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The Persecution Begins
Shortly after Hitler took power in Germany, he ordered all "non-Aryans" to be removed from government jobs. This order was one of the first moves in a campaign for racial purity that eventually led to the Holocaust (the systematic murder of 6 million Jews across Europe - the Nazis also murdered 5 million other people). -
Jews Targated - 1935
The Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. To make it easier for the Nazis to identify them , Jews had to wear a bright yellow Star of David attached to their clothing. -
Hitler's Secret Meeting
Hitler met with his top military advisers and stated that if they wanted Germany to grow and prosper, he required the surrounding lands of Austria and Czechoslovakia to launch the Third Reich (the Third German Empire). When told by one adviser that his plan could start a war, Hitler replied, " 'The German Question' can be solved only by means of force, and this is never without risk". -
Kristallnacht
November ninth and tenth became known as Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass". Nazi storm troopers attached Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany and Austria. Around 100 Jews were killed, and hundreds more injured. Some 30,000 Jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. Afterward, the Nazis blamed the Jews for the destruction. -
The Union of Austria
Austria was Hitler's first target. The majority of the 6 million people in Austria were Germans who favored a unification with Germany. On March 12, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. Only one day later, Germany announced that the union with Austria was complete, and the rest of the world did nothing. -
The Arrangement for Sudetenland
Hitler's next target was Czechoslovakia, more importantly, the western border regions known as the Sudetenland. Hitler accused Czechoslovakia of abusing the Germans living in the Sudetenland. The French and Great Britain promised to protect the Czech Republic, and when Hitler asked to meet with them in Munich they were apprehensive. But he promised Sudetenland would be his "last territorial demand", so they signed the Munich Agreement, turning over Sudetenland to Germany. -
Spring of 1939 - Hitler's Usual Tactics
Hitler struck Poland with the same tactic he used on Czechoslovakia: he accused them of mistreating the German citizens residing there. -
Hitler's "Final Solution" - 1939
By 1939, only about a quarter of a million Jews remained in Germany. But other nations that Hitler occupied had millions more. Obsessed with the desire to rid Europe of all Jews, Hitler imposed what he called the "Final Solution" - a policy of genocide, the deliberate and systematic killing of an entire population. -
The Offense Begins
As dawn broke over Czechoslovakia, German troops poured into what remained of the country, By nightfall, Hitler was quoted on saying, "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist". Next on Hitler's list was Germany's eastern neighbor, Poland. -
A Nonaggression Pact with Stalin
People believed Hitler was bluffing on his attack of Poland because it could lead to conflict with the Soviet Union. But, Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler, committing both countries to never attack each other. They also signed a secret, second pact to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzkreig in Poland
The German air force roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads and cities. At the same time, Germans tanks crossed Polish countryside, causing terror and confusion. This invasion was the first introduction of Germany's newest military strategy: the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. They used fast tanks and powerful aircraft to take the enemy by surprise. -
Declarations of War
Two days after the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
Suprise Invasion
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order "to protect [those countries'] freedom and independence". But in actuality, Hitler planned to build bases along their coasts to strike at Great Britain. Then, Hitler tuned on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. -
The Fall of France
Italy had entered war on Germany's side a few days earlier and invaded France from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris from the north. Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender while the rest of world watched on. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government would be set up in southern France. -
The Final Stage - 1941
The Germans built six death camps in Poland. The first, Chelmno, began operating in 1941. Each camp had several huge gas chambers in which as many as 12,000 people could be killed per day. -
The Battle of the Atlantic
In the first four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic coast. Seven months into the year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
In the summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive in the southern Soviet Union. Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains. Hitler also wanted to wipe out Stalingrad, a major industrial center. All the wooden buildings in the city were set ablaze, and by the end of September, they controlled nine-tenths of the city. -
The Surrender of the Nazis
The fighting continued as winter turned Stalingrad into a frozen wasteland. The Soviet army closed around Stalingrad, trapping the Germans in and around the city and cutting off their supplies. The German commander surrendered on January 31st, and two days later his starving troops followed in suit. -
The Italian Campaign
The Italian campaign got off to a good start with the capture of Sicily in the summer of 1943. Stunned by the collapse of the city, the Italian government forced dictator Benito Mussolini to resign. King Victor Emmanuel the Third summoned Mussolini to his palace, stripped him of power, and had him arrested. Italians began celebrating the end of the war. But, Hitler put up an immense fight until 1945 when Germany itself was close to collapsing. 1945 was when Italy became truly free. -
The Allies Gain Ground
The Allies had freed France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. -
Liberation of the Death Camps
Soviets were the first to come upon one of the Nazi death camps. As the Soviets drew towards a camp called Majdanek in Poland, SS guards tried to burn all evidence of their crimes, but they ran out of time. When the Soviets entered Majdanek, they found a thousand starving prisoners barely alive, the worlds largest crematorium, and a storehouse containing 800,000 shoes. -
The Allies Liberate Europe
The original date for Operation Overlord (The Allied Invasion) was supposed to occur on June 5th, but bad weather forced a delay. D-Day (the first day of invasion) commenced on June 6th. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down behind German lines. They were followed by thousands upon thousands of seaborne soldiers - the largest land-sea-air operation in history. After seven days of fighting, the Allies held up an 80 mile strip of France. -
Hitler's Death
In his underground bunker in Berlin, Hitler married his long-time companion Eva Braun. The same day, he wrote out his last address to the German people where he accused the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. The next day Hitler shot himself while his new wife downed poison. -
An Unconditional Surrender
A week after Hitler's death, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. The Allies celebrated V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe had finally ended.
