Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria. After his father's retirement, he pursued his aspiration of becoming an artist. After his mother's death, he relocated to Vienna, where he sustained himself by creating and vending depictions of scenery and monuments. In 1933, he leveraged economic hardships, widespread dissatisfaction, and political discord to establish authority in Germany. In 1939, the Nazi regime took control of Poland, leading to the Holocaust. In 1945, he took his own life in a bunker in Berlin. During his time in Vienna, he became politically engaged and formulated concepts that would influence the ideology of the Nazi party. In 1913, he relocated to Munich and served during World War I. He was awarded two decorations for his acts of bravery, one of which was the Iron Cross First Class. Hitler sustained injuries during the First World War and developed the belief that the country's defeat could be attributed to disloyal "traitors" within the nation. He became a member of the German Workers' Party and assumed responsibility for the party's promotional endeavors.

The Nazi Party incorporated a modified version of the swastika, a revered symbol in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, as a propaganda tool under his leadership. Hitler took charge of the Nazi Party in 1921, exploiting the dissatisfaction with the Weimar Republic and Versailles Treaty. Ernst Röhm was responsible for enlisting the Sturmabteilung (SA) units to protect party gatherings and launch assaults against adversaries. After his release, Hitler completed the second volume of his literary work, "Mein Kampf," which became the highest selling publication in Germany. In 1928, Hitler authored a book titled "The Zweites Buch," which presented his perspectives on foreign policy. Hitler's preoccupation with race and the concept of ethnic homogeneity led him to espouse a hierarchical worldview that positioned the superior "Aryan race" at the apex. The book "Mein Kampf" discussed the concept of Lebensraum, which meant Germany must annex territories in the east that were inhabited by Slavic peoples. After Hitler's release from prison, the Weimar Republic experienced a resurgence in popular support and a decline in support for right-wing ideologies. In 1932, Adolf Hitler contested against Paul von Hindenburg and was appointed chancellor of the Third Reich. In April 1940, Hitler launched the blitzkrieg, which resulted in the capture of Holland and Belgium.

In late May, the evacuation of British and French forces from Dunkirk resulted in an armistice with Germany. Hitler's initial intention was to compel Britain to pursue a peace agreement, but after this failed, he proceeded with military assaults and an invasion of the Soviet Union. In response, the United States declared war on Japan, necessitating Germany to declare war on the United States. The Nazi regime transitioned from expulsion of Jews to systematic extermination, with Einsatzgruppen carrying out the execution of entire Jewish communities and Auschwitz-Birkenau in occupied Poland. By the end of the war, 6 million Jews had been killed in German-occupied Europe. The tide of World War II turned against Germany by the end of 1942, marked by their defeats at El-Alamein and Stalingrad. Hitler's health deteriorated, leading to his social detachment and reliance on medication. He attempted to assassinate him in July 1944, but was unsuccessful. In December 1944, he attempted to divide the British and American armed forces. On April 28-29, Hitler and Eva Braun were wed in a Berlin bunker and Hitler committed suicide in his suite.

On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally, ending the war in Europe. Hitler's "Millennium Reich" endured for more than a decade, inflicting incalculable harm and ruin.

Benito Mussolini was an Italian statesman who assumed power as the fascist dictator of Italy between 1925 and 1945. He was born in Verano di Costa, Italy, to Alessandro Mussolini and Rosa Maltoni. At the age of 10, he was expelled from his initial boarding school due to an incident involving the stabbing of a fellow student. In 1909, he relocated to Austria-Hungary with the intention of assuming the role of editor for a socialist publication. In 1910, he was incarcerated for a period of six months due to allegations of instigating violent behavior. In 1914, he diverged from the Socialist Party and incited his followers to engage in violent acts. In 1915, he enlisted in the Italian military and achieved the position of corporal prior to receiving a medical discharge due to an injury sustained during the war. Mussolini resumed his career in journalism and advocated for the establishment of a dictatorship. He convened a national organization known as Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, which sought the support of war veterans and promoted violence against socialist groups. He had two marriages and had a male offspring named Benito Albino Mussolini.

