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Period: to
Holocaust History
This was the time period we were supposed do. Elie Wiesel and Vladek Spiegelman were both victims of the Holocaust. -
Maus
Vladek was drafted into the war. -
WW2
Germany invades Poland and annexes Danzig. Britain and France give Hitler ultimatum (Sept. 1), declare war (Sept. 3). Disabled German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee blown up off Montevideo, Uruguay, on Hitler's orders (Dec. 17). Limited activity (“Sitzkrieg”) on Western Front. -
Maus
After Vladek killed a German Soldier, he was taken prisoner of war by the Germans. He and other soldiers were given chores and tasks that required alot of work. Vladek and the other prisoners were forced to live in tents during a very cold Autumn with only their summer uniforms and a small thin blanket. Vladek tried to stay warm by bathing in the freezing river so that he could feel warm all day in comparison. Every day Vladek would write to Anja, play chess to stay busy, and do gymnastics. -
Maus
Vladek released from prisioner of war camp and was able to go home to his family. Richieu was now 2 years old. Order sent out through town relocating all Jews to the Stara Sosnowiec quarter. Richieu was taken away, and Vladek never saw him again. -
Maus
After working hard on the labor assignments, all of the soldiers were gathered, lined up alphabetically, and were finally released. -
WW2
Nazis invade Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (May 10). Chamberlain resigns as Britain's prime minister; Churchill takes over (May 10). Germans cross French frontier (May 12) using air/tank/infantry “Blitzkrieg” tactics. Italy declares war on France and Britain; invades France (June 10). Germans enter Paris; city undefended (June 14). France and Germany sign armistice at Compiègne (June 22). Nazis bomb Coventry, England (Nov. 14). -
WW2
Germans launch attacks in Balkans. Yugoslavia surrenders—General Mihajlovic continues guerrilla warfare; Tito leads left-wing guerrillas (April 17). Nazi tanks enter Athens; remnants of British Army quit Greece (April 27). Hitler attacks Russia (June 22). Atlantic Charter—FDR and Churchill agree on war aims (Aug. 14). -
WW2
Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Philippines, Guam force U.S. into war; U.S. Pacific fleet crippled (Dec. 7). U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. -
Night
During late December, Elie has his first encounter with Moishe the Beadle. -
Maus
After a failed attempt at hiding them, Anja and Vladek's parents were sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. They had confirmed that they died after someone who survived told them. -
WW2
British surrender Singapore to Japanese (Feb. 15). Roosevelt orders Japanese and Japanese Americans in western U.S. to be exiled to “relocation centers,” many for the remainder of the war (Feb. 19) -
WW2
U.S. and Filipino troops on Corregidor island in Manila Bay surrender to Japanese (May 6). Village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia razed by Nazis (June 10). U.S. and Britain land in French North Africa (Nov. 8) -
Night
Moshe the Beadle escapes Gestapo slaughter to warn the Jews in Sighet. Sadly, nobody believes him, not even Elie. They all thought he was delusional. -
WW2
Casablanca Conference—Churchill and FDR agree on unconditional surrender goal (Jan. 14–24). German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingrad—turning point of war in Russia (Feb. 1–2). Remnants of Nazis trapped on Cape Bon, ending war in Africa (May 12). Mussolini deposed; Badoglio named premier (July 25) -
Maus
Tosha is taking care of her own daughter Bibi, her niece Lonia, and Vladek and Anja's son Richeiu. Tosha hears news that the remaining Jews in her town were being sent to Auschwitz to the gas chambers. Tosha refuses to let herself or her children be sent to the gas chambers and die. Tosha always caries a vile of poison around her neck. She decides to use the poison to kill herself and the 3 children. -
WW2
Allied troops land on Italian mainland after conquest of Sicily (Sept. 3). Italy surrenders (Sept. 8). Nazis seize Rome (Sept. 10). Cairo Conference: FDR, Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek pledge defeat of Japan, free Korea (Nov. 22–26). Tehran Conference: FDR, Churchill, Stalin agree on invasion plans (Nov. 28–Dec. 1). -
WW2
U.S. and British troops land at Anzio on west Italian coast and hold beachhead (Jan. 22). U.S. and British troops enter Rome (June 4). D-Day—Allies launch Normandy invasion (June 6). Hitler wounded in bomb plot (July 20). Paris liberated (Aug. 25). Athens freed by Allies (Oct. 13). Americans invade Philippines (Oct. 20). Germans launch counteroffensive in Belgium—Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16). -
Maus
Vladek and Anja create hiding spaces to avoid from Auschwitz for as long as they could. Anja and Vladek hid in a mountain of shoes for some time as well. -
Maus
Vladek and Anja are sent to Auschwitz. -
Night
Nazis arrest Jewish leaders and close synagogues in Transylvania. Jews are quarantined. Nazis confiscate valuables and force Transylvanian Jews to wear the yellow Star of David and ban them from restaurants, cafes, and public transportation. -
Night
All Sighet Jews are forced from their homes and told to line up in the street at 8 A.M. At 1 P.M., the first group departs by train. -
Night
Elie and his family march to the "little ghetto." -
Night
The Wiesels join the last group of deportees aboard a railway cattle car. -
Night
The convoy reaches Birkenau, and Elie and Shlomo spend their first night in camp. Summer Guards send Elie and Shlomo to Auschwitz. There, they meet Stein of Antwerp. Elie and Shlomo march to Buna. Elie is tattooed A-7713 on his left arm. -
Maus
Vladek is reunited with Anja at Birkenau, in one of the other buildings at Auschwitz, during the summer of 1944. -
Night
Elie undergoes surgery in the Auschwitz infirmary. Shlomo and Elie run with evacuees to Gleiwitz, where they and others board open cattle cars for a ten-day ride to Buchenwald in central Germany. -
Night
Those who remained in the infirmary were liberated by the Red Army a few days later. -
Maus
Everyone was evacuated from Auschwitz and was forced to march to Gross-Rosen in Germany. -
WW2
USSR agrees to friendship pact with China (Feb. 11). Mussolini killed at Lake Como (April 28).Berlin falls (May 2). Germany signs unconditional surrender terms at Rheims (May 7). Allies declare V-E Day (May 8). A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima by U.S. (Aug. 6). USSR declares war on Japan (Aug. 8). Nagasaki hit by A-bomb (Aug. 9). Japan agrees to surrender (Aug. 14). V-J Day—Japanese sign surrender terms aboard battleship Missouri (Sept. 2). -
Night
Elie falls ill with food poisoning after he was finally liberated with the arrival of U.S. troops. Then he looks at himself in the mirror for the first time in years. -
Hitler is dead
On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich.