1942–1945

Intensification of Mass Killings

German soldiers burn residential buildings to the ground, one by one, during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. [LCID: 46202] — German soldiers burn residential buildings to the ground, one by one, during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Poland, April 19-May 16, 1943.
—⁠National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD

In early 1942, Nazi Germany stood at the height of its power. Germany and its allies controlled most of Europe and even parts of North Africa. The SS had established special killing centers with large gas chambers, expanding the “Final Solution,” the mass murder of European Jews. The perpetrators counted on the cooperation of government agencies, local collaborators, and the support or acquiescence of the general population. Even as the war turned against Germany, the Nazi leadership continued its murderous polices. By May 1945, when the war ended, the Nazis and their allies had killed about 6 million Jews. Millions more people had suffered grievous oppression or death under Nazi tyranny.

Highlighted events

January 20, 1942

Wannsee Conference
April 19–May, 1943

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
June 06, 1944

D-Day

All events 1942–1945

January 16, 1942

Deportations from Lodz to Chelmno

German authorities begin the deportation of Jews and Roma (Gypsies) from the Lodz ghetto to Chelmno.
January 20, 1942

Wannsee Conference

Reinhard Heydrich convenes the Wannsee Conference and presents plans to coordinate a European-wide “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.”
March 01, 1942

Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp Established

The Inspectorate of Concentration Camps opens a second camp at Auschwitz, called Auschwitz-Birkenau or Auschwitz II.
March 21, 1942

Chère Odette

French Resistance member Charlotte Delbo writes a letter to her sister, Odette.
May 27, 1942

Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich

Czech agents kill SS General Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Reich Security Main Office.
June 09, 1942

Germans Destroy Lidice

German forces destroy the Czech village of Lidice.
June 28, 1942

German Forces Launch Offensive

German forces attack the Soviet Union in the south towards the city of Stalingrad.
July 15, 1942

Deportation of Dutch Jews

German authorities begin the deportation of Dutch Jews from camps in the Netherlands.
July 23, 1942

Gassing Operations Begin at Treblinka

SS Special Detachment Treblinka begins gassing operations at the Treblinka killing center.
August 25, 1942

Hungarian Jewish Businessman Begins Issuing Papers to Jewish refugees

George Mandel-Mantello begins issuing Salvadoran citizenship papers to Jewish refugees in Nazi-occupied Europe.
September 05, 1942

Death Penalty for Aiding Jews

German poster, issued during mass deportations to Treblinka, announcing death penalty for aiding Jews who fled the Warsaw ghetto.
October 26, 1942

Roundups of Norwegian Jews

With the assistance of collaborationist Norwegian officials, the Germans begin rounding up Jews in Norway.
December 16, 1942

Himmler Orders Deportation of Roma and Sinti to Auschwitz

Heinrich Himmler issues an order that Roma and Sinti are to be deported to Auschwitz.
December 17, 1942

Allied Nations Issue Statement on Mass Murder

The Allied nations issue a declaration stating explicitly that the German authorities are engaging in mass murder of the European Jews.
February 01, 1943

Letter Asking for Help to Hide Daughter

A letter from parents promises land in exchange for hiding their daughter.
February 02, 1943

German Defeat at Stalingrad

After months of fierce fighting and heavy casualties, German forces (numbering now only about 91,000 surviving soldiers) surrender at Stalingrad on the Volga.
March 13, 1943

Liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto

SS and police authorities liquidate the Krakow ghetto.
April 19–May, 1943

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, individuals and small groups of Jews hid or fought the Germans for almost a month.
August 03, 1943

Identity Card Used in Hiding

Identity card used by Kurt I. Lewin while he was in hiding in a Ukrainian Greek Catholic monastery in Poland.
September 20, 1943

Danish Jews Escape

From September 20 into October, approximately 7,200 Danish Jews escape to Sweden.
October 14, 1943

Sobibor Uprising

Jewish prisoners at the Sobibor killing center begin an armed revolt. Selma Wijnberg and Chaim Engel escape and flee into hiding.
October 19, 1943

Letter from Elkhanan Elkes

First page of the ethical will of Elkhanan Elkes, the chairman of the Kovno ghetto Jewish Council.
October 30, 1943

Moscow Declaration

The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union attend the Moscow Conference and sign a statement on German atrocities.
November 03, 1943

Operation Harvest Festival

SS forces kill surviving Jews in work camps near Lublin, Poland.
December 28, 1943

Letter to Commandant of Flossenbürg Camp

Josef and Amilia Kohout write to the commandant of Flossenbürg to ask to visit their son, Josef, who was arrested a part of the Nazi campaign against homosexuality.
January 16, 1944

Meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry Morgenthau Jr.

