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Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor
German President Von Hindenburg named Adolf Hitler the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. The President and the far right thought if Hitler were appointed Chancellor, he would only get rid of the left. However, Hitler would go further than they expected. -
Hitler's crackdown
After Hitler took power, he started changing Germany
right away. On July 4th alone, he outlawed all the political parties except the Nazi Party. Additionally, a law went into effect that stripped East European Jewish immigrants of German citizenship. Lastly, forced sterilization began on certain people with physical and mental disabilities. -
Hitler Seizes Power
German President Von Hindenburg died, and Hitler seized the chance immediately to take over. After a year of establishing dominance, Hitler became head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. He would soon declare himself the dictator of the country. -
Hitler Bans Jehovah's Witness Organizations
The German government banned Jehovah’s Witness organizations for refusing to be drafted, not performing war-related work, and continuing to hold forbidden religious meetings. Due to that, hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses were incarcerated in prisons and even put in concentration camps. -
Nuremberg Race Laws
On September 15, 1935, the Nazi regime announced two new laws: The Reich Citizenship Law and The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. The Reich Citizenship Law stated that only racially pure Germans could hold German citizenship. This meant Jews, defined as a separate race, could not be full citizens of Germany. Also, The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor banned intermarriage and sexual relations between Jews and "Germans blood'. -
Buchenwald Concentration Camp Opens
SS authorities open the Buchenwald concentration camp for male prisoners in east-central Germany. Together with its many satellite camps, Buchenwald was one of the largest concentration camps established within German borders. An electrified barbed-wire fence, watchtowers, and a chain of guards with automatic machine guns surrounded the camp. The SS often shot prisoners in the camp stables and hanged other prisoners in the crematorium. -
German Jews’ Passports Declared Invalid
On October 5, 1938, the Reich Ministry of the Interior invalidated all German passports held by Jews. Jews must surrender their old passports, which will become valid only after the letter “J” for Jude is stamped. The Government would require Jews to identify themselves in ways that would permanently separate them from the rest of the German population. -
Kristallnacht
Nazi Party officials, the military, and the Hitler Youth carried out violent anti-Jewish massacres throughout Germany. The rioters destroyed hundreds of synagogues and even burned them in front of the German public. Also, they looted more than 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses and other establishments. After the attacks, Germany established an anti-Jewish policy directed at the hands of the SS. Kristallnacht was the turning point that build-up to the Holocaust. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
After years of causing terror around Europe and the world, Adolf Hitler committed suicide as Soviet forces neared his command bunker in central Berlin. Following his death, the Nazi regime completely fell and Berlin was taken by the Soviets. In the end, six million Jews would be killed, with many losing their entire family.
