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Remilitarization of the Rhineland
FilmProvisions of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany (defeated in World War I) to station armed forces in a demilitarized zone in the Rhineland—a region in western Germany bordering France, Belgium, and part of the Netherlands. The treaty stipulated that Allied forces—including US troops—would occupy the region. In a blatant violation of the treaty, on March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered German troops to reoccupy the zone. Hitler gambled that the western powers would not intervene. His action…
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Resistance in the Smaller Ghettos of Eastern Europe: Glossary
ArticleLearn more about the Holocaust Encyclopedia’s key terms and selected youth movements related to resistance in the smaller ghettos of eastern Europe.
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Wannsee Conference and the "Final Solution"
ArticleAt the Wannsee conference of January 1942, Nazi Party and German government officials gathered to coordinate implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.”
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Reich Security Main Office (RSHA)
ArticleThe Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), created by Heinrich Himmler, brutally coordinated and perpetrated many aspects of the Holocaust.
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Inauguration of Paul von Hindenburg as President of Germany
Timeline EventMay 12, 1925. On this date, German Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg is inaugurated, becoming the last president of the Weimar Republic.
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Wilek (William) Loew describes Budapest after he escaped from the Lvov ghetto and before the German occupation of Hungary
Oral HistoryWilek was the son of Jewish parents living in the southeastern Polish town of Lvov. His family owned and operated a winery that had been in family hands since 1870. Wilek's father died of a heart attack in 1929. Wilek entered secondary school in 1939. Soon after he began school, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. Lvov was in the part of eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets took over Wilek's home and the family business, Wilek was able to continue his…
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Wilek (William) Loew describes forced labor in Lvov
Oral HistoryWilek was the son of Jewish parents living in the southeastern Polish town of Lvov. His family owned and operated a winery that had been in family hands since 1870. Wilek's father died of a heart attack in 1929. Wilek entered secondary school in 1939. Soon after he began school, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. Lvov was in the part of eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. Although the Soviets took over Wilek's home and the family business, Wilek was able to continue his…
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Belle Mayer Zeck describes working conditions and staffing at Nuremberg during the postwar trials
Oral HistoryBelle Mayer trained as a lawyer and worked for the General Counsel of the US Treasury, Foreign Funds Control Bureau. This bureau worked to enforce the Trading With the Enemy Act passed by Congress. In this capacity, Mayer became familiar with the German I. G. Farben chemical company, a large conglomerate that used slave labor during World War II. In 1945, Mayer was sent as a Department of Treasury representative to the postwar London Conference. She was present as representatives from the Allied nations…
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Sobibor
ArticleTo carry out the mass murder of Europe's Jews, the Nazis established killing centers that used assembly-line methods of murder. Sobibor was among these facilities.
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Benjamin (Beryl) Ferencz describes preparations for trials before military tribunals
Oral HistoryBen was born in a small village in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania in Romania. When he was an infant, his family moved to the United States. Ben attended Harvard University, where he studied criminal law. Ben graduated from Harvard University Law School in 1943. He joined a US anti-aircraft artillery battalion that was training in preparation for an Allied invasion of western Europe. At the end of World War II in Europe, Ben was transferred to the war crimes investigation branch of the US Army. He…
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1944: Key Dates
ArticleExplore a timeline of key events during 1944 in the history of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust.
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Mauthausen
ArticleThe Mauthausen concentration camp was established following the Nazi incorporation of Austria in 1938. Learn about the harsh conditions in the camp.
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Bulgaria
ArticleBulgaria joined the Axis alliance on March 1, 1941, after the Germans offered them Greek territory in Thrace. Learn about Bulgaria during WWII and the Holocaust.
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Norbert J. Yasharoff describes the trial and sentencing of a Jewish man falsely charged with economic crimes
Oral HistoryAnti-Jewish measures took effect in Bulgaria after the beginning of World War II. In March 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance and German troops passed through Sofia. In May 1943, Norbert and his family were expelled to Plevin in northern Bulgaria, where they stayed with relatives. After the advance of the Soviet army in 1944, Norbert and his family returned to Sofia.
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Hidden Children: Hardships
ArticleParents, children, and rescuers faced daunting challenges once the decision was made for a child to go into hiding during the Holocaust.
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The History of the Swastika
ArticleThe swastika is an ancient symbol that was in use in many different cultures for many years before Adolf Hitler made it the centerpiece of the Nazi flag.
