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Holocaust Timeline


Timeline Description: The Holocaust was a time of terror and death for Jews, and many other nationalities during World War II. The Nazi's were responsible for the death of millions before the war came to an end. This timeline outlines those events.

DateEvent TitleEvent Description
1933Adolph Hitler comes to powerAdolph Hitler was named chancellor of Germany. He hated the Jews, and he quickly implemented anti-Jewish policies.
1935Nuremberg LawsThe Nuremberg Laws took away the rights of the Jews, including their right to schooling, marriage, and business.
1939Polish Jews cast outThe Germans occupied half of Poland. In 1939 they forced Polish Jews to leave their homes.
1939The ghettosHuge Jewish ghettos were established to house the Jews taken from their homes. One famous ghetto was Warsaw.
1940Hitler invades surrounding countriesOnce Hitler had his rule firmly in place, he began invading nearby countries and taking rule of them.
1940The death of those with disabilitiesHitler called for the death of those people considered to have a disability. The Nazis used poisonous gasses.
September 1941The Jewish StarThe German government called for all Jews in the German territories to wear a yellow star. This let everyone know they were Jews, and that they had no rights.
1941The concentration campsIn late 1941, Hitler ordered thousands of Jews to be transported to concentration camps. These were called "work camps".
1941Into hidingOnce the Jews realized their lives were in great danger, many of them left the country or went into hiding.
1942Mass killings beginOnce the Jews were in the work camps, the Nazi's began killing them in giant gas chambers.
1944Work camps evacuatedThe Nazi's realized they were losing the war, so they began evacuating the death camps. They marched their prisoners to other locations in what later became known as the "death marches".
April 1945Hitler's deathWhen it became clear he would not win the war, Hitler killed himself.
May 1945Germans surrenderThe German army surrendered just a week after Adolph Hitler's death.
1945The Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946)The Nuremberg Trials were held to punish the people responsible for the Holocaust.
1948IsraelThere was no place for the Jews to go when the war ended. With the help of the Allies, the country of Israel was established.