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Reichstag Fire Decree
After the German parliament building was burned, President Hindenburg issues a decree for the Protection of People and the Reich.The Reichstag Fire Decree permitted the regime to arrest and incarcerate political opponents without specific charge, dissolve political organizations, and to suppress publications. The decree was the foundation of the Nazi establishment -
Anti-Jewish Boycott
The Nazis create an economic boycott against Jews as an act of revenge. The Nazis believed Jews were spreading "atrocity stories' which were affecting the German reputation. They even went to the extreme by having soldiers standing outside Jewish businesses' with signs telling people not to go in. However, the German population ignored the boycott because of their love of the Jewish products. Sadly, this would mark the beginning of a nationwide hate of Jews leading to the Holocaust. -
Law Limits Jews in Public Schools
The German government issued a Law against the Overcrowding of Jews which limited the number of Jewish attendance in schools. As a result of Hitler becoming Chancellor in January 1933, many right restricting laws were aimed at Jews. This new law limited the number of Jewish students in any one public school to no more than 5 percent of the total student population. Due to the increasing of persecution toward their people, many Jews resorted to private schooling. -
Rohm Affair
Hitler orders a violent purge against the SA.Hitler directs the SS to murder SA Chief of Staff Ernst Röhm and his top commanders due to pressure by army commanders. Also, several others of Hitler's critics were murdered. The German parliament declares the killings legal based on false accusation of Rohm suspected involvement in wanting to overthrow the government. -
Death of German President von Hindenburg
After the death of President von Hindenburg, Hitler becomes the new president.Later that month Hitler abolishes the office of President and declares himself Führer of the German Reich and People, in addition to his position as Chancellor. Now Hitler is the official dictator of Germany. -
Jesse Owens Competes in Olympics
18 black athletes represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics. Many American journalists hailed the victories of Jesse Owens and other blacks as a blow to the Nazi myth of “Aryan” supremacy. Newspapers in Germany referred the black athletes as “auxiliaries.” The social and discrimination faced by the athletes returning to United States emphasized the irony of the racism in Germany. -
Buchenwald Concentration Camp Opens
The camp was opened for male prisoners in east-central Germany. They later welcomed women in late 1943 or early 1944. It was one of the largest concentration camps within German borders. There were an electrified barbed-wire fence, watchtowers, and a chain of sentries outfitted with automatic machine guns, surrounded the main camp. The inmates started off as political prisoners, but the events of Kristallnacht led to 10,000 Jews being brought to the inhumane camp. -
Law on Alteration of Family and Personal Names
The Executive Order on the Law on the Alteration of Family and Personal Names requires German Jews bearing first names of “non-Jewish” origin to adopt an additional name: “Israel” for men and “Sara” for women. These laws were made to separate the Jewish from the German population. Jews had to carry identity cards that indicated their heritage and their passports were stamped with the letter "J". -
Munich Agreement
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement, by which Czechoslovakia must surrender its border regions and defenses to Nazi Germany. A European war was threatened by Hitler if the land wasn't surrendered to Germany. The countries agreed to the agreement in exchange for a pledge of peace from Hitler. -
Kristallnacht
Nazi Party officials, members of the SA and the Hitler Youth carry out a wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms throughout Greater Germany. Many synagogues were burned down and over 7,000 Jewish businesses were looted by the German public. The event was followed by dozens of laws and decrees made to deprive Jews of their livelihood. Almost 100 Jewish lives were lost due to this event. -
Exclusion of Jews from German Economic Life
The German government issues the Decree on the Elimination of the Jews from Economic Life which barred Jews from operating retail stores, sales agencies, carrying on a trade, and forbids Jews from selling goods or services at an establishment of any kind. -
First Kindertransport Arrives in Great Britain
Thousands of Jewish parents send their kids abroad in hope they will escape Nazi persecution. Kindertransport was the informal name of a series of rescue efforts which brought thousands of refugee Jewish children to Great Britain between 1938 and 1940. Parents were not allowed to seek freedom with their children. Between 9,000-10,000 children were rescued never to see their parents again.