Roosevelt and Morgenthau Jr meet to discuss the rescue of Jews from Nazi-dominated Europe.
January 22, 1944

Creation of War Refugee Board

Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9417, creating the War Refugee Board.
March 19, 1944

German Troops Occupy Hungary

German forces occupy Axis ally Hungary and install pro-German General Dome Sztojay as prime minister.
May 15, 1944

Deportation of Hungarian Jews

From mid-May until July 9, 1944, Hungarian gendarmerie officials, under the guidance of German SS officials, deport some 440,000 Jews from Hungary.
May 15, 1944

Deportation from Theresienstadt

German authorities deport thousands of German, Austrian, and Czech Jews from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
June 06, 1944

D-Day

Under the code name Operation “Overlord,” US, British, and Canadian troops land on the beaches of Normandy, France.
June 18-22, 1944

Auschwitz Report

Between June 18 and 22, 1944, the Auschwitz Report, written by two Slovak Jewish prisoners who escaped from Auschwitz on April 7, 1944, goes public worldwide through media channels in Switzerland.
July 09, 1944

Raoul Wallenberg Arrives in Budapest

Raoul Wallenberg arrives in Budapest as first secretary to the Swedish legation in Hungary.
July 11, 1944

“Czech Family Camp” at Auschwitz Liquidated

Entry from Michael Kraus's postwar diary describing the liquidation of the “Czech family camp” in Auschwitz.
July 20, 1944

Attempt to Assassinate Hitler

German military officers attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in his East Prussian headquarters at Rastenburg.
July 23, 1944

Liberation of Lublin-Majdanek

Soviet forces liberate Lublin-Majdanek.
August 01, 1944

Warsaw Polish Uprising

The underground Polish Home Army rises against the Germans in an effort to play a role in the liberation of Warsaw.
August 02, 1944

Liquidation of “Gypsy Family Camp” at Auschwitz-Birkenau

The SS liquidates the “Gypsy family camp” BIIe at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
August 09, 1944

Destruction of the Lodz Ghetto

Beginning on August 9, SS and police units liquidate the Lodz ghetto.
October 07, 1944

Prisoner Revolt at Auschwitz-Birkenau

Prisoners assigned to Crematorium IV at the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center rebelled after learning that they were going to be killed.
November 23, 1944

Allied Troops Encounter Natzweiler-Struthof

Allied troops arrive at the abandoned Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp.
November 25, 1944

Himmler Orders Demolition of Auschwitz Gas Chambers and Crematoria

At Heinrich Himmler's order, the Auschwitz camp authorities demolish the gas chambers and crematoria at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
December 11, 1944

Last Gassing at Hartheim

At Hartheim, German authorities carry out the last gassing of inmates.
January 17, 1945

Death March from Auschwitz

As Soviet troops approach, SS units begin the final evacuation of prisoners from the Auschwitz camp complex.
January 27, 1945

Soviet Forces Liberate Auschwitz

The Soviet army enters Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Monowitz and liberates around 7,000 prisoners, most of whom are ill and dying.
February 04, 1945

Yalta Conference

Allied leaders meet to discuss military strategy in the final defeat of Nazi Germany, the postwar occupation of Germany, and the prosecution of German war criminals.
February 13, 1945

Surrender of German and Hungarian Units

Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last German and Hungarian units fighting in Budapest, Hungary.
February 13, 1945

Liberation of Gross-Rosen

Soviet forces liberate the Gross-Rosen camp.
March 07, 1945

US Troops Capture Ludendorff Railroad Bridge at Remagen

Troops of the US 9th Armored Division capture the Ludendorff Railroad Bridge at Remagen, between Koblenz and Bonn, Germany.
April 02, 1945

