promotion, Amazon.com sold
books across the United States and in 45 foreign countries within 30 days. In two months, sales
reached $20,000 a week, growing faster than Bezos and his start-up team had envisioned.

Amazon.com went public in 1997, leading many market analysts to question whether the company
could hold its own when traditional retailers launched their own e-commerce sites. Two years later,
the start-up not only kept up, but also outpaced competitors, becoming an e-commerce leader.

Bezos continued to diversify Amazons offerings with the sale of CDs and videos in 1998, and
later clothes, electronics, toys and more through major retail partnerships. While many dot.coms
of the early '90s went bust, Amazon flourished with yearly sales that jumped from $510,000 in
1995 to over $17 billion in 2011.

In 2006, Amazon.com launched its video on demand service; initially known as Amazon Unbox
on TiVo, it was eventually rebranded as Amazon Instant Video. In 2007, the company released the
Kindle, a handheld digital book reader that allowed users to buy, download, read and store their
book selections. That same year, Bezos announced his investment in Blue Origin, a Seattle-based
aerospace company that develops technologies to offer space travel to paying customers.

Bezos entered Amazon into the tablet marketplace with the unveiling of the Kindle Fire in 2011.
The following September, he announced the new Kindle Fire HD, the company's next generation
tablet designed to give Apple's iPad a run for its money. "We haven't built the best tablet at a
certain price. We have built the best tablet at any price," Bezos said, according to ABC News.

Buying 'The Washington Post'

Bezos made headlines worldwide on August 5, 2013, when he purchased The Washington Post and
other publications affiliated with its parent company, The Washington Post Co., for $250 million.
The deal marked the end of the four-generation reign over The Post Co. by the Graham family,
which included Donald E. Graham, the company's chairman and chief executive, and his
niece, Post publisher Katharine Weymouth.

"The Post could have survived under the company's ownership and been profitable for the
foreseeable future," Graham stated, in an effort to explain the transaction. "But we wanted to do
more than survive. I'm not saying this guarantees success, but it gives us a much greater chance of
success."

In a statement to Post employees on August 5, Bezos wrote: "The values of The Post do not need
changing. ...There will, of course, be change at The Post over the coming years. That's essential
and would have happened with or without new ownership. The internet is transforming almost
every element of the news business: shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable revenue
sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear little or no news-gathering
costs. There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which
means we will need to experiment. Our touchstone will be readers, understanding what they care
aboutgovernment, local leaders, restaurant openings, scout troops, businesses, charities,
governors, sportsand working backwards from there. I'm excited and optimistic about the
opportunity for invention."

Amazon Prime & Amazon Studios

In early December 2013, Bezos made headlines when he revealed a new, experimental initiative
by Amazon, called "Amazon Prime Air," using dronesremote-controlled machines that can
perform an array of human tasksto provide delivery services to customers. According to Bezos,
these drones are able to carry items weighing up to five pounds, and are capable of traveling within
a 10-mile distance of the company's distribution center. He also stated that Prime Air could become
a reality within as little as four or five years.

Bezos oversaw one of Amazon's few major missteps when the company launched the Fire Phone
in 2014; criticized for being too gimmicky, it was discontinued the following year. However,
Bezos did score a victory with the development of original content through Amazon Studios. After
premiering several new programs in 2013, Amazon hit it big in 2014 with the critically
acclaimed Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle. In 2015, the company produced and released
Spike Lee's Chi-Raq as its first original feature film.
In 2016, Bezos stepped in front of the camera for a cameo appearance playing an alien in Star Trek
Beyond. A Star Trek fan since childhood, Bezos is listed as a Starfleet Official in the movie credits
on IMDb.

In July 2017, Bezos briefly surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the richest person
in the world, according to Bloomberg. Gates, who was the richest person in the world since 2013,
made $90.7 billion, shy of Bezos' worth of $90.9 billion, which rose with a surge in Amazon.com
Inc. shares. However, by the close of the market, Gates' net worth climbed to $90 billion while
Bezos' had a net worth of over $89 billion.
Winston Churchill
Prime Minister (18741965)

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill

As prime minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Winston Churchill rallied the British people during
WWII, and led his country from the brink of defeat to victory.

QUOTES

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.

