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The Nazi Party
The Nazi party gained 37.4% of the vote in the Reichstag elections to become the largest party. -
Hitler Chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Hindenburg. -
Lebensraum
Hitler defined the Nazi party foreign policy. The prime goal was to secure lebensraum (living space) for the German master race. -
The Reichstag Fire
A fire which broke out at the Reichstag building was blamed on the Communist Party (KPD). As a result, the KPD, which was the second largest party in Germany, was banned. The banning of the Communist party gave the Nazis a clear majority in government. -
Communist Party Banned
With the Communist party banned Hitler ordered a new election at which the Nazi party gained 44% of the General election vote. -
First Concentration Camp Opened
The first concentration camp was opened at Dachau in Germany. -
Jewish shops boycotted
Germans were told not to buy from Jewish shops or businesses. -
The Gestapo
The Gestapo, Nazi secret police, were formed. -
Political parties banned
All political parties except the Nazis were banned. -
Germany withdrew from the League of Nations
Nine months after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, the German government announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations. The ostensible reason was the refusal of the Western powers to acquiesce in Germany's demands for military parity. -
Undesirables sent to camps
Homeless, alcoholic and unemployed people were sent to concentration camps. -
The Night of the Long Knives
150 leaders of the Stormtroopers SA were executed. Many members of the SA were committed socialists and demanded that Nazi policy embrace socialist aims. This was not a direction the Nazis wished to follow so the SA were eliminated. -
President Hindenburg died
Hitler combined the post of President and Chancellor and called himself Fuhrer. -
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws were introduced. These laws were designed to take away Jewish rights of citizenship and included orders that:
Jews are no longer allowed to be German citizens.
Jews cannot marry non-Jews.
Jews cannot have sexual relations with non-Jews. -
Re-occupation of the Rhineland
In contravention of the terms of the Versailles Treaty, Hitler sent German troops to re-occupy the Rhineland. -
Kristallnacht
Jewish shops and synagogues were destroyed. Approximately 100 Jews were murdered, 20,000 German and Austrian Jews arrested and sent to camps, hundreds of synagogues burned, and the windows of Jewish shops all over Germany and Austria smashed. Following the event, the Jewish population was fined for the destruction. -
Britain and France declared war on Germany
In response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. They would begin bombing German ships on September 4, suffering significant losses. -
Yellow Star introduced
Jews in Poland were forced to sew a yellow star onto their clothes so that they could be easily identified.
