Holocaust

The persecution begins

Apr 7, 1933

On April 7, 1933, shortly after Hitler took power in Germany, he ordered all "non-Aryans" to be removed from government jobs.

Hitler silences his enemy

Apr 11, 1933

After taking power in 1933, the Nazis had concentrated on silencing their political opponents-communists, socialists, liberals, and anyone else who spoke out against the government. They then discriminated against groups like Jews, gypsies, Freemasons, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Increased Persecution

Mar 16, 1935

The Nuremberg laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. Jews were then made to wear a bright yellow star of David to help people identify them.

Kristallnacht

Nov 9, 1938

Means "Night of Broken Glass." Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany.

St. Louis

Dec 16, 1939

The St. Louis was a German ocean liner that passed by Miami in 1939. Although 740 of the liner's 943 passengers had U.S. immigration papers, the Coast Guard followed the ship to prevent anyone from disembarking in America. The ship was then forced back to Europe.

The Final Solution

Dec 19, 1939

Jews in communities not reached by the killing squads were dragged from their homes and herded onto trains or trucks for shipment to concentration camps. Concentration camps were meant to imprison political opponents and protestors. The camps were then turned over to the SS who used it to house "undesirables."

Death Camps

Mar 16, 1941

To kill the Jews faster, the Nazis decided to build six death camps in Poland. The first, Chelmno, began operating in 1941. Each camp had several huge gas chambers which could kill up to 12,000 each day. The largest and most famous death camp was Auschwitz.

The Final Stage

Mar 20, 1942

In 1942, Hitler's top officials agreed to begin a new phase of the mass murder of Jews. Along with slaughter and starvation, they would add murder by poison gas to exterminate the Jews quicker.