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Elie Wiesel is born in Sighet, Transylvania.
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Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany. The Nazi Party takes control of Germany, and they establish the first concentration camp, Dachau.
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The Nremberg Race Laws are enacted. Jews can no longer hold German citizenship.
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Nazis target and destroy Jewish synagogues, businesses, and homes in Germany, Austria, and parts of Czechoslovakia. 91 people are killed.
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Germany invades Poland, starting WWI. The British and French declare war on Germany. In November, Polish Jews are forced to wear the Star of David to identify them as Jews.
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At the hands of the Nazis, the Wiesel family is forced to move to Hungary.
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Auschwitz, the largest and most deadly of the over 45,000 concentration camps, is established by the Nazis in Poland.
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Elie Wiesel is 12-years old. He begins his journey into deepening his Jewish faith, much to the disappointment of his father, Schlomo, a shopkeeper and prominent figure in the community.
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The Nazis are authorized to begin discussing their "Final Solution" in their persecution of Jews. As a result, by December 8, 1941, the first killing centers begin operating in Poland. By 1942, the Nazi and SS officers implement the "Final Solution," a plan to murder the European Jews.
