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Western Europe
Germany attacks Western Europe - France and the neutral Low Countries. Following the surrender of Belgium, the Netherlands, and the taking of Luxembourg, on June 22, France signs an agreement stating that Germany controls the northern half of the country along with the Atlantic coastline. -
Poland
Although Poland had guaranteed military support from both the French and the British, Adolf Hitler was determined to invade and take over Poland. In order to do so he would have to ensure that the Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its neighbor. -
German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact
Adolf Hitler's tactic in neutralizing the possibility that the Soviet Union would react to the invasion of Poland lay in the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact. It stated that the two countries had agreed not to attack each other, support a third party which could attack the other, and to solve differences by negotiation or arbitration. -
Invasion of Poland
Though Hitler tried to commence the invasion of Poland on August 26th, the diplomatic efforts of the western powers caused him to postpone the orders. Finally, on August 31st, Adolf Hitler gave orders to begin the invasion on Poland the following morning. -
The Beginning
After Hitler ordered for the invasion on Poland to commence, France and Great Britain responded by declaring war on Germany. World War II had begun. -
Warsaw Surrenders
After being invaded by the Soviet Union from the east, ten days later Warsaw surrenders. Shortly after, both Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland among them. -
Tripartite Pact
On September 27th, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The pact made the three powers allies and stated that there would be assistance to any of them which were attacked by any other nation not yet involved in the war. -
Moishe the Beadle
In 1941, when he was thirteen, Elie met Moishe the Beadle. Together they would study, as Elie was eager to explore the Zohar, Kabbalistic works, and Jewish mysticism. -
U.S Joins War
After being bombed at Pearl Harbor, the U.S declared war on Japan the following day and thus entered the war. -
The U.S (Dec 11-13)
Nazi Germany, along with its Axis partners, declare war on the United States. -
Moishe's Escape
After escaping from the forest that he was taken to by the Hungarian police, Moishe spent day after day, night after night, telling his story to the Jews of his town. He tried to warn everyone that they might go through the same thing, but nobody listened to him and some even believed he was crazy. -
Passover
On the seventh day of Passover, the Germans arrested leaders of the Jewish community. Edicts were being passed which stated that: Jews were prohibited from leaving their homes for three days, under the penalty of death; and Jews were forbidden from owning gold, jewelry, or valuables. -
More Decrees
Three days after the decrees began, a new one was issued: Jews had to wear a yellow star to be identified with. Further edicts prohibited Jews from visiting restaurants or cafes, from traveling by rail, attending the synogogue, and being on the streets after six o'clock. -
The Ghettos
In the beginning of May, two ghettos were created in Sighet - a large one in the center of town and a smaller one in the outskirts of town. Since Elie and his family lived in the first one, they weren't forced to move but they had to seal their windows which faced the street outside the ghetto, -
Transports
After being summoned to a special meeting of the Council, Elie's father returns and informs the people that the ghetto will be liquidated and the departures were to happen street by street the following day. -
The Relocations
As the news about the liquidation of the ghetto spread like wildfire throughout the neighborhood, women began cooking meals and preparing their belongings. At eight o'clock, all Jews were ordered to go outside by the Hungarian police. Five hours later, after having spent over three hours in the heat of the sun, the Jews were given the signal that they were to leave. Though most people were excited to be taken away from the heat, they didn't know what they had coming. -
Elie's Relocation
Though Elie and his family weren't expected to be sent away until further notice, they were to be relocated to a smaller ghetto. After roll call, the officers ordered the Jews to run and even lashed at them with clubs. This is when Elie realized that he hated them because they treated them this way and even managed to make his father cry (something which he had never seen before). -
To the Camps
Saurday was chosen for the expulsion of the Wiesel family and many others. As it was agreed that the Jewish Council would handle the situation, the Wiesels and others were forced to spend the following 24 hours in the synagogue. The next morning, the Hungarian police made the Jews climb into cattle cars and stated that the person who was in charge allowed for anyone to escape, (s)he would be shot. Though there were 80 people in each one, they were only given some bread and a few pails of water. -