He was apprehended on the grounds of purportedly amassing weaponry with the intention of subverting the established government. In 1921, the Fascist party achieved a significant victory in the elections, resulting in the election of Mussolini as a parliamentary deputy. Partito Nazionale Fascista adopted the appellation of Partito Nazionale Fascista in 1922. In October 1922, Mussolini issued a threat to forcefully assume control of the government. King Victor Emmanuel abstained from implementing martial law and observed as Fascists infiltrated Rome. Mussolini assumed the positions of Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, and Minister for Foreign Affairs. His proclamation of his entitlement to supreme authority is regarded as the pivotal moment when he officially declared himself as the dictator of Italy. In 1926, law enforcement officials apprehended individuals affiliated with the Socialist political ideology and limited their capacity to disseminate written materials. A member of the Socialist party devised a plan to assassinate Mussolini, but was apprehended shortly before the intended act. Fascists also established Opera Nazionale Balilla, dissolving Catholic Boy Scouts and prohibiting alternative youth organizations.

In 1937, Italy withdrew from the League of Nations and Hitler launched an invasion of Austria with the backing of Mussolini. In 1938, Mussolini issued a decree mandating the removal of non-native Jewish individuals from Italy. In 1939, Hitler's invasion of Poland prompted an immediate declaration of war against Germany by Britain and France. Mussolini maintained a neutral stance, but Hitler's conquest extended to Holland and Belgium. The Axis powers were established with the signing of the "Pact of Steel" and Japan became a signatory of the Tripartite Pact. In 1943, Italy was perceived as being on the losing side of the conflict and Mussolini was removed from his position of authority and exiled to La Maddalena. Mussolini was appointed as a puppet leader under Hitler's regime and contributed to the genocide of numerous Italian Jews. In April 1945, he attempted to escape to Spain, but was apprehended by partisans. His demise has been a subject of contradictory accounts, but according to autopsy reports, he was executed by firing squad. The remains of Mussolini were interred in a grave lacking any identifying markers.

In 1957, the spouse of Mussolini made a formal request to relocate his remains to a familial mausoleum in Predappio. In 1966, an envelope contained a section of his brain, which was acquired by the Americans to conduct research on the characteristics of a dictator.

General Tôjô Hideki (1884-1948) was a wartime leader of Japan’s government, known as “Razor Tôjô” for his bureaucratic efficiency and strict, uncompromising attention to detail. He built up a personal power base and used his position as head of the military police of Japan’s garrison force in Manchuria to rein in their influence before he became the Kwantung Army’s chief of staff in 1937. He played a key role in opening hostilities against China in July and had his only combat experience later that year. He pushed for alliance with Germany and Italy, and supported the formation of a broad political front of national unity. In October 1941 he became prime minister and gave final approval to the attacks on the United States, Great Britain, and the Dutch East Indies in December 1941. When the war intensified, Japan’s losses mounted, and its fragile industrial foundations threatened to collapse, Tôjô characteristically sought to gather administrative levers into his own hands. In February 1944, he even assumed direct command of army operations as chief of the Army General Staff. Tôjô was never able to establish a dictatorship on a par with those wielded by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. He served constitutionally at the behest of the emperor, without support of a mass party, while crucial power centers such as the industrial combines, navy, and court remained beyond his control. After the island of Saipan fell to American forces in July 1944, he was forced from power, despite arguments raised by some officials close to the throne that Tôjô should be left in office to accept responsibility for the loss of the war.

After Japan's surrender the next year, Tôjô attempted suicide, but he was tried and hanged as a war criminal on December 23, 1948. In 1978, Tôjô's name, along with those of thirteen other "class A" war criminals, was commemorated at Yasukuni, the shrine in Tokyo dedicated to the memory of warriors fallen in service to the imperial family.