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Elisabeth Gille is born.
Elisabeth Gille was born on March 20, 1937 in Paris, France to Irene Nemirovsky and Michal Epstein. Later on to avoid the rumors of Nazi-Germany, the family moved to a little French village called Issy-l'Évêque ("Babet", 5). -
Period: to
Elisabeth Gille's Lifespan
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Hitler proclaims Anscluss with Austria.
Hitler announced an "Anscluss" (union) with Austria, despite the fact that it was forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles. Austrian political leaders had long since desired a union with Germany, but the authoritarian rule of Nazi Germany made it less attractive. When the pro-Nazi wing in the Austrian government started to rise, Hitler took a risk by influencing the Austrian governmnet with German rulers; he soon annexed Austria by force (“Hitler announces an Anschluss with Austria”, 1-4). -
Germany declares war.
As Germany was conquering countries, Hitler set his sights to France and Britain. To get there, however, Germany had to go through Poland, but they would not give in to Germany. So Nazi-Germany declared war in the fall of 1939, but due to dangerous weather conditions waited till the spring of 1940 to actually attack ("Adolf Hitler", 5-6). -
France makes an armistice with Nazi Germany
When Nazi-Germany attacked France in late spring, within ten days they had broken through the French defenses. After moving southward several times, the Germans finally broke through all of the French defenses and makes an armistice with France, but not before many of the Allied forces were evacuated ("Adolf Hitler", 7). -
The Tripartite Pact is signed.
In 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin; this pact called for mutual assistance for each country in case of attack. Another reason this pact was signed was to make the United Sates think twice about siding with the Allies ("The Tripartite Pact is signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan", 1-3).
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Germans are defeated in Moscow
After signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression in 1939, Germany decided to invade Russia in the late spring of 1941. Though they did not consider the intensity of the Russian winter, which is how the Germans met their ultimate demise from being unprepared for the winter cold ("German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact", 1). -
Irene Nemirovsky is taken to Auschwitz
In the last days of Irene Nemirovsky's life, she was writing a five part novel collection similar to war and peace. Just days of finishing the second novel, Nemirovsky was arrested and taken to Auschwitz where she was gassed upon her arrival ("Irene Nemirovsky", 4). -
Michal Epstein is taken to Auschwitz
Just one month after his wife was taken, Michal Epstein was arrested along with his two daughters, Elisabeth and Denise. As Elisabeth describes in Elisabeth Gille and Rene de Ceccatty: An Interview"", the German officer that arrested them saw Denise and thought that she looked like his daughter; so he told the girls to pack what they could and leave (Ceccatty, Rene de, 238). However, Michal Epstein was taken to Auschwitz where he was later gassed. -
Elisabeth and Denise go into hiding.
After their father was taken, Denise and Elisabeth grabbed what little belongings they owned -some of their mother's books included- and went into hiding with the assistance of a teacher, friends, and a governess who hid them in various places all over France until the war was over ("Irene Nemirovsky", 5). -
D-Day
The plan for "D-Day" was originally codenamed "Operation Overlord". While planning started years before, the actual battle began on June 6th when 156,000 Ally troops invaded the coast of France's Normandy region. In two moths, all of France was liberated ("D-Day", 1). -
Elisabeth and Denise search for their parents.
For the years after the Holocust ended, Elisabeth and Denise searched different hotels -Gare del'Est in particular- for their parents. However, being the sensible older sister, Denise figured out that their parents were not waiting in a hospital; much less alive ("Babet", 9). -
Elisabeth and Denise come out of hiding.
After being through the worst part of their lives, Denise and Elisabeth both come out of hiding after the war is over. Their time in hiding had been "typical" for them; they had hid in convents, houses, and schools ("Irene Nemirovsky", 5).
When the girls found Irene's letters and novels again, they started to transcribe and publish them. Howeveer, after reliving an enornous amount of pain, Elisabeth and Denise stopped publishing their mother's works ("Irene Nemirovsky", 5-6). -
Adolf Hitler commits suicide
As the war was near its end, Adolf Hitler retreated to a repaired air-raid bunker with his fiance, two dogs, and some men. Hitler left the bunker rarely; even then it was for something very important. Two days after marrying his fiance, Hitler was given two options: escape to Berchtesgarden before the allies' raid or commit suicide; Hitler chose suicide. Adolf Hitler and his new wife swallowed cyanide capsules, and for good measure Hitler shot himself in the head with a pistol. -
Hermann Göring unconditionally surrenders.
After being appointed to Reichsmarschall des Grossdeutschen Reiches (“Marshal of the Empire”) and successor by Hitler in 1940, Hermann Göring maintained a close relationship with Adolf Hitler. In the days after Hitler's suicide, he took place as Führer; even though Göring had the title, he still surrendered to the Allies weeks later (“Hermann Göring”, 10-11). -
Axis' allies surrender
As several of the Axis' allies surrendered to the Ally offensive, there was still one ally that had not surrendered; that was Japan. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the Allies (“America's Wars: The 20th and 21st Centuries”, 2). -
The first public Nuremberg Trial
The Nuremburg Trials were held inNuremberg, Germany by the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which deals with international war crimes. They specifically charged defendants on four counts: crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit these crimes ("The Nuremberg Trials and their Legacy", 1-2). -
Nuremberg verdicts are released
Over the past year, the Nuremberg Trials are daily, and in the end, 22 of the all 24 Nazi leaders are tried. Twelve of the men are sentenced to death, ten got prison terms, one commited suicide, one was thought to be dead, and three men were acquitted. These trials were the first time much of the public were seeing the horrors of the Holocaust ("The Nuremberg Trials: People and Events", 5). -
Elisabeth overcomes cancer.
After battling cancer for a period of time, Elisabeth Gille goes into remission in the year of 1980. However, there is no further information about what type of cancer it was (Babet", 14). -
Elisabeth Gille dies.
Elisabeth Gille died in 1996 from her long struggle with cancer which she thought she had overcome ("Babet", 14).
