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Hitler elected Chancellor
Adolf Hitler was not elected to power in Germany by an overwhelming upsurge of popular demand. The Nazi Party achieved substantial support, winning 37 per cent of the total vote in the 1932 election, but it was Franz von Papen and other conservatives who persuaded the German president, Field Marshal von Hindenburg, to appoint Hitler as chancellor in a coalition government. Hindenburg was reluctant to appoint Hitler at first, but Papen hoped to manipulate him whilst serving as vice chancellor. -
Concentration camps opened
The first concentration camp, Dachau, was opened in a former World War One gunpowder factory. Primarily, Dachau was a camp for men, and, although it did contain Jewish prisoners it was not a death camp for the genocide of the Jews.In fact, the first prisoners to serve at Dachau were Hitler's political opponents. Throughout its history, it was used to incarcerate anyone who was considered an "enemy of the state." This included a variety of people, ranging from communists to resistance fighters. -
Boycotting the Jews
Just a week after the Enabling Act made Hitler dictator of Germany, a national boycott of Jewish shops and department stores was organised by Nazis under the direction of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.The boycott was claimed to be in reaction to unflattering newspaper stories appearing in Britain and America concerning Hitler's new regime. They labelled the bad publicity as "atrocity propaganda" spread by "international Jewry." At first, however, many Germans ignored the Nazi's warnings. -
Nuremberg laws
The Nazi government passed two racial laws at their annual Reich Party Congress in Nuremberg, Germany. These two laws became collectively known as the Nuremberg Laws.They took German citizenship away from Jews and outlawed marriage between Jews and non-Jews. By taking away their citizenship, the Nazis had legally pushed Jews to the fringe of society. This was a crucial step in enabling the Nazis to strip Jews of their basic civil rights and liberties.Jewishness was defined by race, not religion. -
Nazis occupy Rhineland
Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to have any military force, building or armaments in the Rhineland area. However, in May 1935 France signed a treaty of friendship and mutual support with the USSR. Germany claimed the treaty was hostile to them and Hitler used this as an excuse to send German troops into the Rhineland, thus undermining the terms of the treaty of Versailles. It was a gamble on his part as the German military could not have defeated France. -
Austria occupied
In early 1938, Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany. Eventually, Schuschnigg gave in to pressure from Hitler and resigned on March 11. In his resignation address, he pleaded with Austrian forces not to resist a German “advance” into the country. Hitler then accompanied German troops into Austria, where enthusiastic crowds met them. He appointed a Nazi government, and proclaimed the Anschluss. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also called Night of Broken Glass, was when German Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property. The name Kristallnacht refers to the litter of broken glass left in the streets after this attack. The violence continued during the day of November 10, and in some places for several days afterwards. The police were instructed to arrest the victims, not prosecutors, and firemen stood by synagogues in flames, to intervene only if a fire threatened adjacent Aryan properties. -
War breaks out
Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, and thus World War II began. However, there were many more underlying causes, such as the Treaty of Versailles, which the German's detested. Over the next six years, the conflict took more lives and destroyed more land around the globe than any previous war. Among the estimated 45-60 million people killed, 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazi's, most often in death camps. -
Yellow star
Nazi officials implemented the Jewish badge between 1939 and 1945 in a systematic manner, as a prelude to deporting Jews to ghettos and killing centres in German-occupied eastern Europe.They used the badge not only to stigmatise and humiliate Jews but also to segregate them and to watch and control their movements. All Jews in the Reich six or older were to wear a badge which consisted of a yellow Star of David. This applied to all German Jews and Jews in Germany's annexed territories. -
Final solution
The Nazis used the term “Final Solution” to refer to their plan to annihilate the Jewish people. The genocide, or mass destruction, of the Jews was the culmination of a decade of increasingly severe discriminatory measures. After the June 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, police units began massive killing operations aimed at entire Jewish communities. By autumn 1941, mobile gas vans were introduced. These vans pumped carbon monoxide gas into sealed spaces, killing those locked inside. -
Death camps
Death, or extermination, camps, such as Auschwitz, were built as part of the Nazi final solution. In total, six such death camps existed. In these camps, Jewish people would either be forced to work or be killed. This was done by asphyxiation-poisonous gas, such as Zyklon B was used. Forced labour was also a cause of death. More than 1.1 million people lost their lives in Auschwitz alone. Overall, nearly 2,700,000 Jews were murdered in the death camps. -
Warsaw ghetto uprising
When reports of mass murder in the killing centre leaked back to the Warsaw ghetto, a surviving group of people formed an organisation called the Z.O.B. The Z.O.B issued a proclamation calling for the Jewish people to resist going to the railroad cars. In January 1943, Warsaw ghetto fighters fired upon German troops as they tried to round up another group of ghetto inhabitants for deportation, causing the troops to retreat. This victory inspired the ghetto fighters to continue their resistance. -
Hitler's suicide
Hitler was based in his bunker underneath the Reich Chancellery building. On April 30th, Hitler gave very clear instructions that both his and his wife’s body should be burned. After lunch, both Hitler and Eva Braun/Hitler (his wife of two days) met his inner circle in the antechamber of the bunker. Here Hitler said his farewells. The area known as the lower bunker was cleared to allow for privacy. It is believed that Hitler, and Eva, consumed cyanide capsules, though Hitler also shot himself. -
Germany surrender
Germany, represented by General Alfred Jodi, signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the conflict of World War II. Despite the brutality Germany demonstrated, they surrendered with an appeal to the victors for mercy toward the German people and armed forces. As a result of the surrender, May 8 was declared Victory in Europe (VE) Day, a holiday still celebrated by many European countries.
