holocaust

Hitler appointed chancellor

Jan 30, 1933

The German state appoints Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor

Death of German President von Hindenburg

Aug 2, 1934

President von Hindenburg died of lung cancer and after his death Adolf Hitler became President

Nuremberg Race Laws

Sep 15, 1935

The Nuremberg Race Laws consisted of two pieces of legislation: the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor.

Olympic games open in Berlin

Aug 1, 1936

The Summer Olympic Games open in Berlin, attended by athletes and spectators from countries around the world.

Antisemitic Exhibition Opens in Munich

Nov 8, 1937

The exhibition depicted stereotypical images of Jews to illustrate charges of a Jewish world conspiracy against Germany and links between Judaism and communism.

Helen Baker Diary Entry

Mar 14, 1938

Americans living in Vienna when Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, Helen and Ross Baker documented what they saw through letters, a diary, and film. Ross was studying at the University of Vienna. In her diary for March 14, Helen describes what she witnessed as Hitler entered the city.

Kristallnacht

Nov 9, 1938

Nazi Party officials, members of the SA and the Hitler Youth carry out a wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms throughout Greater Germany. The rioters destroyed hundreds of synagogues, many of them burned in full view of firefighters and the German public and looted more than 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses and other commercial establishments.

American Student Reflects

Nov 11, 1938

So, here I am on the outskirts of Frankfurt, sitting on a train and bound for Würzburg, where I know not what awaits me.”