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Charlene Schiff describes the German invasion of her town, Horochow, in the summer of 1941
Oral HistoryBoth of Charlene's parents were local Jewish community leaders, and the family was active in community life. Charlene's father was a professor of philosophy at the State University of Lvov. World War II began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Charlene's town was in the part of eastern Poland occupied by the Soviet Union under the German-Soviet Pact of August 1939. Under the Soviet occupation, the family remained in its home and Charlene's father continued to teach. The Germans…
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Barbara Marton Farkas describes the death march from the Gross-Rosen camp in Germany
Oral HistoryBarbara was born in the province of Arad in northern Transylvania, Romania. She went to school until the Hungarian army occupied the area in 1940 and she was no longer allowed to attend. After the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944, discrimination against Jews intensified. Barbara and her family were forced into the Oradea ghetto. She worked in the ghetto hospital until she was deported to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, she worked in the kitchens to receive extra food. She was deported to another camp,…
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Władysław Bartoszewski discusses Żegota
Oral HistoryWładysław Bartoszewski (1922–2015) was a co-founder and member of the Council for Aid to Jews, codenamed “Żegota.” Żegota was a clandestine rescue organization of Poles and Jews in German-occupied Poland. Supported by the Polish government-in-exile, Żegota coordinated efforts to save Jews from Nazi persecution and murder. It operated from 1942 to 1945. After World War II broke out in 1939, Władysław worked as a janitor at a Polish Red Cross clinic. In the fall of 1940, Władysław was caught…
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Magnus Hirschfeld
ArticleA leading researcher of sex, sexuality, and gender, German Jewish doctor Magnus Hirschfeld was forced to live in exile after the Nazi rise to power.
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Joseph Goebbels
ArticleJoseph Goebbels, Nazi politician, propagandist, and radical antisemite, was Reich Minister for Propaganda and Public Enlightenment from 1933 until 1945.
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Barbara Marton Farkas describes deportation from Hungary to Auschwitz
Oral HistoryBarbara was born in the province of Arad in northern Transylvania, Romania. She went to school until the Hungarian army occupied the area in 1940 and she was no longer allowed to attend. After the Germans occupied Hungary in 1944, discrimination against Jews intensified. Barbara and her family were forced into the Oradea ghetto. She worked in the ghetto hospital until she was deported to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, she worked in the kitchens to receive extra food. She was deported to another camp,…
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Röhm Purge
ArticleThe Röhm Purge (the “Night of the Long Knives") was the murder of the leadership of the SA (Storm Troopers), the Nazi paramilitary formation led by Ernst Röhm. Learn more.
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Third Reich
ArticleThe “Third Reich” is another name for Nazi Germany between 1933-1945. Learn more about life under Nazi rule before and during World War II.
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Nazi Camps
ArticleNazi Germany and its allies established over 44,000 concentration camps and incarceration sites during the Holocaust. Read about the Nazi camp system.
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Romania
ArticleEven before joining the Axis alliance in 1940, Romania had a history of antisemitic persecution. Learn more about Romania before and during World War II.
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Les Milles Camp
ArticleUnder the Vichy regime, the Les Milles camp held foreign Jews before emigration or, in most cases, deportation to German concentration camps and killing centers.
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Miriam Peleg explains why Żegota was important
Oral HistoryMiriam Peleg (1913–1996) was a member of the Council for Aid to Jews, codenamed “Żegota.” Żegota was a clandestine rescue organization of Poles and Jews in German-occupied Poland. Supported by the Polish government-in-exile, Żegota coordinated efforts to save Jews from Nazi persecution and murder. It operated from 1942 to 1945. Born Maria Hochberg, Miriam was from a Polish-Jewish family. She grew up in a small town about 70 miles east of Kraków. As early as the summer of 1940, Miriam obtained…
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Aron (Dereczynski) Derman describes the German destruction of the Slonim ghetto
Oral HistoryDescribes the German destruction of the Slonim ghetto
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Gerda Blachmann Wilchfort describes the mood of passengers on the "St. Louis" after they were denied entry into Cuba
Oral HistoryGerda and her parents obtained visas to sail to Cuba on the "St. Louis" in May 1939. When the ship arrived in Havana harbor, most of the refugees were denied entry and the ship had to return to Europe. Gerda and her parents disembarked in Belgium. In May 1940, Germany attacked Belgium. Gerda and her mother escaped to Switzerland. After the war, they were told that Gerda's father had died during deportation.
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Rosa Israel Waldhorn
ID CardRosa was one of 14 children born to religious Jewish parents in the village of Yasinya at a time when it was known as Korosmezo and was part of Hungary. During World War I, she married Michael von Hoppen Waldhorn, an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army who was based near Yasinya. During the 1920s they moved to Paris, where they raised three children. 1933-39: The Waldhorn family's life in Paris was very different from their life in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Rosa's husband made a good living, and he…
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Herman Judelowitz
ID CardHerman was the oldest of nine children born to a Jewish family in the Latvian village of Aizpute. He was a World War I veteran, and after the conflict, in 1918, he fought for the establishment of a free Latvian republic. Two years later he married Sarah Gamper and they settled in the city of Liepaja, where they owned a shoe store. By the late 1920s they had two daughters, Fanny and Jenny. 1933-39: Herman designed patterns for the uppers of shoes, which he used to fashion into finished shoes. His shoe…
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Map used as trial evidence
ArtifactThis map of the Treblinka I forced-labor camp was drawn by Holocaust survivor Manfred Kort in 1946. In 1990 Kort donated the map to the United States Holocaust Memorial Musem. In March 1997, at the request of the Office of Special Investigations, the Museum sent the original drawing to Chicago to be used as evidence at the trial of one Bronislaw Hajda. At the conclusion of Hajda's trial on April 10, 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that "a federal judge in Chicago has revoked the naturalized…
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Law on the Head of State of the German Reich
ArticleThe Law on the Head of State of the German Reich was the last step in destroying democracy in interwar Germany and making Adolf Hitler a dictator. Learn more.
