HOLOCAUST TIMELINE 1933 Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor Reichstag building burned to create crisis (Jews blamed) Jews defined as having one Jewish grandparent Boycott of Jewish businesses Burning of books throughout Berlin Dachau opens in Germany (followed by Buchenwald, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbruck)

1933 (continued) Hitler given dictatorial powers Gestapo is created by Hermann Goring Nazi party declared the only legal party Forced sterilization for those with genetic defects Jews prohibited from owning land or being newspaper editors Beggars, homeless, alcoholics, unemployed can be sent to concentration camps

1934 Jews denied health insurance Night of the Long Knives (Hitler’s enemies are destroyed) – mostly SA (Browhshirts) SS becomes independent from SA President von Hindenburg dies Hitler becomes Fuhrer (Leader) - 90% of Germans vote “yes” to his new powers

1935 Jews banned from military Jewish performers/artists forced to join Jewish Cultural Unions Forced abortions allowed to prevent passing of hereditary diseases NUREMBERG LAWS PASSED (laws specifically applied to Jews which gradually and systematically took away all rights)

1936 Gestapo is placed above the law SS given command of concentration camps Nazis occupy the Rhineland Heinrich Himmler appointed chief of SS Olympic games begin in Berlin Office for Combating Homosexuality and Abortions set up

1938 Anschluss (union) with Austria Mauthausen opens No “front ownership” of Jewish businesses All Jewish businesses forced to register All Jews over 15 must carry identity cards Jewish doctors prohibited from practicing medicine

1938 (continued) Women forced to add “Sarah”, men “Israel” to names on all legal documents Jews prohibited from all legal practices Passports stamped with large red “J” Nazis occupy Sudetenland (Czech.) Polish Jews living in Germany expelled Ernst vom Rath murdered as a result

1938 (continued) Herschel Grynszpan (17), son of deportee, accused of murder Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) in retaliation Jews fined for damages of Kristallnacht! Jews expelled from German schools Hermann Goring takes charge of Jewish “question”

1939 Reinhard Heydrich ordered to speed up emigration of Jews Jews forced to hand over gold and silver Nazis seize Czechoslovakia Jews relocated into Jewish houses Ship “St. Louis” (refugees) turned away by many countries (including U.S.) Most died later in camps

1939 (continued) Germany invades Poland (WWII begins) Curfew for Jews - 8:00 p.m. Heydrich instructs Einsatzgruppen (special action squads) to gather Jews into ghettos near railroads for future “final goal.” Nazis and Soviets divide Poland Euthanasia programs begin on sick and disabled

1939 (continued) Forced labor decree for Jews aged 14 to 60 Yellow stars required to be worn Adolf Eichmann takes over Jewish affairs and evacuations Quote (newspaper) “The Jewish people ought to be exterminated root and branch. Then the plague of pests would disappear from Poland in one stroke” (Streicher)

1940 New site in Poland, Auschwitz, chosen for new concentration camp First deportation of German Jews to Poland Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg France falls, Hitler’s greatest achievement Axis agreement signed between Germany, Italy and Japan

1941 Germany occupies Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union Einsatzgruppen continues work in occupied territories Pograms (organized attacks) take place all over Europe Heydrich instructed to prepare for “Final Solution”

1941 (continued) First test use of Zyklon-B gas at Auschwitz 33,000 murdered at Babi Yar in Russia Theresienstadt opens in Czech.; used as a model ghetto for propaganda purposes Japanese attack Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7); U.S. and Britain enter war Chelmo opens

1942 Mass killings begin at Auschwitz (Zyklon) Wannsee Conference to coordinate “Final Solution” Belzec extermination camp opens Jews from all over Europe begin deportations to camps Sobibor death camp opens Heydrich murdered by Czech resistance

1942 (continued) NY Times reports murders of hundreds of thousands of Jews by Nazis Sterilization experiments begin at Auschwitz Treblinka death camp opens in Poland SS cash in possessions/valuables seized, some goods are sent to troops and German families

1943 Einsatzgruppen murders pass 1 million U.S. and G.B. are aware of intention to exterminate all Jewish people of Europe First resistance by Jews in Warsaw ghetto Germans defeated at Stalingrad; critical loss Dr. Josef Mengele arrives at Auschwitz Germans & Italians surrender in N. Africa

1943 (continued) Berlin is declared “cleansed of Jews” Auschwitz capacity is 5,000 bodies/day Danish underground transports nearly 8,000 Jews to safety in Sweden Massive escape from Sobibor, 300 escape and 50 survive; camp is destroyed Himmler talks openly about the “Final Solution”

1944 Soviet troops reach Polish border Eichmann arrives at Auschwitz to speed up the extermination process Red Cross visits Theresienstadt and gives a favorable report June 6, 1944 - Allies begin invasion of Normandy, France (D-Day) Auschwitz - Highest average - 9,000/day

1944 (continued) Soviet troops liberate first camp, Majdanek Anne Frank & family arrested and sent to Auschwitz Last Jewish ghetto is liquidated Last use of gas chambers at Auschwitz; crematoria destroyed Forced marches to other camps begin Oskar Schindler saves 1,200 Jews

1945 As Allies advance, death marches continue Invasion of eastern Germany by Soviets Liberation of Warsaw Soviets liberate Auschwitz Allies liberate Buchenwald, Dachau, Mathausen, Bergen-Belsen; troops are shocked and sickened by what they see

1945 (continued) Hitler commits suicide in his Berlin bunker Germany surrenders, war in Europe ends Himmler, Goebbels commit suicide, Eichmann escapes November - Opening of Nuremberg Military Tribunal (war crimes trial)

Conclusion 1946 - Former Auschwitz commander Hoss is hanged at Auschwitz Goring commits suicide 2 hours before his execution 1960 - Eichmann is captured in Argentina and executed in Israel the next year 1980’s - Joseph Mengele drowns in S. America; lived 35 years as a free man