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Hitler recives metals for role in WWI
Hitler was a decorated WWI veteran. He received the Iron Cross, Second Class in 1914. He received the Iron Cross, First Class in 1918. He also received the Black Wound Badge on May 18, 1918. -
WWI Ends
World War I ended in 1918 with a grisly total of 37 million casualties, including 9 million dead combatants. -
The Great Depression Begins
The Great Depression began in 1929 and wrought worldwide economic, social, and psychological consequences. October 29, 1929 was Black Tuesday, the day the stock market crashed. -
Hitler is Named Chancellor of Germany
On this day in 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader or fÜhrer of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany -
Start of Communist Revolution
On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag building went up in flames. Nazis immediately claimed that this was the beginning of a Communist revolution. -
Nuremberg Laws
Hitler announced the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. These laws stripped Jews of their civil rights as German citizens and separated them from Germans legally, socially, and politically. Jews were also defined as a separate race under "The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor." Being Jewish was now determined by ancestry; thus the Germans used race, not religious beliefs or practices, to define the Jewish people. This law forbade marriages or sexual relations between Jews and Germans. Hitler -
Hitler Invades Poland Beginning WWII
Hitler turned 50 on April 20, 1939. Hitler told his generals that he wanted to fight a war soon, while he was still strong. Less than five months later, on September 1, he invaded Poland and WWII began. FDR was 57, and Churchill was 65. -
Establishment of Ghettos and Jewish Identification System
On November 23, 1939 General Governor Hans Frank issued an ordinance that Jews ten years of age and older living in the General Government had to wear the Star of David on armbands or pinned to the chest or back. This made the identification of Jews easier when the Nazis began issuing orders establishing ghettos. -
Wannsee Conference
In January 1942, SS official Reinhard Heydrich held a meeting of Nazi government officials to present the Final Solution. At this meeting, known as the Wannsee Conference , the Nazi officials agreed to SS plans for the transport and destruction of all 11 million Jews of Europe. The Nazis would use the latest in twentieth century technology, cost efficient engineering and mass production techniques for the sole purpose of killing off the following racial groups: Jews, Russian prisoners of war, a -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April 19, 1943 marked the beginning of an armed revolt by a courageous and determined group of Warsaw ghetto dwellers. The Jewish Fighter Organization (ZOB) led the insurgency and battled for a month, using weapons smuggled into the ghetto. The Nazis responded by bringing in tanks and machine guns, burning blocks of buildings, destroying the ghetto, and ultimately killing many of the last 60,000 Jewish ghetto residents. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the first large uprising by an urban populat -
Americans Arrive at Allach Concentration Camp
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Hitler Commits Suicide
Hitler and Eva Braun were married in 1945 and killed themselves 36 hours later. Braun was 33 years old. Hitler was 56.j -
WWII Officially Ends