Synopsis

Born to an aristocratic family in 1874, Winston Churchill served in the British military and worked
as a writer before going into politics. After becoming prime minister in 1940, he helped lead a
successful Allied strategy with the U.S. and Soviet Union during WWII to defeat the Axis powers
and craft post-war peace. Elected prime minister again in 1951, he introduced key domestic
reforms. Churchill died at age 90 in 1965.

Early Life

Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born to an aristocratic family on November 30, 1874. As
his life unfolded, he displayed the traits of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, a British statesman
from an established English family, and his mother, Jeanette "Jennie" Jerome, an independent-
minded New York socialite.

As a young child, Churchill grew up in Dublin, Ireland, where his father was employed by his
grandfather, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, John Spencer-Churchill. When he entered formal
school, Churchill proved to be an independent and rebellious student. He did poorly at his first two
schools and in April 1888, he was sent to Harrow School, a boarding school near London. Within
weeks of his enrollment, he joined the Harrow Rifle Corps, which put him on a path to a military
career.

At first it didn't seem the military was a good choice for Churchill. It took him three tries to pass
the exam for the British Royal Military College. However, once there, he did well and graduated
20th in his class of 130. Up to this time, his relationship with both his mother and father was
distant, though he adored them both. While at school, Churchill wrote emotional letters to his
mother, begging her to come see him, but she seldom came. His father died when he was 21, and
it was said that Churchill knew him more by reputation than by any close relationship they shared.

Churchill enjoyed a brief but eventful career in the British Army at a zenith of British military
power. He joined the Fourth Hussars in 1895 and served in the Indian northwest frontier and the
Sudan, where he saw action in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. While in the Army, he wrote
military reports for newspapers The Pioneer and the Daily Telegraph, and two books on his
experiences, The Story of the Malakand Field Force(1898) and The River War (1899).

In 1899, Churchill left the Army and worked as a war correspondent for the Morning Post, a
conservative daily newspaper. While reporting on the Boer War in South Africa, he was taken
prisoner by the Boers while on a scouting expedition. He made headlines when he escaped,
traveling almost 300 miles to Portuguese territory in Mozambique. Upon his return to Britain, he
wrote about his experiences in the book London to Ladysmith (1900).

Early Careers: Government and Military

In 1900, Churchill became a member of Parliament in the Conservative Party for Oldham, a town
in Manchester. Following his father into politics, he also followed his father's sense of
independence, becoming a supporter of social reform. Unconvinced that the Conservative Party
was committed to social justice, Churchill switched to the Liberal Party in 1904. He was elected a
member of Parliament in 1908, and was appointed to the prime minister's cabinet as president of
the Board of Trade. That same year, he married Clementine Ogilvy Hozier, after a short courtship.

As president of the Board of Trade, he joined newly appointed Chancellor Lloyd George in
opposing the expansion of the British Navy. Also in 1908, he introduced several reforms for the
prison system, introduced the first minimum wage, and helped set up labor exchanges for the
unemployed and unemployment insurance. Churchill assisted in the passing of the People's
Budget, which introduced new taxes on the wealthy to pay for new social welfare programs. The
budget passed the House of Commons in 1909, but was initially defeated in the House of Lords,
before being passed in 1910. He also drafted a controversial piece of legislation to amend the
Mental Deficiency Act of 1913, mandating sterilization of the feeble-minded. The bill eventually
passed both Houses with only the remedy of confinement in institutions.

In January 1911, Churchill showed his tougher side when he made a controversial visit to a police
siege in London. Police had surrounded a house where two robbers had been caught. Churchill's
degree of participation is still in some dispute. Some accounts have him going to the scene only to
see for himself what was going on; others state that he allegedly gave directions to police on how
to best storm the building. What is known is that the house caught fire during the siege and
Churchill prevented the fire brigade from extinguishing the flames, stating that he thought it better
to "let the house burn down," rather than risk lives rescuing the occupants. The bodies of the two
robbers were found inside the charred ruins.

While serving as first lord of the Admiralty, Churchill helped modernize the British Navy, ordering
that new warships be built with oil-fired instead of coal-fired engines. He was one of the first to
promote military aircraft and set up the Royal Navy Air Service. So enthusiastic was he about
aviation that he took flying lessons to understand firsthand its military potential. Though not
directly involved in the disastrous Battle of Gallipoli, Churchill resigned his post because he felt
responsible for proposing the expedition. For a brief period, he rejoined the British Army,
commanding a battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front and seeing action in "no
man's land." In 1917, he was appointed minister of munitions for the final year of the war,
overseeing the production of tanks, airplanes and munitions.

