Events
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471 articles found by users
February 27, 1933
Reichstag Fire Plunges Germany into Virtual Martial Law
On February 27, 1933, the German parliament (Reichstag) building burned down. Nazi leadership and Nationalist coalition partners exploited the fire to pass emergency legislation, paving the way for Nazi dictatorship.
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551 articles found by users
March 22, 1933
Dachau Opens
Dachau was the first regular Nazi concentration camp.
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1,113 articles found by users
March 28, 1933
Albert Einstein Quits Germany, Renounces Citizenship
Facing persecution and violence for his anti-Nazi stance and as a Jew, Albert Einstein renounced his German citizenship.
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4,250 articles found by users
April 1, 1933
Nazis Boycott Jewish Businesses
In the first nationwide, planned action against Jews, Nazis boycotted Jewish businesses and professionals throughout Germany.
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1,032 articles found by users
May 10, 1933
German Students, Nazis Stage Nationwide Book Burnings
University students in towns throughout Germany burned tens of thousands of “un-German” books as part of the Nazi push for state censorship and control of culture.
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927 articles found by users
July 14, 1933
German Law Authorizes Sterilization for Prevention of Hereditary Diseases
On July 14, 1933, Germany declared a new law that authorized forced sterilization of certain people with mental or physical disabilities or illnesses.
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1,080 articles found by users
October 10, 1933
American Citizens Attacked
Roland Velz was one of several American citizens assaulted by Nazi storm troopers or German mobs in 1933.
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269 articles found by users
April 25, 1934
“Repatriation” of Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals continues
During the 1930s, an estimated 400,000 to 1,000,000 Mexican nationals and American citizens of Mexican descent from throughout the United States were deported or “repatriated” to Mexico.
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2,328 articles found by users
June 30, 1934
Hitler Purges Storm Troopers, Executes Opponents
On June 30, 1934, Hitler ordered a violent purge of the top leadership of the Nazi Party paramilitary formation, the SA (Sturmabteilungen) or Storm Troopers. This event later became known as “the Röhm Affair” or the “the Night of the Long Knives.”
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798 articles found by users
August 26, 1934
Dorothy Thompson Expelled from Germany
She was the first American journalist ousted for criticism of the Nazi regime.
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1,116 articles found by users
September 15, 1935
Hitler Announces Nuremberg Race Laws
At their annual party rally, Nazi leaders announced new laws that defined Jews as a “race” and stripped them of basic citizenship rights.
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2,251 articles found by users
December 9, 1935
Amateur Athletic Union Says “Yes” to Berlin Olympics
After months of public debate about whether the US should send a team to the "Nazi Olympics," the AAU narrowly voted against a boycott of the Games.
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5,629 articles found by users
March 12, 1938
Germany Annexes Austria
The Anschluss expanded the German Reich and set into motion a Jewish refugee crisis.
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1,280 articles found by users
July 6, 1938
Evian Conference Offers Neither Help, Nor Haven
Delegates from 32 countries meet in Evian, France, seeking solution to refugee crisis. They express sympathy for refugees, followed by excuses and inaction.
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5,065 articles found by users
November 9, 1938
Anti-Jewish Riots Convulse German Reich (Kristallnacht)
In an organized act of nationwide violence, Nazis and collaborators burned synagogues, looted Jewish businesses, and killed dozens of Jewish people.
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1,091 articles found by users
November 20, 1938
Father Coughlin Blames Jews for Nazi Violence
In the weeks after Kristallnacht, Coughlin defended Nazi antisemitic violence, arguing it was justified as retaliation for Soviet persecution of Christians.
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1,223 articles found by users
February 20, 1939
American Nazis Rally in New York City
On February 20, 1939, the pro-Nazi German American Bund drew more than 20,000 people to a rally in Madison Square Garden.
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952 articles found by users
April 9, 1939
Marian Anderson Performs at the Lincoln Memorial
Rejected by segregationist Daughters of the American Revolution, Marian Anderson performs before an audience of 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial.
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1,700 articles found by users
June 2, 1939
Jewish Refugees Desperately Seek Safe Harbor
The St. Louis was forced to leave Havana harbor. As the ship traveled up the Florida coast, passengers anxiously plead for refuge in the United States.
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830 articles found by users
July 1, 1939
Child Refugee Bill Fails in Senate
Senator Robert Wagner withdrew support for his own bill after opponents amended it to maintain the existing immigration quota.
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2,315 articles found by users
September 16, 1940
President Roosevelt Signs Selective Training and Service Act
The law required men between 21-35 to register with local draft boards.
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400 articles found by users
December 23, 1940
Refugee Children Arrive from France, More to Follow
The United States Committee for the Care of European Children organized one of the largest American efforts to aid refugee children during World War II.
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344 articles found by users
January 25, 1941
Massive March on Washington Planned
Demanding equal access to defense jobs and desegregation of the military, A. Philip Randolph launched the March on Washington Movement.