Birkenau
After nearly four days of travel, the Jews were taken to Birkenau. There, the men and the women were separated and that was the last time Elie saw his mother and sister (Tzipora). It was during this time that it was decided which men and boys would be sent to work, while the others were sent to the crematorium.That same night, Elie and the men he was sent with were ordered to strip and go to the barber, as they were to be shaved completely that night and given clothes the following morning. -
Auschwitz
For three weeks, Elie and his father remained at Auschwitz eating soup and bread and drinking black coffee. On the eigth day, after role call, Stein went to Elie and his father to seek information about his wife and two boys. Though he hadn't heard from them, Elie lied and said he had to give the man hope and a reason to keep going. Elie and his father spent the weeks sleeping often and worrying about being relocated to another camp. -
Buna
Three days after their arrival at Buna, Elie is sent to the dentist. Though the dentist was ready to remove Elie's gold crown, Elie insisted he was not feeling well and put the date off, until the office was shut down because the man had been dealing gold teeth for his benefit. One day, upon crossing Idek's path during his vent of fury, Elie is beat and thrown around and is immediately sent back to work. The French woman Elie worked next to in the warehouse helped clean him up and gave him hope. -
Elie's Beating
On the Sunday morning in which the Kommando was not required to work, Idek informed everyone that they were to go to the depot. While strolling through the warehouse in hopes of finding food, Elie walks in on Idek with a Polish girl and is immediately threatened by him for leaving his work. Just as promised, Idek whips Elie during role call (in front of everyone) so that he learns to mind his own business. -
The Soup
On a Sunday, as half of Elie's group was working, an alert went off and made the guards send all the Jews into their blocks so they would not escape. With no one guarding outside, a man sneaks into the kitchen to steal some of the soup which was left unattended. Almost immediately after dunking his head in the soup, he's shot and everyone is later sent to clean up the ruins which were left by a bomb that landed during the raid. -
The Appelplatz
After being told to take their caps off and then put back on, two SS officers took a tall boy from Warsaw out of the solitary confinement cell. After the verdict - which stated that the boy had stolen during the air raid - was read out loud by the Lageralteste, the executioner completed his work and the people paid their respects. The Kapos then forced everyone to look into the eyes of the boy and they were allowed to go back to their block and have their meal. -
The Angel
On the day in which the power failed at the central electrical plant, the Gestapo concluded that it had been sabotage and found a trail to the Dutch Oberkapo's block. After finding a significant amount of weapons, the Oberkapo was arrested, tortured, and sent away. His pipel stayed but was tortured and then sentenced to death. along with two other guilty inmates. This time, the Lagerkapo refused to execute the three men as one of them was a child. As the people paid their respects, they wept. -
Rosh Hashanah
On this day, Elie began to feel very strong, He no longer lamented, but felt that he was the accuser and God the accused. This day, however, is also the day in which Elie realized that his father had lost hope and felt nothing but defeat. -
Dr. Mengele
Told that no one was allowed to leave after evening soup by the head of their block, the Jews were then "tested" and those who passed didn't get their numbers written down, while those who didn't did. Though Elie and his dad didn't get their numbers taken down, a few days later Dr. Mengele returned to take those which he had selected previously, and made the rest of the Jews go through a second selection. -
Yom Kippur
Though it was meant to be a day for fasting, Elie refused to do so as he believed there was no reason to fast. He realized that he no longer accepted God's silence and ate as a form of rebellion. -
The Beginning of Winter
Once the winter arrived, Elie's foot swelled from the cold and the doctor decided to operate. After his surgery, Elie's told to rest for two weeks, but two days later it was revealed that the Red Army would soon be arriving, meaning that the following night the Jews (except for those in the infirmary) would be evacuated. Deciding that they would leave the camp, Elie and his father, along with the rest of their fellow inmates, covered themselves with many layers of clothes and soon began marching -
The Journey Towards Gleinwitz
