Adolf Hitler, the most notorious dictator in modern history, embodies everything we think of when we describe a sinister and evil individual. Millions died as a result of his quest for world domination and racial purity. But do we know of him what we think we know?

Sure, he’s deserving of the condemnation he’s received, but you’d be hard-pressed to differentiate his message from that some of the people and politicians demanding social justice today. The German people fell for his rhetoric, and the rest is history.

He was a pretty normal kid until, at 18, he moved to Vienna to study art. He applied to Vienna’s Academy of Art but was rejected twice. Disillusioned, angry, and living on the streets, he needed a scapegoat, and we know who. He lived off of an allowance from his mother and selling watercolors of buildings and scenery. Ironically, he sold many of them to Jewish storekeepers. At age 23, he stated that there was nothing more for him to learn. He thought highly of his opinion and rarely admitted to being wrong. He lived this way for two years, until the outbreak of WWI.

His disgust with his home country, Austria, led him to join the German Army. He was too scrawny for the infantry, so he served as a messenger. Nevertheless, he was awarded the Iron cross, 1st class, which was unheard of for a corporal. Ironically, the officer that awarded him this honor was Jewish.

He lacked any interest in socializing and women. Some of his army buddies suspected that he might be gay. Instead, he spent his time studying warfare tactics and knew the names, armament, and speed of every naval ship active in the war. He was injured and then hospitalized from exposure to mustard gas. It was during his recovery that he learned of Germany’s surrender. He vowed to get even.

During the early rallies, you wouldn’t know that he was merely the spokesman of his party, not the leader. Women fainted in the aisles as he walked by with his piercing, deep-blue eyes. He was the “dream” of every woman. Little-known, though, is that every woman he had intimate relations with committed suicide, including his niece, Geli Raubal, who was 19 years his junior. What was uncle Adi up to?

Outside of his gift for dazzling an audience, he was an awkward clod. He didn’t have a bank account or carry a wallet. He slept in until noon or later and assigned most of the “busy work” of running the country to others. Concentration camp operations were passed off to Heinrich Himmler, who, while orchestrating the demise of millions, was busy sending love letters to his wife.

The lesson from this chapter is just how far a loser-leader can get when his followers are swept away with big talk and a charismatic persona.