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Hitler is elected Chancelor of Germany
Hitler is elected as Chancellor of Germany following four years of really bad economic problems which have made the German people desperate. His promises to create jobs by building weapons and increasing the size of the army. He publicly blames communists, the democratic politicians and his critics of being controlled by a Jewish conspiracy that wants to destroy Germany. -
Reichstag Fire
Germany’s parliament mysteriously burns down. Hitler blames communists and minority groups. He uses it as an excuse to get emergency powers for himself and the Nazi Party. This allows him to arrest thousands of his political opponents and turns him into a powerful dictator. -
Dachau concentration camp opening
Dachau concentration camp is the first to open. It only processes several thousand political opponents who were accused of being part of the conspiracy to overthrow the government in the Reichstag Fire. The public apparently approves of the decision and see it as a sensible security precaution. -
Nuremberg Laws
Nuremberg Laws are passed, Jews are no longer German citizens and lose all their rights. Jews are banned from many professional occupations including teaching Germans, and from being accountants or dentists. They are also denied tax reductions and child allowances. An anti-Jewish exhibition called ‘The Eternal Jew’ starts touring the country. -
Kristallnacht; Night of the broken glass
Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) occurs - Nazi supporters and their ‘Storm Troopers’ attacked Jewish people and businesses for a single a night of violence all over Germany. Hundreds are killed and many businesses never reopen. Hitler does not allow it to get too out of control, afraid that foreign countries will react badly, but many Jews lose their livelihoods for good. -
Invasion of Poland and Humiliation of the Jews
Germany invades Poland where several million Jews live. They are forced to live in Ghettos and wear yellow stars so that they are recognisable. The German newspapers start to talk about how to solve the Jewish ‘problem’ for good - a problem that seems to be getting bigger with every new country they invade. -
SS Einsatzgruppen Terrorisation of Jews
SS Einsatzgruppen (Hitler’s elite troops) are sent to accompany soldiers invading Eastern Europe. They are under orders to terrorise Jews. Thousands are shot in badly organised massacres that lack coordination. Reports emerge of SS officers committing suicide after these events, presumably haunted by the horror of their actions. -
The 'Final Solution'
At a meeting, Hitler and his top advisers decide they need to come up with a ‘Final Solution to the Jewish problem’. As a result of their decisions, it is decided to expand the concentration camps into death camps like Auschwitz. Millions of Jews are transported to these factories of death to be killed in a clinical, impersonal and highly efficient way.
