German dictator Adolf Hitler is widely regarded as the most evil man who has ever lived. To make the point that someone is very evil, you would compare him to Hitler. Yet Hitler was only following the teachings of his mentor, Karl Ernst Haushofer, and Haushofer's disciples, including Rudolf Hess and a few other academics and scholars. Munich professor Haushofer and Hitler's personal political aide Hess played a critical role in forming the central ideas in Hitler's manifesto. Mein Kampf, in turn, was the blueprint that Hitler used to rule during his regime. Furthermore, the Nazi Party very closely followed his manifesto, which produced the Holocaust and World War II. Through Darwin's German disciple Ernest Haeckel, Charles Darwin was a critical influence for both Haushofer and Hess, as well as Hitler. Haushofer's influence also was critical in Japan's involvement in WWII.