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Hilter's Campaign Speech
Nazi supporters gathered at a campaign rally in Waldenburg, Germany. At this rally, Hitler gives a speech. During this speech, Hitler promises overall salvation for the German nation. Within all these promises, he pledges to dissolve the parliamentary system. Hitler even goes as far as to attack the Weimar Republic. The picture shows some of Hitler's supports standing next to a sign that reads "Adolf Hitler will provide work and bread! Elect List 2!" -
Hitler Appointed Chancellor
The National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party was granted more control of the German government when the German President Paul von Hindenburg appoints their party leader Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. This means that Hitler was now the head of a coalition government while the Nazis and the German Nationalist People's Party are members of the coalition. The picture shows Hilter shaking hands with the German President Paul von Hindenburg. -
Reichstag Fire Decree
The day after the Reichstag (German Parliament) building burned down due to arson, German President Hindenburg issued the Reichstag Fire Decree for the Protection of People and the Reich. The Reichstag Fire Decree allowed the government to arrest and imprison political opponents without specific charge, dismiss political organizations and end publications (freedom of press). This decree was an important step in the future establishment of the Nazi dictatorship. -
Establishment of Dachau Concentration Camp
Outside the town of Dachau, Germany, the Schutzstaffel Protection Squads (SS) established the first concentration camp to imprison political opponents. The number of people imprisoned into Dachau exceeds 188,000 however the official number of deaths will probably never be known for sure. -
Anti-Jewish Boycott
Less than 3 months after the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, they staged an economic boycott targeting Jewish-owned businesses and many offices of Jewish professionals. Slogans like "Don't Buy from Jews" were said on signs all around Germany. This boycott was only a day long and was unsuccessful considering many Germans continued to by from the Jewish. The boycott did however mark the beginning of a nationwide campaign against the Jewish in Germany that later led to the Holocaust. -
Law Limits Jews in Public Schools
The German government passes a Law against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities. This law creates a major limit to the number of Jewish students allowed to attend public schools throughout Germany. This picture displays a public school classroom in Hamburg, Germany containing first graders. Jewish pupil Eva Rosenbaum is the only Jewish student in this classroom. She'll later withdrawal from the school to leave for England on the second Kindertransport to avoid the events of the Holocaust. -
Book Burning
A rally of university students burns over 25,000 books that are said to be "un-German" in the middle of Berlin's Opera Square. After this group is heard to have performed this burning, other university students across Germany burn thousands more that are also claimed to be "un-German". Books that were said to be "un-German" included some works from Helen Keller. -
Hitler Abolishes the Office of President
After German President von Hindenburg's death, Hitler was declared President of Germany. Hitler later abolishes the office of President and declares himself Führer (meaning leader) of the German Reich and People instead. Because Hitler abolished the position of president, he now becomes the absolute dictator of Germany. This means there are no legal or constitutional limits to his authority. The caption of the picture translates to "One People, one Empire, one Leader." -
Buchenwald Concentration Camp Opens
Buchenwald was one of the largest concentration camps built within German borders. This camp was originally opened for male prisoners however women became part of the Buchenwald camp system during late 1943 or early 1944. The early prisoners sent to this camp were political opponents. After the Kristallnacht, the German SS and police sent about 10,000 Jews where they experienced extremely inhuman treatment resulting in countless deaths. Jehovah's Witnesses and Gypsies later came here as well. -
Kristallnacht
Nazi Party officials, SA members and Hitler Youth carried out a wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms throughout Germany. Rioters destroyed hundreds of synagogues and looted more than 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses and many other establishments. Close to 100 Jewish residents in Germany lost their lives during the violence. In the following weeks, the German government established dozens of laws and decrees meant to deny Jews of their property and many other freedoms involving their livilhood. -
First Kindertransport Arrives in Great Britain
Kindertransport (Children's Transport) was the unofficial name of a series of rescue efforts to bring thousands of refugee Jewish children to Great Britain between 1938 and 1940 to prevent them from having to experience the terrifying events of the Holocaust. Parents and guardians were not allowed to accompany any of the children. The first Kindertransport arrived in Harwich, Great Britain carrying 200 Jewish children. Between 9,000 and 10,000 children were rescued from Kindertransport. -
St. Louis Sets Sail
The German transatlantic liner St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany, for Havana, Cuba. The ship carried over 900 passengers. The majority of these passengers were Jews fleeing from the persecution in Nazi Germany. They had all applied for visas to enter the U.S. and planned to stay in Cuba until they were allowed in America. When the ship arrived in Cuba, both Cuba and America denied them meaning they had to return to Europe. They later found refuge in places like Belgium and the U.K. -
Auschwitz Camp Established
The Auschwitz concentration camp complex was the largest concentration camp ever established by the Nazi regime. Within this large and inhuman complex, there were three main camps. Each of these sections used incarcerated prisoners as forced labor. One of these major sections functioned as an extended period of time as a killing center. The picture displays the entrance to the main camp (section) of Auschwitz called Auschwitz I. The motto written on the gate translates to "work makes one free".
