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Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf. In this book, Hitler writes about his plans for the future of Germany. He expresses his anti-Semitism by referring to the Aryans as culturally superior and the Jews as the mortal enemy of the Aryan race. -
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Adolf Eichmann
Eichmann joined the Nazi party in 1932 and soon rose to status in the SS. He attended the Wannsee conference and was a advocate for the Final Solution. He proposed the idea of using Zyklon-B gas and ensured there was a good supply for the camps. On May 7th 1945 when Germany had surrendered, Eichmann fled for a while till he was reunited with his family in Argentina, 1952. However, in 1962 he was hanged for his crimes. -
The Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were composed of the “Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honour” which made it illegal for Jews to marry or become sexually involved with Germans. The second is the “Reich Citizenship Law” which designated Jews as subjects. The Nuremberg Laws also saw the creation of what they considered full Jewish descent, which they saw as an individual with 3 Jewish grandparents. The picture is an instructional chart that determined racial classification. -
Kristallnacht
On these dark days, German Nazis attacked Jewish homes, businesses and properties in a spur of erratic fervor. Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) is the name that refers to the broken glass left on the streets after the attack. 91 Jews were killed, 1000 synagogues were burned or damaged, and about 7500 businesses were looted. The following picture displays the damage inflicted on Crystal Night. -
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The Ghettos
The ghettos was a term used to describe the enclosed settlements Jewish people were to live in by order of Germany. In October of 1939, the first ghetto was established in Trybunalski, Poland. The Germans had established an estimated 1,0000 ghettos in Poland, the Soviet Union and German occupied territory alone. The ghettos were seen as a preface to the Final Solution or even work camps. In August 1944 the last ghetto in Ludz was destroyed by Nazi and SS officials. -
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Final Solution
After the Wannsee Conference, the Nazis oversaw the extermination of around 6 million Jews and others in what is called the Final Solution. This genocide was carried out by means of gas chambers, executions, death marches and other brutal means. The Final Solution in its entirety called for the final means and method to eradicate the Jews and other unwanteds to the Nazis. Specific date unknown. -
Anne Frank
In 1942 Anne Frank was a 15 year old Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family at the impending threat of being sent away to the camps. In 1944 they were found in a seceret annex in Amsterdam and sent to work camps. Anne Franks father was the only one who survived. Her account of the Holocaust was written in her diary that has been published in over 70 languages, making it the most widespread account of the Holocaust to date. -
The Wannsee Conference
On January 20th 1942, a conference was held to discuss the fate of the “unwanteds” in Europe as chaired by Reinhard Heydrich. During the conference, the Final Solution was decided on, which meant the Nazi extermination of the millions of unwanteds in Europe. The following picture is a villa where the conference took place, which is now a memorial museum. -
Auschwitz-Birkenau: Arbeit Macht Frei
The Extermination Camps or also known as "death camps" were German camps established specifically for prisoners to be systematically executed by means of gassing, shootings, ect. The largest of the extermination camps was Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, which in its height in 1943 had four gas chambers using Zyklon-B and gassed 6000 people a day. The secrecy of extermination camps was important to SS officers, so cremation of the dead bodies was employed to obliterate any trace of evidence. -
Liberation
As the end of the war was nearing, the Allied troops were nearing in on Nazi Germany and en route found the remnants of concentration camps hastily destroyed and prisoners of these camps. The Soviet, British, and American Forces had liberated these concentration camps and found several thousand prisoners. Many were emaciated and suffering from starvation because of their treatment in the concentration camps. Despite the Nazi attempts to cover their tracks, there was abundant evidence left behind
