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Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor on January 30, 1933, the Nazi state quickly became a regime where citizens had no guaranteed basic rights. In 1933, the regime established the first concentration camps, imprisoning its political opponents, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others classified as “dangerous.” -
On September 1st, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. Throughout the next year, Hitler and his allies conquered most of Europe.
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In 1939 the Nazis required that the Jews wear a badge to know who was a Jew and who wasn't a Jew. In June of 1941, Germany invaded their ally Russia. -
Around this time was when the Germans knew they could not win the war. So they intensified the pursuit of the final solution. These years saw systematic deportations of millions of Jews to increasingly efficient killing centers using poison gas. -
In 1945 the Germans were getting pushed back so U.S. forces discovered the camps. -
By May of 1945, the Germans had killed roughly 6 million jews. The Allies discovered all the horror that occurred.
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Even after the war, there was still little hope for the jews. They had to rebuild their lives and start all over. -
After the war, some Jews refused to go back to their homeland because of anti-semitism and their towns being destroyed. Others decided to move to parts of Europe that were liberated by western forces.
