-
Period: to
The Death of Hindenburg
The death of Hindenburg is what gave Hitler so much power. After his death, Hitler was the newly appointed fuhrer giving him absolute control of Germany. This is what allowed him to invade Poland and start the mass murder of Jews. -
Hitler's Rise to Power
Hitler's rise to power was through mutiny and deception. He first tried to over throw the government with a group called the Nazi part. After that had failed, he then decided to take advantage of the peoples suffering from the first World War. When he gained a great enough following, Hitler ran for president losing to Paul von Hindenburg in 1932. With this defeat he chose a alternative path, becoming the chancellor by having others convince President Hindenburg to allow him to become Chancellor. -
Period: to
The Enabling Act of 1933
Only two months after Hitler became the chancellor, he got a law passed that would promote aryan superiority and would discriminate against the people who believed in Judaism. This would be known as the Enabling Act that would be the catalyst for the Holocaust. -
Period: to
Invasion of Poland
In September of 1939, six years after the installation of the Enabling Act, Germany invades Poland. The invasion would result in millions being imprisoned in ghettos. These ghettos would be a way of containing Jews and further strengthen the support of Hitler. Thousands quickly died there due to starvation and disease. This happened alongside the creation of the Einsatzgruppen. Einsatzgruppen was a mobile killing squad that was created to prevent any kind of retaliation due to the invasion. -
Period: to
Extermination Camps
Following the Wannsee Conference, five more camps were adapted or created for the sole purpose to kill Jews. The camps main way of murder were through gas chambers. Gas chambers were used to kill up to 1000 Jews in one use. The Chambers were pumped with carbon monoxide or Zyklon B to kill the Jews. -
Period: to
The Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee conference was a meeting discussing the over population of Jews in ghettos. The conference would see that Jews be put to work and those who became unable or not able to work would be killed. These work camps would later turn into extermination camps. Though the conference was held in 1942, it is important to note that Germans were already experimenting with gas on Jews in 1941 in Chelmno. This would be the first extermination camp to be created. -
Period: to
Death Marches
Death Marches were caused due to the ever growing presence of Allied forces in Germany. The Germans in turn were forces to retreat taking the Jews with them. They did so they could continue slave labor and keep the horrors of the camp quiet. On these marches, thousands died due to the cold, starvation, and were shot if unable to march. -
Period: to
Liberation
As the Germans began to lose the war and be pushed back. The Allied forces discovered and liberated the hundreds of camps all across Europe. Time went on and the Germans lost the war, and many more camps were being liberated leaving survivors nowhere to go. The survivors were then placed into Displaced Person camps until they found somewhere to go. The camps were shut down and the war was over ending the holocaust