US Army Medic POW Diary Entry

"Two more of our men died today..."
April 04, 1945

Liberation of Ohrdruf

The Ohrdruf camp was a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. On April 4, 1945, it was the first Nazi camp liberated by US troops.
April 11, 1945

US Forces Liberate Buchenwald

On April 11, 1945, in expectation of liberation, prisoners took control of the Buchenwald camp.
April 11, 1945

Liberation of Dora-Mittelbau

US forces liberate the Dora-Mittelbau camp.
April 12, 1945

Liberation of Westerbork

Canadian forces liberate prisoners at the Westerbork camp in the Netherlands.
April 13, 1945

Last Diary Entry Written by Otto Wolf

Last diary entry by Otto Wolf (1927–1945), a Czech Jewish teenager who chronicled his family's experience in hiding.
April 15, 1945

Liberation of Bergen-Belsen

British forces liberate about 55,000 prisoners at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
April 17, 1945

Page from Otto Wolf's Diary

First entry by Felicitas, Otto Wolf's sister, who continued writing in Otto's diary after his disappearance.
April 20, 1945

Evacuation of Prisoners from Sachsenhausen

The SS evacuates prisoners on foot from Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
April 23, 1945

US Forces Liberate Flossenbürg

The 358th and 359th US Infantry Regiments (90th US Infantry Division) liberate Flossenbürg.
April 25, 1945

Soviet and US Troops Meet at Torgau

Soviet and American troops meet at Torgau, Germany.
April 27, 1945

Page 1 of Letter from US Soldier Aaron Eiferman

"We have seen what can be called the living dead"
April 29, 1945

Liberation of Dachau

US forces liberate the Dachau camp.
April 30, 1945

Liberation of Ravensbrück

The vanguard of the Soviet Army arrives at the Ravensbrück camp.
April 30, 1945

Hitler Commits Suicide

Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin.
May 04, 1945

Liberation of Gunskirchen

"Nazism at its worst was unfolded in stark reality before Doughboys of the 71st Infantry Division today."
May 04, 1945

British Forces Approach Neuengamme

As British troops approached Neuengamme, the SS evacuated some 9,000 prisoners towards Lübeck on the Baltic Sea on April 19, 1945.
May 05, 1945

Liberation of Mauthausen

Members of an “International Committee” formed by the prisoners in the last days of April administered the camp from within until US troops secured the area on May 5, 1945.
May 07, 1945

German Surrender

German armed forces surrender unconditionally to Allied forces in the west.
June 04, 1945

Page from Earl G. Harrison's Notebook

Earl G. Harrison, former Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, toured displaced persons camps in the summer of 1945.
August 15, 1945

Child Survivors Arrive in England

Alice Goldberger, a relief worker in England (and a Holocaust refugee herself) receives some of the first child survivors coming to England from Europe.
September 02, 1945

Japan Surrenders

Japan surrenders. World War II officially ends.
September 17, 1945

Belsen Trial Begins

The British Army charges forty-five defendants for war crimes committed at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
November 20, 1945

International Military Tribunal

The International Military Tribunal begins the trial of 21 major Nazi leaders.
November 21, 1945

US Prosecutor Jackson Delivers Opening Statement to International Military Tribunal

Justice Jackson makes opening statement to the International Military Tribunal.
November 29, 1945

Film at the Nuremberg Trial

At the International Military Tribunal, the prosecution introduces a film titled "The Nazi Concentration Camps."
December 01, 1945

Deggendorf Songbook

Carl Atkin, UNRRA director at the Deggendorf displaced persons camp, receives a songbook created by the survivors in his care.
December 11, 1945

The Nazi Plan

The film “The Nazi Plan” is shown as evidence at the International Military Tribunal.
December 22, 1945

New Directive on Immigrant Visas to the US

US President Harry S Truman issues a directive giving preference to displaced persons for immigrant visas under existing US immigration quota restrictions.

Next: After 1945

Highlighted events

All events 1942–1945

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