Holocaust Timeline
Hitler Appointed Chancellor
January 1933
As head of government, Hitler can
now begin to carry out the antiSemitic policies of the Nazi Party.
Boycott of Jewish Shops
April 1, 1933
A small,
nonviolent act
that focuses on
the targeted
community of the
Jews.
The Gestapo is created.
April 1933
The Gestapo and the
SS are the secret
police of Nazi
Germany and will
carry out many of the
attacks against the
Jews.
The Nuremberg Race Laws
September 1935
Formalizing earlier
laws concerning
race and
citizenship in
Germany.
Jews banned from professional occupations
January 1937
The Germans continue
to increase the
restrictions and
persecutions of the
Jews in Germany.
“The Eternal Jew” Exhibition
November 1937
The Nazi sponsored art
collection exhibitions
promoting the
stereotypes of the Jews
and how they are
defiling the blood of the
Aryans.
League of Nations Meeting
July 1938
32 nations meet,
including the USA, to
determine what can be
done to help the Jews
fleeing Nazi Germany.
The meeting ends with
no action as no country
will take them in.
KristallnachtNight of the Broken Glass
(Major turning point in the treatment of Jews in Germany)
November 1938
Following the assassination of a
German official in Paris by a Jew, the
Nazi unleash incredible acts of
violence and destruction against Jewish
businesses and synagogues. 7500
Jewish businesses were destroyed. 267
synagogues were burned down and
about 25,000 Jewish men imprisoned.
(Jews were fined 1 billion marks for
the damages.)
World War II Begins
September 1939
Germany invades
Poland, which has
Europe’s largest
population of Jews.
Transportation of Jews
1939-1945
At the beginning of the war,
Jews are rounded up and moved
to various locations, usually in
Poland. Most Jews are confined
to “ghettos” and kept under
guard by the SS. As Germany
occupies more land, Nazi
policies against the Jews are
enforced across Europe, Africa
and Asia.
Auschwitz
1940
Auschwitz, the most
infamous, but by no
means the only, slave
labor/death camp is
created near Krakow,
Poland.
The Final Solution
July 1941
Herman Goring
orders the commander
of Auschwitz to begin
to make preparations
for the final solution,
or the extermination
of Jews.
Wannsee Conference
January 1942
At this meeting top Nazi
(SS) officials meet to
work out the details of
the Final Solution.
Krakow Ghetto
March 1943
The Krakow
Ghetto is
liquidated and the
Jews removed to
the camps.
Preparing Auschwitz
March-April 1943
Three new massive
gas chambers and
crematoriums are
constructed and put
to immediate use.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April 1943
Jews confined to the ghetto
in Warsaw, knowing that
liquidation is coming, stage
an uprising and fight the
Germans for 28 days. In the
end, 56,000 Jews are killed,
survivors are sent to the
death camps.
Auschwitz is liberated
January 1945
Soviet troops
liberate Auschwitz.
Roughly 2 million
people were
murdered at this one
death camp.
Nuremberg Military Tribunal
November 1945
Former Nazi leaders
are placed on trial by
an international
court for “Crimes
against Humanity”.