The Holocaust

The Persecution Begins

Apr 7, 1933

Hitler took power in Germany, and ordered all "non-Aryans" to be removed from government jobs.

Targeted Jews

Apr 12, 1935

The Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their German citizen-ship, jobs, and property. Jews were forced to wear the star of David to distinguish them as Jews.

Kristallnacht "Night of Broken Glass"

Nov 9, 1938

Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany.

The Plight of the St. Louis

Apr 12, 1939

Official indifference to the plight of Germany's Jews was in evidence in the case of the ship St. Louis. This German ocean liner passed Miami in 1939. 740 of 943 passengers on the ship had U.S. immigration papers, the Coast Guard followed the ship to prevent anyone from dis-embarking in America. More than half of the passengers were later killed in the Holocaust.

The Final Solution

Apr 12, 1939

By this time only about a quarter million Jews remained in Germany. Obsessed with ridding Europe of its Jews, Hitler imposed what he called the "Final Solution" -- a policy of genocide, the deliberate and systematic killing of an entire population.

The Final Stage

Apr 12, 1942

The Germans built six death camps in Poland. The first, Chelmno, began operation in 1941--before the meeting at Wannsee. Each camp had several huge gas chambers in which as many as 12,000 people could be killed a day.