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Swastika flag rises over Versailles and Paris
FilmThe German western campaign into the Low Countries and France shattered Allied lines. Within six weeks, Britain evacuated its forces from the Continent and France requested an armistice with Germany. Paris, the French capital, fell to the Germans on June 14, 1940. In this footage, triumphant German forces raise the swastika flag over Versailles and over the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Versailles, the traditional residence of French kings, was deeply symbolic for the Germans: it was the site of both the…
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SS Police State
ArticleThe SS oversaw policing, intelligence, and the camp system in Nazi Germany. Learn more about the Schutzstaffel and its rise to power.
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Women’s Suffrage is Declared in Germany
Timeline EventNovember 12, 1918. On this date, women gain the right to vote in Germany.
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Auschwitz Through the Lens of the SS: The Album
ArticleLearn about photographs contained in Karl Höcker’s album depicting official visits, ceremonies, and the social activities of the Auschwitz camp staff.
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1942: Key Dates
ArticleExplore a timeline of key events during 1942 in the history of Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Holocaust.
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Beno Helmer
ID CardBeno was the oldest of three children in a Jewish family. His mother, originally from Austria, came to Czechoslovakia after World War I. Beno's father, a Swedish Jew, arrived there in search of work and became a successful merchant. The German-speaking Helmer home was frequently full of guests. Every day some students from the local rabbinical academy were invited to join the family for a meal. 1933-39: Beno's parents sent him to Budapest to attend high school. Later, because of his talent with languages,…
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Nenad Dusan Popovic
ID CardNenad was the youngest of nine children born to Serbian Orthodox landowners in the eastern Croatian part of Yugoslavia. During World War I the Popovic family was evacuated to Vukovar by the Austro-Hungarian army, which was then at war with Serbia. In 1928 Nenad moved to Belgrade, where he attended Belgrade University, graduating with a law degree in 1932. 1933-39: Nenad's specialty was law related to economics and he found a job in the economic research department of the Yugoslav central bank in Belgrade.…
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Vienna
ArticleNazi Germany annexed Austria in March 1938. Learn about Austria’s capital, Vienna, which at the time was home to a large and vibrant Jewish community.
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Aron (Dereczynski) Derman describes deportations from the Grodno ghetto in November 1942
Oral HistoryAron was born to a middle-class Jewish family in Slonim, a part of Poland between the two world wars. His parents owned a clothing store. After studying in a technical school, Aron worked as a motion-picture projectionist in a small town near Slonim. The Soviet army took over Slonim in September 1939. War broke out between Germany and the Soviet Union in June 1941. Aron returned to Slonim. The Germans soon occupied Slonim, and later forced the Jews into a ghetto. Aron was forced to work in an armaments…
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Voyage of the St. Louis
ArticleIn May 1939, the German transatlantic liner St. Louis sailed from Germany to Cuba. Most of the passengers were Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. Learn more about the voyage.
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Reinhard Heydrich: In Depth
ArticleReinhard Heydrich, Reich Security Main Office chief, was one of the main architects of the “Final Solution," the Nazi plan to murder the Jews of Europe.
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Leon Anderman
ID CardLeon was born to Jewish parents living near Tarnopol, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. During World War I, he was an officer in the Austrian army. Following his enlistment, Leon attended medical school in Vienna. After graduating in 1923, he opened a general medicine practice in Kolbuszowa, a town in south central Poland. He was one of the town's two physicians. 1933-39: Leon had never been active in Jewish affairs, but when the Germans deported Jews from their country in 1938, he felt compelled…
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Hainewalde
ArticleThe SA established a protective custody camp at Hainewalde in March 1933. Well-known journalist and writer Axel Eggebrecht was among its early prisoners.
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Defining the Enemy
ArticleNazi ideology aimed to promote the myth of an ideal national community and label those who were to be excluded from it as enemies. Propaganda was essential in promoting such myths.
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Nuremberg Race Laws
ArticleLearn more about the Reich Citizenship Law and the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, collectively known as the Nuremberg Race Laws.
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Robert Freund
ID CardThe second oldest of five children, Robert was raised by Jewish parents in a suburb of Mannheim. He was wounded while serving in the German army during World War I. Married after the war and making his home in the industrial city of Mannheim, Robert and his wife Emma raised two children, while he made a living as an interior decorator. 1933-39: The Nazis came to power in 1933; Robert's children were forced out of public school and he lost his business. When the Nazis burned down the local synagogue and…
