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Precursors to the Holocaust...
November 1918
The End of World War I
Germany, in defeat, is forced to accept the terms of the Versailles Treaty, which blames the war on the Germans.
The Weimar Republic succeeds the old German monarchy
1920s
The growth of the Fascist movement in Germany gives rise to the Nazi Party
November 1923
The Munich Beer Hall Putsch Uprising
Adolf Hitler sentenced to Landsberg Prison for five years, serving less than 18 months. He writes Mein Kampf - My Struggle - while imprisoned, in which his plans for world domination and organized Jewish annihilation are presented.
1923-1924
Staggering inflation in Germany devalues the currency, wiping out the savings of many
1930
World-wide economic depression leads to vast unemployment in Germany
January 30
President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor (Prime Minister) of the German Republic.
March 23
First concentration camp, Dachau, is established in Germany. Enabling Act passed by the German Reichstag, surrendering its power to Hitler and his cabinet.
April 1
Nazis proclaim a general boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses.
April 7
Jews dismissed from civil service and denied admission to the bar (cannot practice law.)
April 26
Formation of the Gestapo
May 2
Dissolution of organized trade unions
May 10
Burning of books by Jewish authors and opponents of Nazism
October
Germany leaves the League of Nations
December 1
Hitler declares legal unity of the German state with the Nazi Party, now the only legal political party.
August 2
Death of Hindenburg. Hitler becomes Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
September
Nazi rally at Nuremberg; mass demonstrations
March 16
Conscription begins in Germany
Summer
"Juden Verboten" (No Jews Allowed) signs increase in number outside towns, villages, restaurants, and stores.
September 15
Reichstag passes anti-Semitic "Nuremberg Laws", making inferior status for Jews German law.
The Olympic Games are held in Munich. Hitler uses the games as an opportunity to legitimize his regime to the world at large.
October 25
Hitler and Mussolini become allies, forming the Rome-Berlin Axis.
November 25
Germany and Japan sign military pact
July 16
Buchenwald concentration camp opens in Germany
March 13
Annexation of Austria to the Third Reich. Nazis enforce anti-Semitic laws.
July 6
International conference at Evian, France fails to provide refuge for the German Jews.
September 29
Munich Agreement: Britain and France accept German annexation of the Sudetenland, once part of Czechoslovakia.
October 5
Passports of Jews are marked with the letter "J".
November 7
Herschel Grynzspan, whose parents were deported from Germany to Poland, assassinates Ernst von Rath, Third Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris.
November 9
Kristallnacht - (The Night of Broken Glass)
Anti-Semitic riots in Germany and Austria. Synagogues are destroyed, shops are looted, Jews beaten on the streets. More than 20,000 Jews arrested, 191 synagogues destroyed, 7500 shops (and glass windows) burnt and looted.
November 12
26,000 Jews are arrested and sent to concentration camps.
November 15
Jewish children are expelled from public schools.
December 13
The Decree of Aryanization (compulsory expropriation of Jewish-owned industries, businesses, and shops) is enacted.
March 15
Germans occupy Czechoslovakia
May - June
The St. Louis, a ship carrying passengers who were German Jewish refugees, is refused entry into Cuba. The ship is sent back to Europe.
July 26
Adolf Eichmann is placed in charge of Prague branch of the Jewish emigration office
August 23
German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact signed
September 1
German Army invades Poland.
September 3
Britain and France declare war on Germany -
World War II begins
September 17
Soviet invasion and occupation of eastern Poland.
September 21
Establishment of Jewish ghettos in Poland, each governed by a Judenrat (Jewish council) - by orders of Reinhard Heydrich.
October 12
First deportation of Jews from Austria and Moravia to Nazi-occupied Poland.
November 23
Wearing of the Judenstern (yellow six-pointed Star of David) emblem is made compulsory throughout occupied Poland.
April 9
Germans invade Denmark and Norway
April 29
Directive to establish concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland by Heinrich Himmler.
April 30
Nazis seal off ghetto at Lodz, Poland.
Germans invade Holland, Belgium and France
June 14
728 Polish political prisoners arrive at Auschwitz, the first German concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
June 22
France surrenders to the Germans
August 17
Demonstrations by masses of starving people in Lodz Ghetto.
September 27
Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis is established
Majdanek concentration camp established in Poland. It became an annihilation camp in 1942
Nazis seal off Warsaw Ghetto.
Germans renege on their Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviets and attack Soviet Union.
July 8
Wearing of the Jewish Star is mandated in the German-occupied Baltic States.
July 31
Heydrich is appointed by Goering to carry out the "Final Solution, the systematic extermination of all Jews in Europe.
