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The German Reichstag is destroyed by fire. The plot and execution is almost certainly due to the Nazis but they point the finger at the communists and trigger a General Election.
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The Enabling Act passed—powers of legislation pass to Hitler’s cabinet for four years, making him virtual dictator.
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Hitler withdraws from the League of Nations. In the following months, he trebles the size of the German Army and ignores the arms restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.
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Hitler becomes chancellor of a coalition government, where the Nazis have a third of the seats in the Reichstag.
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Hitler crushes all opposition within his own party—thus eliminating any of his rivals.
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After the Death of President Hindenburg, Hitler becomes “Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor” and abolishes the title of President.
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Hitler re-arms Germany with the aim of undoing the Treaty of Versailles and uniting all the German peoples. Military conscription is introduced.
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The Austrian Chancellor, leader of the Austrian Nazi Party, invites the German army to occupy Austria and proclaim a union with Germany
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British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain meets Hitler in Germany. Britain, France and Italy sign the Munich Agreement which gives the Sudetenland (the German populated borderlands of Czechoslavakia), to Germany.
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In what is historically referred to as Crystal Night, 7,500 Jewish shops are destroyed and 400 synagogues are burnt. The attack is portrayed as a spontaneous reaction to the death of a German diplomat by a Jewish refugee in Paris. It is actually orchestrated by the Nazi party who also kill many Jews and send 20,000 to concentration camps.
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Peace treaty with Russia secured with the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Hitler invades Poland and after 3 weeks of lightning war or ‘Blitzkrieg’. The country is divided between Russia and Germany.
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The Nazis occupy Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and France. Romania and Yugoslavia are invaded.
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Germany attacks Russia, ignoring the peace pact. Operation Barbarossa, The German invasion of Russia, begins.
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Although commanded by Hitler to stand and fight, the Germans surrender in the battle of Stalingrad. From this point in the war, Germany is continually retreating.
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Hitler survives an assassination attempt by Colonel Stauffenberg, who places a bomb in a briefcase under a table close to Hitler. As a result, Hitler purged the army of all possible suspects
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Soviet troops enter Nazi Germany
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Hitler decides to stay in Berlin to the last.
Berlin completely besieged by the Soviet Army Fronts of Marshals Koniev and Zhukov. -
Hitler commits suicide with his wife of two days, Eva Braun; their bodies are believed to have been cremated.