Holocaust The Elie Wiesel Story

A Timeline Nov. 1918 German government overthrown; republic formed. 11/11/1918 Germany signed armistice with allies, ending WWI. Sept. 1919 Adolph Hitler joins the German Workers Party June 1919 Treat of Versailles is signed Feb. 1920 Hitler presents 25 point plan to Nazi Party

Hitler: Shaky Beginnings 1920 Nazi Party adopts Swastika as its flag 1923 Hitler attempts to overthrow the government and is imprisoned for treason. He is banned from public speaking until 1927.

Nazis Rises to Power 1927 The Nazis start producing propaganda films 1928 Nazi Party wins 12 seats in German Parliament 1930 Nazi Party wins 107 seats in German Parliament 1932 Nazi Party wins 230 seats in German Parliament Aug. 1932 The Nazi Party has over 1 million members

Nazi Party Propaganda

Germany Changes Jan. 1933 Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany March 1933 Establishment of Dachau Concentration Camp April 1933 Anti-Jewish boycott Nazi films produced due to tax credit Books deemed “Un-German” are banned July 1933 Germany declared a one-party state under Nazi rule

Germany Becomes Anti-Semitic Oct. 1933 Editor’s rule forbids Jews and those married to Jews from working in journalism Aug. 1934 Hitler becomes president Sept. 1935 Nuremburg Laws make Jews second-class citizens July 1937 Buchenwald concentration camp is opened

Tensions Build March 1938 Germany invades and annexes Austria (Hitler’s home country) Nov. 1938 Germany issues decree eliminating Jews from economic life Aug. 1939 Military censorship of German press Sept. 1939 Germany invades Poland Sept. 1939 Jews must give up radio sets

Jews sent to Ghettos April 1940 First Jewish ghetto locked down May 1940 Auschwitz established June 1940 Italy enters the war an ally of Germany Sept. 1941 Golden Star of David issued to every Jew Nov. 1940 Warsaw ghetto locked down June 1941 Germany invades Soviet Union

Auschwitz The signs reads: Arbeit Macht Frei (Labor leads to Freedom.)

US Enters the War Sept. 1941 First gassing experiments in Auschwitz Oct. 1941 Germans forbid Jews from leaving Third Reich Dec. 1941 Japan attacks US at Pearl Harbor July 1941 Germans begin mass exterminations at Auschwitz

Attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 The attack sank four US. Navy battleships (two of which were raised and returned to service later in the war) and damaged four more. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer, destroyed 188 aircraft, and caused personnel losses of 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded.

Genocide July –Sept. 1942 Deportation of 265,000 Jews from Warsaw ghetto to killing center 1944 Raphel Lemkin coins term “genocide” May-July 1944 Deportation of 440,000 Jews from Hungary June 1944 Red Cross visits Theresienstandt concentration camp

Genocide –noun the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

Beginning of the End for Germany 1945 Allied Control Council orders destruction of all Nazi emblems Allied Control Council dissolves Nazi Party May 1, 1945 Hitler’s death is announced Concentration camps liberation begins Sept. 1945 Japan surrenders WWII is over

War Crimes Nov. 1945 International Military Tribunal begins trial of 21 major Nazi leaders Ten defendants are executed by hanging 1949 US Tribunal convicts Otto Dietrich of crimes against humanity 1960 Adolf Eichmann is brought to Israel to stand trial and is found guilty in 1961

The U.S. Army Liberates Buchenwald Concentration Camp On April 11,1945, the American Third Army liberates the Buchenwald concentration camp, near Weimar, Germany, a camp that will be judged second only to Auschwitz in the horrors it imposed on its prisoners. As American forces closed in on the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald, Gestapo headquarters at Weimar telephoned the camp administration to announce that it was sending explosives to blow up any evidence of the camp--including its inmates. What the Gestapo did not know was that the camp administrators had already fled in fear of the Allies. A prisoner answered the phone and informed headquarters that explosives would not be needed, as the camp had already been blown up, which, of course, was not true.

Buchenwald Liberation The camp held thousands of prisoners, mostly slave laborers. There were no gas chambers, but hundreds, sometimes thousands, died monthly from disease, malnutrition, beatings, and executions. Doctors performed medical experiments on inmates, testing the effects of viral infections and vaccines. Among the camp's most gruesome characters was Ilse Koch, wife of the camp commandant, who was infamous for her sadism. She often beat prisoners with a riding crop, and collected lampshades, book covers, and gloves made from the skin of camp victims. Among those saved by the Americans was Elie Wiesel, who would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

“A God Who Remembers” E. Wiesel At Age 15