From 1919 to 1922, Churchill served as minister of war and air and colonial secretary under Prime
Minister David Lloyd George. As colonial secretary, Churchill was embroiled in another
controversy when he ordered air power to be used on rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq, a British
holding. At one point, he suggested that poisonous gas be used to put down the rebellion. This
proposal was considered but never enacted, though the conventional bombing campaign was and
failed to end the resistance.

Fractures in the Liberal Party led to the defeat of Churchill as a Member of Parliament in 1922,
and he rejoined the Conservative Party. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, returning
Britain to the gold standard, and took a hard line against a general labor strike that threatened to
cripple the British economy. With the defeat of the Conservative government in 1929, Churchill
was out of government. He was perceived as a right-wing extremist, out of touch with the people.
He spent the next few years concentrating on his writing and published A History of English
Speaking Peoples.

World War II

Though not at first seeing the threat that Adolf Hitler posed when he rose to power in 1933,
Churchill gradually became a leading advocate for British rearmament. By 1938, as Germany
began controlling its neighbors, Churchill had become a staunch critic of Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain's policy of appeasement toward the Nazis.

On September 3, 1939, the day that Britain declared war on Germany, Churchill was appointed
first lord of the Admiralty and a member of the war cabinet, and by April 1940, he became
chairman of the Military Coordinating Committee. Later that month, Germany invaded and
occupied Norway, a setback for Neville Chamberlain, who had resisted Churchill's proposal that
Britain preempt German aggression by unilaterally occupying vital Norwegian iron mines and sea
ports.

In May, debate in Parliament on the Norwegian crisis led to a vote of no confidence toward Prime
Minister Chamberlain. On May 10, King George VI appointed Churchill as prime minister and
minister of defense. Within hours, the German Army began its Western Offensive, invading the
Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Two days later, German forces entered France. Britain
stood alone against the onslaught.

Quickly, Churchill formed a coalition cabinet of leaders from the Labor, Liberal and Conservative
parties. He placed intelligent and talented men in key positions. On June 18, 1940, Churchill made
one of his iconic speeches to the House of Commons, warning that "the Battle of Britain" was
about to begin. Churchill kept resistance to Nazi dominance alive, and created the foundation for
an alliance with the United States and the Soviet Union. Churchill had previously cultivated a
relationship with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, and by March 1941, he was
able to secure vital U.S. aid through the Lend Lease Act, which allowed Britain to order war goods
from the United States on credit.

After the United States entered World War II, in December 1941, Churchill was confident that the
Allies would eventually win the war. In the months that followed, Churchill worked closely with
U.S. President Roosevelt and Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin to forge an Allied war strategy
and post-war world. In meetings in Teheran (1943), Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam (July
1945), Churchill collaborated with the two leaders to develop a united strategy against the Axis
Powers, and helped craft the post-war world with the United Nations as its centerpiece. As the war
wound down, Churchill proposed plans for social reforms in Britain, but was unable to convince
the public. He was defeated in the general election in July 1945.

During the next six years, Churchill became the leader of the opposition party and continued to
have an impact on world affairs. In March 1946, while on a visit to the United States, he made his
famous "Iron Curtain" speech, warning of Soviet domination in Eastern Europe. He also advocated
that Britain remain independent from European coalitions and maintain its independence.

After the general election of 1951, Churchill returned to government. He was appointed minister
of defense between October 1951 and January 1952, and became prime minister in October 1951.
In 1953, Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He introduced reforms such as the Mines
and Quarries Act of 1954, which improved working conditions in mines, and the Housing Repairs
and Rent Act of 1955, which established standards for housing. These domestic reforms were
overshadowed by a series of foreign policy crises in the colonies of Kenya and Malaya, where
Churchill ordered direct military action. While successful in putting down the rebellions, it became
clear that Britain was no longer able to sustain its colonial rule.

Later Years and Death

Churchill had shown signs of fragile health as early as 1941, while visiting the White House. At
that time, he suffered a mild heart attack and, in 1943, he had a similar attack while battling a bout
of pneumonia. In June 1953, at age 78, he suffered from a series of strokes at his office. The news
was kept from the public and Parliament, with the official announcement stating that he had
suffered from exhaustion. He recuperated at home, and returned to his work as prime minister in
October. However, it was apparent even to him that he was physically and mentally slowing down.
Churchill retired as prime minister in 1955. He remained a Member of Parliament until the general
election of 1964, when he did not seek re-election.

