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Period: to
Nazification of Europe
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1933
President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor -
Foundation for a police state.
The Reichstag building went up in flames. Nazis immediately claimed that this was the beginning of a Communist revolution. This fact leads many historians to believe that Nazis actually set, or help set the fire. Others believe that a deranged Dutch Communist set the fire. The issue has never been resolved. This incident prompted Hitler to convince Hindenburg to issue a Decree for the Protection of People and State that granted Nazis sweeping power to deal with the so-called emergency. -
Reichstag approved the Enabling Act
As part of a policy of internal coordination, the Nazis created Special Courts to punish political dissent. In a parallel move from April to October, the regime passed civil laws that barred Jews from holding positions in the civil service, in legal and medical professions, and in teaching and university positions. The Nazis encouraged boycotts of Jewish-owned shops and businesses and began book burnings of writings by Jews and by others not approved by the Reich. -
Dachau concentration camp was created.
Within months of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, the The Nazis began arresting Communists, Socialists, and labor leaders. Dachau became a training center for concentration camp guards and later commandants who were taught terror tactics to dehumanize their prisoners. -
Nazi Book Burnings
A campaign conducted by the authorities of Nazi Germany to ceremonially burn all books in Germany which did not correspond with Nazi ideology. (all Jewish books) -
The Night of the Long Knives
"Operation Hummingbird [Kolibri]", or, more commonly used in Germany "Röhm-Putsch" was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political executions. Most of those killed were members of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary Brownshirts. -
President Hindenburg of Germany dies.
Hitler combined the offices of Reich Chancellor and President, declaring himself Führer and Reich Chancellor, or Reichsführer (Leader of the Reich). -
Nuremberg Laws
These laws stripped Jews of their civil rights as German citizens and separated them from Germans legally, socially, and politically. Jews were also defined as a separate race under "The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor." Being Jewish was now determined by ancestry; thus the Germans used race, not religious beliefs or practices, to define the Jewish people. This law forbade marriages or sexual relations between Jews and Germans. Hitler warned darkly that i -
The Berlin Olympics
Berlin hosted the Olympics. Hitler viewed this as a perfect opportunity to promote a favorable image of Nazism to the world. Monumental stadiums and other Olympic facilities were constructed as Nazi showpieces. International political unrest preceded the games. It was questioned whether the Nazi regime could really accept the terms of the Olympic Charter of participation unrestricted by class, creed, or race. There were calls for a U.S. boycott of the games. -
Aryanization
After the 1936 Olympics Aryanization was intensify. During the summer of 1938 Jewish professionals were banned from their jobs.
the transfer of Jewish-owned businesses to German ownership
throughout Germany and German-occupied countries. The Aryanization
process included two stages: from 1933–1938 the Jews were gradually removed from German economic life, termed by the Nazis as "voluntary" exclusion; after 1938, Jewish businesses and property were forcibly confiscated by the Nazis. -
Lebensraum
As part of Hitler's quest for uniting all German-speaking people, Germany took over Austria without bloodshed. The Anschluss occurred with the overwhelming approval of the Austrian people. No countries protested this violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
The Munich Conference
In 1938 Russia, Germany, Britain, France, and Italy met in Munich to decide what action, if any, to take concerning Germany’s aggression in Czechoslovakia. This conference came to be known as the Munich Conference. While there, the allies decided to enact a policy of appeasement, wherein they would allow Germany to erase the boundaries of the Versailles Treaty without taking military action. However, it was also agreed that the sovereignty of Poland would be protected, and thus a line was drawn -
Hiltler takes over Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland
It had three million German-speaking citizens. Hitler did not want to march into the Sudetenland until he was certain that France and Britain would not intervene. First, he met with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and threatened to go to war if he did not receive the territory. Then at the Munich Conference, Hitler prevailed upon Britain, France and, Italy to agree to the cession of the Sudetenland. The Western powers chose appeasement rather than military confrontation. -
"Night of Broken Glass" (Kristallnacht)
In Germany, open antisemitism became increasingly accepted. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels initiated this free-for-all against the Jews, during which nearly 1,000 synagogues were set on fire and 76 were destroyed. More than 7,000 Jewish businesses and homes were looted, about one hundred Jews were killed and as many as 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps to be tormented, many for months. The Nazis further persecuted the Jews by forcing them to pay for all damages. -
Invasion of Poland
Hitler invaded Poland, officially starting World War II. Two days later, Britain and France, now obliged by treaty to help Poland, declared war on Germany. Hitler's armies used the tactic of Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, a combination of armored attack accompanied by air assault. Before British and French power could be brought to bear, in less than four weeks, Poland collapsed. Germany's militaryestablished the New Order, a plan to abuse and eliminate Jews & Slavs.
