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Hitler is elected Chancellor of Germany
Hitler is elected the Chancellor of Germany following four years of incredibly bad economic problems which have made the German people desperate. He promised to create jobs by building weapons and increasing the size of the army. He publicly blamed communists, the democratic politicians and his critics of being controlled by a Jewish conspiracy that wants to destroy Germany. -
Germany's parliament is burned down.
Germany’s parliament mysteriously burned down. Hitler blamed communists and minority groups. He used it as an excuse to get emergency powers for himself and the Nazi Party. That allows him to arrest thousands of his political opponents and turns him into a powerful dictator. -
The Dachau concentration camp is opened
Dachau concentration camp opened, it was the first concentration camp to be opened. It processed a couple thousand political opponents, they had been accused of taking part of the conspiracy to overthrow the German government in the Reichstag fire. -
The Nuremburg Laws were passed.
The Nuremburg Laws were passes. The Nuremberg laws stated that Jews were no longer German citizens and they lost all of their rights. The Jews were banned from many professional occupations including being a doctor, accountants and dentists. There were denied tax reductions as well as child allowances. There was also an anti-Jewish exhibition which was touring the country, it was called 'The Eternal Jew'. -
Kristallnacht - Night of Broken Glass
On November 10, 1938, there was a single night where Nazi supporters and 'Storm Troopers' attacked the Jews. It was a night of violence all over Germany which was later named Kristallnacht - Night of Broken Glass. Hundreds of people were killed and many of the businesses that were attacked never reopened. Hitler didn't allow the spree of violence to get too out of control as he was afraid that foreign countries would react badly. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland as that was where millions of Jewish people lived and worked. The Germans forced the Jewish people into the ghetto and they were forced to wear yellow stars of David on their clothes so that non-Jewish citizens would know who was and wasn't Jewish. In the German newspapers there started to be more talk of solving the 'Jewish problem' for good. -
Hitler's elite troops invade Eastern Europe
Hitler's elite troops, the SS Einsatzgruppen, were sent to accompany the soldiers who were invading Eastern Europe. They were under orders to terrorize the Jewish People, this included shooting, beating and murdering Jews. Many murder's were carried out through badly executed massacres. After that many SS officers began killing themselves. Historians believe that they did so because they were haunted bu their actions. -
Hitler comes up with "Final solution to the Jewish problem"
At a meeting, Hitler and his top advisers decided that it was time to solve the Jewish Problem for good. They decided that the best course of action was to expand the concentration camps and that they would begin to send all Jewish deportees to the concentration camps to be viciously killed off.