There was speculation that Churchill suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his last years, but many
medical experts feel that his reduced mental capacity was more a result of the strokes he had
suffered. Despite his poor health, Churchill was able to remain active in public life, albeit mostly
from the comfort of his homes in Kent and Hyde Park Gate, in London.

On January 15, 1965, Churchill suffered a severe stroke that left him gravely ill. He died at his
London home nine days later, at age 90, on January 24, 1965. Britain mourned for more than a
week.
Adolf Hitler
Dictator, Military Leader (18891945)

DID YOU KNOW?

Adolf Hitler wanted to be a painter in his youth, but his applications to obtain proper schooling
were rejected.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hitler personally designed the Nazi party banner, appropriating the swastika symbol and placing
it in a white circle on a red background.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hitler avoided multiple assassination attempts by chance.

QUOTES

Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal
struggle do not deserve to live.

Who Was Adolf Hitler?

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 to April 30, 1945) was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945,
serving as dictator and leader of the Nazi Party, or National Socialist German Workers Party, for
the bulk of his time in power. Hitlers policies precipitated World War II and led to the genocide
known as the Holocaust, which resulted in the deaths of some six million Jews and another five
million noncombatants. With defeat on the horizon, Hitler committed suicide with wife Eva
Braun on April 30, 1945, in his Berlin bunker.

Birthday

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889.

Family

The fourth of six children, Adolf Hitler was born to Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. As a child, Hitler
clashed frequently with his emotionally harsh father, who also didn't approve of his son's later
interest in fine art as a career. Following the death of his younger brother, Edmund, in 1900, Hitler
became detached and introverted.

Early Life and Painting

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.

In 1903, Hitlers father died suddenly. Two years later, Adolf's mother allowed her son to drop out
of school. After her death in December 1907, Hitler moved to Vienna and worked as a casual
laborer and watercolor painter. Hitler applied to the Academy of Fine Arts twice and was rejected
both times. Lacking money outside of an orphan's pension and funds from selling postcards, he
stayed in homeless shelters. Hitler later pointed to these years as the time when he first cultivated
his anti-Semitism, though there is some debate about this account.

In 1913, Hitler relocated to Munich. At the outbreak of World War I, he applied to serve in the
German army. He was accepted in August 1914, though he was still an Austrian citizen. Although
Hitler spent much of his time away from the front lines (with some reports that his recollections
of his time on the field were generally exaggerated), he 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 purportedly 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.

Hitler and the Nazis

After World War I, Hitler returned to Munich and continued to work for the German military. As
an intelligence officer, he monitored the activities of the German Workers Party (DAP) and
adopted many of the anti-Semitic, nationalist and anti-Marxist ideas of party founder Anton
Drexler. In September 1919, Hitler joined the DAP, which changed its name to the National
sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter partei (NSDAP) often abbreviated to Nazi.
Hitler personally designed the Nazi party banner, appropriating the swastika symbol and placing
it in a white circle on a red background. He soon gained notoriety for his vitriolic speeches against
the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians, Marxists and Jews. In 1921, Hitler replaced Drexler as
the Nazi party chairman.

Hitler's fervid 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.

Beer Hall Putsch

On November 8, 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting featuring Bavarian prime
minister Gustav Kahr 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 that led to
several deaths, the coup known as the "Beer Hall Putsch" failed. Hitler was arrested and tried for
high treason and sentenced to nine months in prison.

Hitlers Book, 'Mein Kampf'

During Hitlers nine months in prison in 1924, he dictated most of the first volume of his
autobiographical book and political manifesto, Mein Kampf("My Struggle"), to his deputy, Rudolf
Hess. The first volume was published in 1925, and a second volume came out in 1927. It was
abridged and translated into 11 languages, selling more than five million copies by 1939. A work
of propaganda and falsehoods, the book laid out Hitler's plans for transforming German society
into one based on race.

In the first volume, Hitler shared his Anti-Semitic, pro-Aryan worldview along with his sense of
betrayal at the outcome of World War I, calling for revenge against France and expansion
eastward into Russia. The second volume outlined his plan to gain and maintain power. While
often illogical and full of grammatical errors, Mein Kampf was provocative and subversive,
making it appealing to the many Germans who felt displaced at the end of World War I.