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2,627 articles found by users
March 8, 1941
Congress Passes Lend-Lease Act
Despite strong protests from isolationists, the Lend-Lease Act passed both houses of Congress by wide margins.
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269 articles found by users
August 3, 1941
German Bishop Condemns The Killing Of People With Disabilities
On August 3, 1941, the Bishop of Münster, Clemens August Count von Galen, delivered a sermon protesting the Nazi program to kill people with mental and physical disabilities.
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713 articles found by users
September 1, 1941
German Government Forces Jews to Wear Yellow Stars
Germany decreed that Jews over the age of six were required to wear a yellow Star of David on their outer clothing in public at all times.
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1,451 articles found by users
September 11, 1941
Charles Lindbergh Makes ‘Un-American’ Speech
The famous aviator blamed Jews, British, and the Roosevelt administration as war agitators.
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166 articles found by users
September 29, 1941
Germans Kill Thousands of Jews in Mass Shooting Outside Kiev
In late September 1941, SS and German police units and their auxiliaries perpetrated one of the largest massacres of World War II. It took place at a ravine called Babyn Yar (Babi Yar) just outside the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv (Kiev).
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2,192 articles found by users
February 19, 1942
FDR Authorizes Incarceration of Japanese Americans
Executive Order 9066 authorized removal of Japanese Americans from designated military zones on the West Coast and their detention in internment camps.
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652 articles found by users
June 9, 1942
Czech Town of Lidice Destroyed in Brutal Nazi Reprisal
On the night of June 9-10, 1942, German police and SS officials shot or deported the inhabitants of Lidice, razing the town to the ground.
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610 articles found by users
July 16, 1942
Police Round Up Paris Jews—Deportations Feared
French police round up thousands of Jewish men, women, and children throughout Paris and detain them under appalling conditions in the Vélodrome d'Hiver (Winter Cycling Track).
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1,069 articles found by users
November 24, 1942
Nazi Plan to Kill All Jews Confirmed
Rabbi Stephen Wise’s press conference was the first time the Nazi plan to kill all Jews was publicized.
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569 articles found by users
December 17, 1942
Allies Denounce Nazi Plan to “Exterminate” the Jews
Allied governments issued a declaration promising retribution for the murder of European Jews.
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438 articles found by users
March 9, 1943
"We Will Never Die"
The dramatic pageant "We Will Never Die" premieres before an audience of 40,000 at Madison Square Garden to raise public awareness of the mass murder of European Jews.
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892 articles found by users
April 19, 1943
Warsaw Ghetto Jews Revolt
The Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. It took the Germans a month to crush the resistance.
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770 articles found by users
October 1, 1943
Danes Help Jews Escape to Neutral Sweden
From September 20 into October 1943, over 7,000 Danish Jews escaped to Sweden with help from fellow Danes.
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518 articles found by users
January 22, 1944
President Establishes War Refugee Board
President Roosevelt issued an executive order to provide relief and rescue for Jews in Europe.
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665 articles found by users
May 15, 1944
Deportation of Hungarian Jews Begins
In less than two months, nearly 440,000 Jews were deported from Hungary in more than 145 trains. Most were deported to Auschwitz.
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755 articles found by users
June 12, 1944
FDR Shelters Refugees in Oswego, NY
President Roosevelt calls for a “free port” for refugees at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY.
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797 articles found by users
November 26, 1944
First Public Reports on ‘Extermination Camp’ at Auschwitz
The War Refugee Board released a detailed report about mass murder by gassing at Auschwitz and Birkenau.
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515 articles found by users
December 1, 1944
The Crime Now Has a Name: “Genocide”
In his book, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, Raphael Lemkin invents a new word, “genocide,” to describe the coordinated, planned destruction of a national group.
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573 articles found by users
January 20, 1945
FDR Delivers His Fourth Inaugural Address
President Roosevelt talks to war-weary Americans about their role in establishing a lasting peace.
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1,642 articles found by users
April 19, 1945
Eisenhower Asks Congress and Press to Witness Nazi Horrors
General Eisenhower invited members of Congress and journalists to see the newly liberated camps so that they could bring the horrible truth about Nazi atrocities to the American public.
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638 articles found by users
December 22, 1945
President Truman Orders Quota Preference for Displaced Persons
The Truman Directive did not increase immigration quotas, but it required that existing quotas be filled by displaced persons.
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1,089 articles found by users
July 4, 1946
Kielce Jews Massacred in "Blood Libel" Pogrom
On July 4, 1946, civilians, soldiers, and police killed 42 Polish Jews and injured 40 others in the southeastern town of Kielce.
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1,255 articles found by users
December 31, 1946
Other Noteworthy Findings
Here is where you may submit noteworthy articles about Holocaust-era events unrelated to existing History Unfolded event modules.