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Hitler takes charge
Adolf Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany. -
Repression
The German government takes away freedom of speech, assembly, press, and freedom from invasion of privacy and from house search without warrant. -
Burning of books
Books by Jews and opponents of Nazism are burned publicly. -
Germany Withdraws
Germany withdraws from the League of Nations. -
Violation of the Treaty of Versaillies
Hitler violates the Versailles Treaty by renewing the compulsory military draft. -
"No Jews"
"No Jews" signs and notices are posted outside German towns and villages, and outside shops and restaurants. -
Citizenship revoaked
The Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of their citizenship. -
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games take place in Berlin. Anti-Jewish signs (i.e., "Jews Not Welcome") are removed until the Games are completed. -
Passports
Jews can obtain passports for travel outside of Germany only in special cases. -
ID Cards
The German government announces Jews must carry identification cards. -
Night of broken glass
Kristallnacht ("Night of Broken Glass"): Nazi organized nation-wide pogroms result in the burning of hundreds of synagogues; the looting and destruction of many Jewish homes, schools, and community offices; vandalism; and the looting of 7,500 Jewish stores. Many Jews are beaten, and more than 90 are killed. Thirty-thousand Jewish men are arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps. Several thousand Jewish women are arrested and sent to local jails. This is followed by a punitive fine to be pa -
Children expelled
All Jewish children are expelled from German schools and can attend only separate Jewish schools. -
Jewish refugees
Cuba and the United States refuse to accept Jewish refugees aboard the ship S.S. St. Louis, which is forced to return to Europe. -
WWII begins
The German army invades Poland and World War II begins. -
German expansion
The German army invades and defeats Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. -
Ghettos established
Approximately 164,000 Polish Jews are concentrated and imprisoned in the Lódz ghetto which is established and sealed off from the outside world. -
Murders
The German army invades the Soviet Union. The Einsatzgruppen, mobile killing squads, begin the mass murders of Jews, Gypsies, and Communist leaders. -
USA involvment
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. -
Extermination
Nazi "extermination" camps located in occupied Poland at Auschwitz, Birkenau, Treblinka, Sobibor, Belzec, and Majdanek-Lublin begins mass murder of Jews in gas chambers. -
Death Camps
All Jews in concentration camps in Germany are sent to death camp at Auschwitz. -
Resistance
Jews in the Warsaw ghetto initiate resistance to deportation by the Germans to the death camps. -
D-Day
The Allied Powers invade Normandy. -
Liberation begins
The Soviet army liberates Auschwitz. -
Liberation
Troops from the United States liberate survivors from the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps. -
Hitlers death
Adolph Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin rather than be caught by the advancing Soviet army. -
WWII Ends
Germany surrenders and war in Europe is ended.