HITLER, ADOLF

German dictator and leader of the Nazi Party (1889-1945), Hitler gained control of the German government with his fascist National Socialist German Worker's Party after a series of coups in 1933. Once gaining control, he passed anti-semitic laws and began his plan to extend Germany by invading neighbouring countries. The Nazi's aggressive posturing provoked condemnation but it wasn't until the invasion of Poland in 1939 that decisive action was taken and war declared on Germany. We have a war-dated document signed by Hitler, in German, 67 pages, 8.5x12", March 31, 1943. Hitler approves the promotions of hundreds of officers in the Wermacht, including promotions for numerous officers on the Eastern Front where the Germans had just recently surrendered Stalingrad losing nearly a million men (only 100,000 were captured alive). The document organizes the promotions by rank then lists the name of each officer, sometimes adding their date of birth, their regimental designation for mobilization (and peacetime), and length of time in previous rank. The large majority of the promotions had taken effect on January 1, 1943, likely as part of a massive reorganization following the Soviet winter offensive of 1942-3 which pushed German forces nearly back into the southern Ukraine and trapped 300,000 Germans and their allies in the Caucuses. By the end of 1943 the Soviets had pushed the Wermacht back to Poland. Amazingly the document even includes promotions for officers who had already surrendered at Stalingrad on February 2, 1943, nearly two months before this document was signed! Signed on the last page in black ink by Hitler and countersigned by his chief adjutant Rudolf Schumunt, beside the embossed seal of Nazi Germany. Though Hitler would not have admitted it at the time, this was the beginning of the end of his regime. In fine condition. A true testament to the German preoccupation with proper organization and paperwork.