Rise to Power

With millions unemployed, 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 84-year-old Paul von Hindenburg for the presidency. Hitler
came in second in both rounds of the election, garnering more than 36 percent of the vote in the
final count. The results 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 parliament, 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 for 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. In October of that year, Hitler
ordered Germany's withdrawal from the League of Nations.

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. Rohm,
a perceived rival, 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, combining its powers with those of the chancellor. Hitler thus became head of
state as well as head of government and was formally named leader and chancellor. As head of
state, Hitler became supreme commander of the armed forces.

Hitler as a Vegan
Hitlers self-imposed dietary restrictions included abstinence from alcohol and meat (or
veganism). Fueled by fanaticism over what he believed was a superior Aryan race, he encouraged
Germans to keep their bodies pure of any intoxicating or unclean substances and promoted anti-
smoking campaigns across the country.

Hitlers Laws and Regulations Against Jews

From 1933 until the start of the war in 1939, Hitler and his Nazi regime instituted hundreds of laws
and regulations to restrict and exclude Jews in society. These Anti-Semitic laws were issued
throughout all levels of government, making good on the Nazis pledge to persecute Jews.

On April 1, 1933, Hitler implemented a national boycott of Jewish businesses. This was followed
by the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service" of April 7, 1933, which excluded
Jews from state service. The law was a Nazi implementation of the Aryan Paragraph, which called
for the exclusion of Jews and non-Aryans from organizations, employment and eventually all
aspects of public life.

Antisemitism in Germany: on 1 April 1933 SA troopers urge a national boycott of Jewish

businesses. Here they are outside Israel's Department Store in Berlin. The signs read: "Germans!
Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews." ("Deutsche! Wehrt Euch! Kauft nicht bei Juden!"). The
store was later ransacked during Kristallnacht in 1938, then handed over to a non-Jewish family.

Additional legislation restricted the number of Jewish students at schools and universities, limited
Jews working in medical and legal professions, and revoked the licenses of Jewish tax consultants.
The Main Office for Press and Propaganda of the German Student Union also called for "Action
against the Un-German Spirit, prompting students to burn more than 25,000 Un-German books,
ushering in an era of censorship and Nazi propaganda. By 1934, Jewish actors were forbidden
from performing in film or in the theater.

On September 15, 1935, the Reichstag introduced the Nuremberg Laws, which defined a "Jew" as
anyone with three or four grandparents who were Jewish, regardless of whether the person
considered themselves Jewish or observed the religion. The Nuremberg Laws also set forth the
"Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour," which banned marriage between
non-Jewish and Jewish Germans; and the Reich Citizenship Law, which deprived "non-Aryans"
of the benefits of German citizenship.

In 1936, Hitler and his regime muted their Anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions when Germany hosted
the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, in an effort to avoid criticism on the world stage and a
negative impact on tourism.

After the Olympics, the Nazi persecution of Jews intensified with the continued "Aryanization" of
Jewish businesses, which involved the firing of Jewish workers and takeover by non-Jewish
owners. The Nazis continued to segregate Jews from German society, banning them from public
school, universities, theaters, sports events and "Aryan" zones. Jewish doctors were also barred
from treating "Aryan" patients. Jews were required to carry identity cards and, in the fall of 1938,
Jewish people had to have their passports stamped with a "J."

On November 9 and 10, 1938, a wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms swept Germany, Austria and
parts of the Sudetenland. Nazis destroyed synagogues and vandalized Jewish homes, schools and
businesses. Close to 100 Jews were murdered. Called Kristallnacht, the "Night of Crystal" or the
"Night of Broken Glass," referring to the broken glass left in the wake of the destruction, it
escalated the Nazi persecution of Jews to another level of brutality and violence. Almost 30,000
Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps, signaling more horrors to come.

Persecution of Homosexuals and People with Disabilities

Hitler's eugenic policies also targeted children with physical and developmental disabilities, later
authorizing a euthanasia program for disabled adults. His regime also persecuted homosexuals,
arresting an estimated 100,000 men from 1933 to 1945, some of whom were imprisoned or sent to
concentration camps. At the camps, gay prisoners were forced to wear pink triangles to identify
their homosexuality, which Nazis considered a crime and a disease.

The Holocaust and Concentration Camps

Between the start of World War II, in 1939, and its end, in 1945, Nazis and their collaborators
were responsible for the deaths of at least one million noncombatants, including about six million
Jews, representing two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. As part of Hitler's "Final
Solution," the genocide enacted by the regime would come to be known as the Holocaust.

