The Holocaust

By iznamirowski

  • Dachau Camp Established

    Dachau Camp Established
    The first concentration camp was established to hold political dissidents which was the only camp to remain in operation for the entirety of the Nazi regime.

  • Nazis in Power

    Nazis in Power
    Hitler was appointed Chancellor. He formed a coalition government with The National Socialist Party being the majority.

  • Anti-Semitism Becomes Law

    Anti-Semitism Becomes Law
    Jewish people were reduced to second class citizens and prohibited from marrying anyone with "German related blood" in order to Aryanize the state.

  • Rise of Anti-Jewish Propaganda

    Rise of Anti-Jewish Propaganda
    Anti-Semitic posters lead to concentration camps to start incarcerating 'habitual criminals'. These posters were displayed in schools, stores, and trains.

  • Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht
    Instigated by the assassination of Ernst vom Rath hundreds of synagogues and Jewish businesses were destroyed and mass incarcerations occurred in Germany, and Austria.

  • Start of WWII

    Start of WWII
    Following the invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia continued and forced many Jewish people out of their homes.

  • Establishment of First Jewish Concentration Camps

    Establishment of First Jewish Concentration Camps
    Concentration camps specifically targetting Jewish people were created a year after the start of WWII. The intention of these camps was for Jewish people to perish. Ghettos in Poland also became more common specifically for villagers and farmers as their land was given to Germans.

  • Decision of the 'Final Solution'

    Decision of the 'Final Solution'
    Methods of mass murder expanded during this period: killing squads would shoot entire communities because ghettos were becoming overcrowded. Gas trucks and chambers were established to rapidly exterminate the population.

  • Death Marches

    Auschwitz was evacuated and death marches began on January 17th. Ten days later death marches began for the inmates of Stutthof. In April, the inmates of Buchenwald were also sent on death marches. SS guards would mistreat or kill prisoners during these marches, on top of the already harsh conditions they were walking through. The purpose of the death marches was to avoid the concentration camps from falling to the hands of the Allies.

  • International Military Tribunal

    International Military Tribunal
    At the international military tribunal, 18 Nazi officials were found guilty and 3 were acquitted. 11 were given death sentences, but thousands remained unpunished.