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The Passing of the Enabling Act
The Reichstag voted to give Hitler, the chancellor at that point, authority to pass new laws. This bill was known as the Enabling Act. To ensure its passage, Hitler arrested, threatened, and frightened many people (primarily Communists). -
Hermann Goring Summoned the Leaders of Jewish Organizations
At this point, the harassment occurring in Germany towards Jews was public and many Jewish organizations and others around the world were outraged. This harassment included the burning of books and propoganda spread in newspapers, on the radio, and through other means. In this meeting, Goring threatened that if Jews around the world did not stop spreading these stories about Germany, there would be a pogrom. Hence, these representatives had to agree to these demands. -
The Official Boycott Begins
The unofficial boycott against Jewish products became official. The SA guards barricaded Jewish businesses and offices. Jewish stores were also marked with stars and SA officials were set in place to harrass entering customers. This boycott only lasted one day and was rather unsuccessful.
However, this boycott solidified the fact that Antisemisim was the official government policy in Germany. -
The Orthodox Agudath Israel's Publication Dar Isralist Responds
This widely read publication responded to the boycott by saying the Nazis were the "abominiation of God to all German Jews" and told all Jews to repent. Other responses followed. -
Passing of the "Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service"
This law demanded the mandatory “retirement" of all "non-Aryans," meaning anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, from public service. The Nazi's would fire Jews or send SS men to force them to leave their offices. This law was passed to stop the Jewish influence-taking place in Germany. -
A Ban on Ritual Slaughter Was Passed
This ban severely restricted religious life and also imposed a serious hardship since meat was a major staple in this area. Anyone caught preforming a ritual slaughter was fined; their community was fined as well. However, some people who were caught were sent to Dachau. -
Quotas Limited Number of Jews Allowed in Schools
These quotas limited the number of Jews allowed in high schools and universities specifically. If the number of Jews in a school was already higher than the quota allowed, Jewish students would be expelled until the correct number was reached. -
The Nazi Party Was Declared the Sole Legal Party in Germany
This process took place a few months prior to the announcement. The Communist Party was eliminated in March, The Social Democrats were eliminated in June. Soon the Liberal Parties and Nationalists were dismantled as well. Finally, the Catholic Center was disbanded by early July. -
The Law for the Repeal of Naturalization Was Passed
This law stripped citizenship from anyone who had received it after the outbreak of World War I. This set a precidence that allowed the government to strip citizenship whenever it pleased. This would later occur to all German Jews. -
The Vatican Signs the Concordat
In Hitler's attempt to remove all those who opposed or did not actively support Nazi ideology, he had the Vatican sign the Concordat. This simply stated that the Church would remain uninvolved in Nazi Germany if it were allowed to control its own institutions.
This was Hitler's first important diplomatic victory. He gained much international credibility. Soon, many Protestant churches made similar agreements and some even swore their loyalty to the Nazi ideals. -
Reichstag Elections
The Nazi Party was the only party on the ballot. This election went to show how powerful the Nazi party was because all 661 elected deputies were members of the Nazi party. -
Passage of the "Law Concerning the Reconstruction of the Reich"
This law dissolved the governments in all of the German states, which essentially placed them under Hitler's complete and total control. Soon he passed laws that placed Nazi officails as state governors and gave them complete authority there. -
The Night of Long Knives
Hitler realized that he no longer needed the SA and they were too difficult to control. On this night, he had many of them arrested and murdered along with many political opponents. All of the SA's top leaders were killed that night. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsIwKsV1RR4 -
Death of President Paul von Hindenburg
When President Paul von Hindenburg died, Hitler immediately ordered the army to pledge allegence to him. Now that the army was under his control, Hitler had a true dictatorship established. -
A Law is Passed Stating High School Teachers Must Be Aryan
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More Quotas are Put in Place
These new quotas continued to limit the number of Jewish students allowed to study in German schools and universities. -
The Nuremberg Laws are Put in Place
Many new laws and ordinances were put in place, known as the Nuremberg Laws. These laws included major discriminating measures against Jews. One was called the Reich Citizenship Law, which stripped Jews of their citizenship and removed their political and civil rights. Another ordinance was the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor. This forbade any Jew from marrying an Aryan. Jews were also forbidden from raising the German flag. -
The Definition of "Jew" Was Presented
The Nuremberg Laws posed many problems of who would be identified as Jewish. These issues included converts and children of intermarriages. Hence, a team of "experts" imposed a system to categorize who was a Jew and who was not. These "experts" stated that anyone with mixed ancestry was a Mischling. The degree to which they were persecuted depended on how much Jewish blood they had. -
German Invasion of the Rhineland
At this point, Hitler and the Nazi's controlled all of Germany including the government, the economy, the education, and society in general. This was done through elections, the restraining of rights, the burning of books, and general seizing of power.
This invasion invoked little response from the other European countries. -
Jewish Teachers Are Forbidden From Tutoring German Students
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Jews Are No Longer Allowed in German Schools
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All Jewish Newspapers Are Forced to Stop Publication
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Kristallnacht
On this fateful night, violence against Jews exploded across Germany and Austria. Many shuls, homes, and stores were burned, plundered, and smashed. Many Jewish books, torahs, and religious items were burned and destroyed as well. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uine5MhOc0I -
Jews Are No Longer Allowed to Attend Universities at All