German police shooting women and children from the Mizocz Ghetto, 14 October 1942.

Deaths and mass executions took place in concentration and extermination camps including
Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau and Treblinka, among many others. Other
persecuted groups included Poles, communists, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and trade
unionists. Prisoners were used as forced laborers for SS construction projects, and in some
instances they were forced to build and expand concentration camps. They were subject to
starvation, torture and horrific brutalities, including having to endure gruesome and painful
medical experiments.

Hitler probably never visited the concentration camps and did not speak publicly about the mass
killings. However Germans documented the atrocities committed at the camps on paper and in
films.

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, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, sparking the beginning of World War II. In response, Britain
and France declared war on Germany two days later.

In 1940 Hitler escalated his military activities, invading Norway, Denmark, France, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands and Belgium. By July, Hitler ordered bombing raids on the United Kingdom, with
the goal of invasion. Germanys formal alliance with Japan and Italy, known collectively as the
Axis powers, was agreed upon toward the end of September to deter the United States from
supporting and protecting the British.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler violated the 1939 non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin, sending a
massive army of German troops into the Soviet Union. The invading force seized a huge area of
Russia before Hitler temporarily halted the invasion and diverted forces to encircle Leningrad and
Kiev. The pause allowed the Red Army to regroup and conduct a counter-offensive attack, and the
German advance was stopped outside Moscow in December 1941.

On December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Honoring the alliance with Japan, Hitler
was now at war against the Allied powers, a coalition that included Britain, the world's largest
empire, led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill; the United States, the world's greatest financial
power, led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and the Soviet Union, which had the world's largest
army, commanded by Stalin.
Though initially hoping that he could play the Allies off of one another, Hitler's military judgment
became increasingly erratic, and the Axis powers could not sustain his aggressive and expansive
war. In late 1942, German forces failed to seize the Suez Canal, leading to the loss of German
control over North Africa. The German army also suffered defeats at the Battle of
Stalingrad (1942-43), seen as a turning point in the war, and the Battle of Kursk, (1943).

On June 6, 1944, on what would come to be known as D-Day, 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 continued rule would result in the destruction of the country.
Organized efforts to assassinate the dictator gained traction, and opponents came close in 1944
with the notorious July Plot, though it ultimately proved unsuccessful.

How and When Did Hitler Die?

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 from the
west. At midnight, going into 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 execution 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 a
bombed-out area outside of 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.

After Hitlers Death

Hitler's political programs 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 tens of millions of people,
including more than 20 million in the Soviet Union and six million Jews in Europe. Hitler's defeat
marked the end of Germany's dominance in European history and the defeat of fascism. A new
ideological global conflict, the Cold War, emerged in the aftermath of the devastating violence of
World War II.
Jack Ma

Jack Ma is one of the worlds greatest living examples of entrepreneurship today. Once a poor lad
who survived by guiding tourists, Ma left no stone unturned to rise above his humble condition
and achieve success. One of the first steps he took in this regard was to improve his communication
skills by learning English. Jack was one of the first few individuals who saw Internet as a business
opportunity even at a time when the rest of the world didnt believe in his thoughts. After starting
his first venture using a mere $20000, the entrepreneur earned around $800,000 in a matter of just
three years. However, it is the e-commerce based venture, Alibaba, which he founded in the early
2000s that catapulted this entrepreneur to global fame. The revenue earned by the firm has helped
him reach the zenith of success and made him the richest man in China. He even co-founded a few
other similar ventures which were also successful to a great extent; one of these was the e-
commerce website called Taobao. Jack has also been a recipient of many awards over the years;
a few of these include featuring in world-renowned magazines such as Forbes, Time and others

Childhood & Early Life

Jack was born to parents, who were involved in a profession of storytelling through music, on the
10th of September, 1964. The place of his birth was Hangzhou city located in the Zhejiang
Province of China.

Since a really young age the lad was very keen on gathering knowledge about English and tried
his best to communicate better in the language. His passion to be a better speaker used to even
drive him to a hotel located near his residence, which was frequented by foreigners.

The youngster even started guiding tourists in visiting sight-seeing places around the city. The
motive was to spend more time with native English speakers in a bid to gain a command over the
language.

