From August 2, 1934 through July 28, 1942, Adolf Hitler's official title was "Führer und Reichskanzler" (translating into English as "Leader and National Chancellor"). Although a German Ministry of Interior edict issued on May 17, 1939, noted that "Der Führer" ("The Leader") should be used without reference to Hitler's position as Reichskanzler, Leader and National Chancellor remained Hitler's official title.

This changed on July 28, 1942, when a decree announced that Hitler's title was thereafter to be "Der Führer des Grossdeutschen Reichs" ("The Leader of the Greater German Nation").