Wearing of the Jewish Star is decreed throughout the Third Reich.
September 23
First usage of poison gas at Auschwitz.
September 29-30
Massacre at Babi Yar, Kiev, USSR - 34,000 Jews killed.
October 10
Theresienstadt Ghetto in Czechoslovakia established.
October 14
Deportation of German Jews begins
October 23
Massacre in Odessa, USSR - 34,000 Jews killed.
November 6
Massacre in Rovno, Poland - 15,000 Jews killed.
December 7
Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
December 8
United States enters the war.
Chelmo extermination camp on the Ner River near Lodz is opened.
Massacre in Riga, Lithuania - 27,000 Jews killed.
December 11
Germany declares war on the United States
December 22
Massacre in Vilna, Poland - 32,000 Jews killed.
January 20
The Wannsee Conference is held - the drafting of the detailed plan to implement the "Final Solution", the annihilation of the 11 million Jews of Europe.
January 21
United resistance organization is established inside Vilna Ghetto. Jewish resistance groups expand in number throughout Eastern Europe.
March 1
Exterminations begin at Sobibor.
March 17
Belzec death camp is opened in Poland.
Jews deported from France
June 1
Treblinka death camp opens.
Wearing of the Jewish Star is mandated in Nazi-occupied France and Holland.
June 10
Liquidation of Lidice, Czechoslovakia in reprisal for murder of Reinhard Heydrich.
July 22
Deportation of 300,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka death camp begins. The Deportations continue until September 6, 1942.
July 28
Jewish resistance organiazation (Z.O.B.) is established inside Warsaw Ghetto.
Armed resistance in Lahava Ghetto, Bellorussia.
Armed resistance in Tutzin Ghetto, Ukraine.
December 4
Polish Committee for the Assistance to Jews, code named "ZEGOTA", established in Warsaw.
December 17
Allied nations pledge to punish Germans for their policy of genocide.
January 18
Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto launch uprising against Nazi deportations.
February 2
German Sixth Army surrenders at Stalingrad, marking the turning point of the war against the Germans
February 5
Action in Bialystok Ghetto
April 19 -May 16
Jews inside the Warsaw Ghetto stage a revolt. 23-year old Mordecai Anielewicz leads less than 5000 Jews against Nazi troops. Fighting continues for weeks.
Bermuda Conference April 19-30- called by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and attended by a number of Allied nations to discuss how to rescue victims of Nazis persecution. No country was willing to change their immigration policies and admit more Jews.
May 16
Nazis order liquidation of Warsaw Ghetto.
June 11
Himmler orders liquidation of all Jewish Ghettos in Poland.
June - September
Hundreds of Jewish partisans leave the Vilna Ghetto in Poland and hide in the forest, where they continue their resistance to the Nazis.
Revolt at the Treblinka death camp.
August 16
Revolt in Bialystok Ghetto, Poland.
Liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto occurs.
October 1
Expulsion of Danish Jews; Danish underground rescues 7000 - only 475 captured by Nazis.
Revolt in Sobibor camp, Poland.
October 20
United Nations War Crimes Commission established
March 19
Invasion of Hungary by Germany
May 15 - June 8
476,000 Jews are deported from Hungary to Auschwitz.
June 4
Allies enter Rome.
June 6
D-Day
Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe begins in Normandy, France.
July 24
Soviet troops liberate Majdanek death camp, Poland.
August 1
Polish Home Army begins uprising against German occupational forces in Warsaw.
August 25
Paris is liberated by Allied forces.
October 2
Nazis raze Warsaw, leaving 200,000 Polish casualties.
November 24
Himmler orders destruction of Auschwitz crematorium as Nazis try to hide evidence of their death camps.
January
Death March from Auschwitz, Poland
January 17
Soviet troops enter Warsaw, Poland.
January 27
Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz-Birkenau camps
Liberation of Budapest, Hungary
February 4-11
Yalta Conference in the Crimea, USSR.
March 5
American troops reach the Rhine River
April 11
American troops liberate Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.
April 15
British troops liberate Bergen-Belsen camp, Germany.
April 25
American and Soviet troops meet at the Elbe River.
American troops liberate Dachau camp in Germany.
Hitler commits suicide
May 8
Germany surrenders unconditionally -
the end of the War in Europe
September 2
Japan surrenders unconditionally -
the end of World War II
November 22
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal commences to prosecute Nazi attrocities
The Nuremberg Trials concluded on October 1, 1946, with a final judgement in which twelve defendants were sentenced to death, three to life imprisonment, and four to various prison terms; three were acquitted.