Simultaneously, Ma also aspired to enrol in a university and even attended exams for the same
reason, but remained unsuccessful. He then joined the Hangzhou Teachers Training Institute to
pursue a Bachelors degree in English. Jack graduated from the institution in the year 1988.
Career

In the mid 1990s Jack got to know about the existence of the internet and began seeing this new
trend in technology as a great business opportunity.

Ma even frequently visited the United States in 1995 to learn more about the internet. One of his
friends even showed him how to connect to a website. The same year, he even raised a fund of
$20000 to start his own firm with an intention of solely focussing on the internet.

The purpose of the company was to create websites for their clients. Although this kind of business
was relatively new, Jack managed to earn a whopping $800000 in a matter of just 3 years.

His success in the field of internet, led to Jacks appointment as the head of a firm governed by the
agency China International Electronic Commerce Center, in 1998. He continued working in this
IT-based firm for the next one year.

After stepping down from his responsibilities in 1999, Jack founded a company named Alibaba
along with many other friends. The intention was to create a website which is more like a one stop
shop for business to business transactions.

During 1999-2000, the company received a financial backing of $25 million, which significantly
helped in the growth of the company. The companys business soon expanded to around 240
different nations.

Jack next tried to venture into e-business, which he could foresee as a great money making scheme
of the 21st century. In this regard, he also founded many firms such as Taobao, Lynx and Ali
Mama.

Taobao started trending over the internet as a top e-commerce website and even grabbed the
attention of the giant of the business, e-bay, which was keen on acquiring the firm. However, Ma
was disinterested in entering into any kind of acquisition deal with the firm.

Taobao aslo grabbed the attention of another famous internet shark, Yahoo. The firm invested
$1 Billion in Jacks venture.

Jack had become the subject of criticism in 2007, after many people from across the world
protested that the firm Alibaba raised huge profits through sales of animal products, through its
portal. On behalf of his firm Alibaba and the interest of nature lovers across the world, Jack
decided not to sell products made of Shark flesh through the online portal.

Major Works

Jack is primarily known for being the founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is one of
the top websites in the business. This firm, which is also a stiff competitor to other famous websites
such as eBay, has helped Ma become the richest man in China.

Awards and Achievements

China Central Television had mentioned Jack in its Top 10 Business Leaders of the Year list,
compiled for the year 2004.

He was named the Businessperson of the Year by the Business Week magazine and also
featured in the list of 25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia, in 2005.

2009 was an eventful year in Jacks life; he secured a spot in Time magazines list of Worlds
100 Most Influential People. The internet giant also received the 2009 CCTV Economic Person
of the Year: Business Leader of the Decade Award.

The world-renowned Forbes magazine had named him as the 30th most powerful person in the
world during 2014.

At the Asian Awards ceremony held in 2015, he was felicitated with the Entrepreneur of the
year award.

Personal Life & Legacy

Ma tied the knot with a woman named Zhang Ying, whom he had first met while studying at the
Hangzhou Teachers Institute. Zhang even played an important role in initiating Jacks first
business venture.

The couple later became parents to two children, a son as well as a daughter.

Net Worth

According to Forbes, Jacks net worth was estimated to be around $27 billion, as of 2015.
Jack Markell

Jack Markell was sworn in as Delawares governor on January 19, 2009, and was sworn in for his
second term on January 15, 2013. He focused on economic development, education and workforce
training as top priorities. Markell also focused on running state government efficiently and
effectively, keeping the states AAA bond rating while reforming Delawares health and pension
systems to make them more sustainable over time.

Beginning his career in the private sector, Markell helped lead the wireless technology revolution
as the 13th employee at Nextel, where he served as senior vice president for corporate
development. His other business experience includes a senior management position at Comcast
Corporation, work as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and as a banker at First Chicago
Corporation.

He was elected state treasurer in 1998, winning three consecutive terms, including his last re-
election in November of 2006. As treasurer, Markell worked to improve the lives of Delawareans
through innovative programs aimed at cutting spending and improving fiscal responsibility. He
has been recognized in Delaware and across the country as a leader in promoting policies to help
all people achieve their economic potential.

Markell was born and raised in Newark, Delaware, and graduated from Newark High School along
with his wife, Carla. He went on to receive an undergraduate degree in economics and development
studies from Brown University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Markell is a Henry
Crown Fellow and a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He resides in Wilmington, Delaware,
with his wife and their two children, Molly and Michael