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Period: to
1940-1945
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Hitler approves the Manstein Plan
Adolf Hitler gave his approval to the Manstein Plan on 17th February, 1940, but it was not activated until the 10th May, when the Luftwaffe bombed Dutch and Belgian airfields and the German Army captured Moerdijk and Rotterdam. Fedor von Bock and the 9th Panzer Division, using its Blitzkreig strategy, advanced quickly into the Netherlands. Belgium was also invaded and the French 7th Army moved forward to help support the Dutch and Belgian forces. -
France Surrenders to Nazi Germany
During this period, Hitler built up his forces on Germany's western frontier. In April 1940, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway. In May 1940, Hitler's forces attacked France, conquering the Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium in the process. France surrendered on 22 June 1940. These victories persuaded Benito Mussolini of Italy to join the war on Hitler's side on 10 June 1940. -
Hitler Issues Directive No. 16, Calling for a Plan to Invade Britain, Code Named 'Operation Sealion'
he plan, code named Unternehmen Seelöwe ("Operation Sealion"), was submitted by the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or "High Command of the Armed Forces") and was scheduled to take place in mid-September 1940. -
Breaks non-aggression pact
Breaks non-aggression pact with Stalin and invades the Soviet Union. -
Declares war
Hitler declares war with the United States. -
All Jews in Reich and Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ordered to wear Star of David
All Jews are ordered to wear the Star of David, seperating them from the rest of the nation. -
Adolf Hitler Lays Out His Vision of the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Question' to Nazi Officials at the Wannsee Conference
he Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich had been appointed as the chief executor of the "Final solution to the Jewish question", and to obtain their full support. -
Battle of Stalingrad Begins
he Battle of Stalingrad was a battle of World War II between Nazi Germany and its allies and the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 17 July 1942 and 2 February 1943. -
Battle of Stalingrad ends
Hitler becomes very erratic after being defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad. He knew his troops would lose but still told them to fight because it was better to fight and die than to be a coward and retreat. They end up losing many men and the battle. -
SS Evacuates and Liquidates Janowska Concentration Camp
The evacuation of the Janowska camp began in November 1943. As the Germans attempted to destroy the traces of mass murder (Aktion 1005), they forced the prisoners to open the mass graves and burn the bodies in Lesienicki forest. On November 19, 1943, inmates staged an uprising against the Nazis and a mass escape attempt. A few succeeded in escaping, but most were recaptured and killed. The SS staff and their local auxiliaries murdered at least 6,000 Jews who had survived the uprising killings. -
Birthday
Celebrates his 56th birthday in a bunker below the Reich Chancellery. -
Hitler Delivers Address at Platterhof
This is an important speech, perhaps the most meaningful of Adolf Hitler's entire political career. He not only recapped his entire life's work in a relatively honest way, but he did so in a private setting, clear of the public eye. In this speech Hitler offered a somewhat disjointed recollection of all that was most important to him by 1944. -
Hitler Delivers Address at Platterhof
This is an important speech, perhaps the most meaningful of Adolf Hitler's entire political career. He not only recapped his entire life's work in a relatively honest way, but he did so in a private setting, clear of the public eye. In this speech Hitler offered a somewhat disjointed recollection of all that was most important to him by 1944. -
Adolf Hitler Narrowly Escapes Explosion of Bomb Planted by Claus von Stauffenberg
The 20 July plot of 1944 was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, inside his "Wolf's Lair" field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi regime. The failure of both the assassination and the military coup d'état which was planned to follow it led to the arrest of at least 7,000 people by the Gestapo. -
Adolf Hitler Narrowly Escapes Explosion of Bomb Planted by Claus von Stauffenberg
The 20 July plot of 1944 was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, inside his "Wolf's Lair" field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi regime. The failure of both the assassination and the military coup d'état which was planned to follow it led to the arrest of at least 7,000 people by the Gestapo. -
With Defeat Looming, Adolf Hitler Orders the Destruction of Remaining German Industry
By late 1944, the Red Army had driven the Germans back into Central Europe and the Western Allies were advancing into Germany. Hitler realized that Germany had lost the war, but allowed no retreats. He hoped to negotiate a separate peace with America and Britain, a hope buoyed by the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 April 1945. Hitler's stubbornness and defiance of military realities allowed the Holocaust to continue. -
With Defeat Looming, Adolf Hitler Orders the Destruction of Remaining German Industry
By late 1944, the Red Army had driven the Germans back into Central Europe and the Western Allies were advancing into Germany. Hitler realized that Germany had lost the war, but allowed no retreats. He hoped to negotiate a separate peace with America and Britain, a hope buoyed by the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on 12 April 1945. Hitler's stubbornness and defiance of military realities allowed the Holocaust to continue. -
Camps are liberated
Concentration Camps Buchenwald, Westerbok, Ravensbruck, and Sachsenhausen are liberated by either US, British or Soviet troops. -
Camps are liberated
Concentration Camps Buchenwald, Westerbok, Ravensbruck, and Sachsenhausen are liberated by either US, British or Soviet troops. -
Suicide
Commits suicide by shooting himself and biting into a cyanide capsule.
