Führer

Führer is the German word for "leader" or "guide", adopted into English in the 1930s.

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler granted himself this title by law following the death of Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg in 1934. The new position, fully named Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Reich Chancellor), formally made Hitler Germany's Head of State as well as Head of government (see also Gleichschaltung).

Hitler cultivated a personality cult about his role as leader, and was generally known as just Der Führer (The Leader). One of Hitler's most-repeated slogans was "Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Führer!" (One people, one country, one leader).

Due to its excessive use in Nazi Germany, the term Führer has understandably gone out of fashion in today's German. The term Anführer, which means the same as Führer, is now mostly being used as a literal translation of "leader", while Führer itself is only used in composites, e.g. Lokführer (train driver), Bergführer (mountain guide) etc.

The Italian equivalent is Duce (from Latin dux; see also Benito Mussolini).