Timeline of the Holocaust 1933-39
The New England Holocaust Memorial Study Guide from Facing History and Ourselves
1933
January
The Nazy party takes power in Germany. Hitler becomes Chancellor.
February
Nazis "temporarily restrict" civil liberties for all citizens - never to be restored.
March
The concentration camp at Dachau is established.
May
Trade unions are closed. Books declared contrary to Nazi beliefs are publicly burned.
1935
September
The German government enacts the Nuremberg Laws - codifying the "racial" definition of Jews and depriving them of citizenship and fundamental rights.
The Nazis intensify persecution of political dissidents and others considered "inferior," including Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals. Many are sent to concentration camps.
1938
November
Kristallnacht: "The Night of the Broken Glass." Nazis attack Jews throughout Germany - 30,000 Jews arrested. 91 Jews killed, 7,500 shops and businesses looted. More than 1,000 synagogues set afire.
December
Nazis seize control of Jewish owned businesses.
1939
September
Germany invades Poland. World War II begins. Nazis order Polish Jews into restricted ghettos and force them into slave labor.
October
Hitler orders the socalled "Euthanasia" program leading to the systematic murder of the mentally and physically disabled in Germany and Austria.