The Jews marching in the snow that couldn't keep up with the pace they were expected to be at, were shot. After having marched for 20 km, the Jewish people arrived at an abandoned village. An hour after reaching the village, Elie tries to lay down but isn't allowed to die by his father, to which Elie suggests they take turns sleeping in a shed. Hours later, they 're forced to march to Gleinwitz. Here is where Elie comes across Juliek, who the violin until he's found dead at day break. -
Gleinwitz
For two days, they received neither food nor water. On the third day, they were driven out of the barrack to a 2-way gate in which the weak were sent to the left, while those who appeared "healthy" could go through the right. Though meant to be sent to the left, Elie's father, and several other "unhealthy" people, managed to sneak into the right when Elie caused a distraction. Then they underwent another 30 minute march to the railroad, were given bread, and shoved into roofless cattle cars. -
Buchenwald
Those who died in the cattle cars were thrown out when the cars stopped, but not before the survivor stripped the bodies of their clothing. This process carried on for a few days; those that died from the cold or from hunger would be stripped and thrown out of the cars. On the third night of their journey, someone tried to strangle Elie in his sleep. A few days later, everyone begins crying and moaning, moving around to keep warm. That same night only 12 of the 100 Jews made it to Buchenwald. -
Elie's Father
The days following their arrival in Buchenwald, Elie's father becomes weaker as he decided he's given up. 105-109 Though Elie tries to seek help from a doctor when his father begins gasping, bleeding, and salivating, the man refuses to assist as its of no use and tells Elie to beat it. -
Akiba Drumer
Akiba Drumer, having lost faith in God, decided he could not go on any longer and just gave up. Though the people promised to say Kaddish for him, the days following that were filled with more blows and work than food, so they forgot. -
The Death of Elie's Father
From the day of their arrival at Buchenwald, until the 28th of January, Elie spent his time trying to help his father survive for a while longer, though he understood his father's death was inevitable and was only doing it so he would not feel guilty for not assisting him during his final days. Finally on January 28th, after having decided it was time for him to pass, Elie stared at his father's bloody face and then went to bed. The following day Elie woke to find that his father had bee taken. -
Liquidation of Buchenwald (1)
Two hours after waiting for an SS officer to arrive to take roll call, the camp Kommandmant ordered all Jews to gather in the Appelplatz. Because there was much confusion, the Lageralteste decided that a general roll call would happen the following day. On the 6th, it was announced that ten blocks of inmates would be liberated each day and then the camp would be liquidated. -
Liquidation of Buchenwald (2)
Though the rest of the prisoners were meant to be freed on the 10th, an alert sent everyone back to their blocks and the evacuation was postponed until the next day. On the morning of April 11th, armed men from the resistance movement appeared and began firing shots. By noon the SS had fled and the first American tanks entered the camp in the afternoon. -
Freedom
The first days after being liberated were spent recovering, eating, and enjoying their freedom. On the third day, Elie fell ill from some sort of poisoning. For two weeks, Elie struggled between life and death. -
Death of Hitler
On the 30th of April, 1945, Hitler commits suicide. -
Germany Surrenders
A week after Adolf Hitler commited suicide, Germany surrenders to the western allies. Two days following that, Germany surrenders to the Soviets. -
The End
After agreeing in principle to surrender on August 14, Japan formally surrenders on September 2nd and finally ends World War II. -
Sorbonne
Wiesel studied at the Sorbonne in France from 1948-51. He took up journalism and ended up writing for French and Israeli publications. -
Awards
In 1978, Wiesel was appointed chair of the President's Commission on the Holocaust by President Jimmy Carter. He's also been given several awards including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honor's Grand Croix. -
Elie Wiesel's Novels
Though Elie Wiesel wrote several novels including: "Town of Luck" (1962), "The Gates of the Forest" (1966) and "The Oath" (1973), he also wrote nonfiction works as "Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters" (1982) and the memoir "All Rivers Run to the Sea" (1995). -
E.W: A Professor
In the mid-1970s, Weisel was made Boston University's Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities. He's also taught Judaic studies at the City University of New York, and served as a visiting scholar at Yale. -
Nobel Peace Prize
After winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, Elie Wiesel went on to found the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity with his wife Marion Wiesel.