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.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1933 | Adolph Hitler comes to power Adolph Hitler was named chancellor of Germany. He hated the Jews, and he quickly implemented anti-Jewish policies. |
| 1935 | Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws took away the rights of the Jews, including their right to schooling, marriage, and business. |
| 1939 | Polish Jews cast out The Germans occupied half of Poland. In 1939 they forced Polish Jews to leave their homes. |
| 1939 | The ghettos Huge Jewish ghettos were established to house the Jews taken from their homes. One famous ghetto was Warsaw. |
| 1940 | Hitler invades surrounding countries Once Hitler had his rule firmly in place, he began invading nearby countries and taking rule of them. |
| 1940 | The death of those with disabilities Hitler called for the death of those people considered to have a disability. The Nazis used poisonous gasses. |
| September 1941 | The Jewish Star The 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. |
| 1941 | The concentration camps In late 1941, Hitler ordered thousands of Jews to be transported to concentration camps. These were called "work camps". |
| 1941 | Into hiding Once the Jews realized their lives were in great danger, many of them left the country or went into hiding. |
| 1942 | Mass killings begin Once the Jews were in the work camps, the Nazi's began killing them in giant gas chambers. |
| 1944 | Work camps evacuated The 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 1945 | Hitler's death When it became clear he would not win the war, Hitler killed himself. |
| May 1945 | Germans surrender The German army surrendered just a week after Adolph Hitler's death. |
| 1945 | The Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946) The Nuremberg Trials were held to punish the people responsible for the Holocaust. |
| 1948 | Israel There was no place for the Jews to go when the war ended. With the help of the Allies, the country of Israel was established. |