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Adolf Hitler is Appointed Chancellor
The National Socialist German Workers' Party or more commonly referred to as the Nazi Party seizes control of Germany when President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party leader, as the Chancellor. -
Reichstag Fire Decree
The Reichstag in Berlin, Germany was set on fire. Shortly after the building burned down due to "arson", President Hindenburg issued the Decree for the Protection of People and the Reich. In an attempt to keep Germany's reputation from further plummeting, the coalition government blamed the communists. The Nazis declared a communist revolution was approaching. -
The Enabling Act
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party used intimidation and persecution to ensure the passage of the law. They prevented all 81 Communists and 26 of the 120 Social Democrats from taking their seats. He detained them in Nazi-controlled camps. The act allowed him to enact laws, including ones that violated the Weimar Constitution, without the approval of parliament or the president. The Enabling Act became the foundation of Hitler's reign. -
Anti-Semitic Boycott
The boycott was presented to the German people as both a reprisal and an act of revenge for the bad international press against Germany since the appointment of Hitler’s government in January 1933. The Nazis claimed that German and foreign Jews were spreading “atrocity stories” to damage Germany's reputation. The Nazis began to boycott many Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, homes of Jews, etc. -
The Media Amplifies Nazi Propaganda and Hitler Consolidates Power
Jews are effectively denied membership in the German Labor Front by the German government, which prevents them from receiving the benefits offered to non-Jews to those already employed. Libel accusations against Jews are the subject of a 130,000-copy special edition of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer, which features infamous medieval cartoons depicting Jews using human blood for religious practices. -
Nuremberg Laws
The "Reich Citizenship Law" and "Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor" (Nuremberg Laws), which classified Jews as non-citizens, are enacted at the Nazi party rally in Nuremberg. The first supplementary decree to the Nuremberg Laws is issued, defining a Jew as anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent or two Jewish grandparents married to a Jew or an adherent of Judaism. The Nuremberg Laws had a major impact on Jews as they restricted their rights and basic freedoms. -
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)
On November 9, 1938, Nazi Party officials, Hitler Youth, and members of the SA carried out waves of violent attacks. This led to the destruction of over a hundred synagogues, as well as the looting of many Jewish-owned businesses and establishments. The government persecution sought to force Jews from public life and force their emigration from the country, the German government issued dozens of laws and decrees designed to deprive Jews of their property and means of livelihood. -
Jewish Refugees are Turned Away
Hitler threatens to exterminate the Jewish people. On board, the German passenger ship SS St. Louis, more than 900 German Jewish refugees attempt to enter Cuba, but they are denied entry due to the invalidity of their entry permits. The refugees return to Europe, where they are accepted into England, Belgium, Holland, and France after the United States also denies them entry.