Holocaust Timeline by Savanna Padar

Blamed for the Black Death(1346-1353)

sp5021 — 2025-09-29 15:21:37 UTC

During the Black Plague, rumors began that Jewish people caused the plague by poisoning the wells. Jewish communities were destroyed and brutally murdered. Strasbourg wasn't affected by the plague yet, but they burned around 900 Jews alive.

This event was important because it shows how the Jews were basically blamed for everything. It led to widespread violence across Europe. This event forced many Jews to migrate East.

Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 A.D)

sp5021 — 2025-09-29 15:51:38 UTC

The Jews were unhappy under Roman rule as during the first Jewish Revolt, their temple was destroyed but the emperor built a Roman colony dedicated to Jupiter which made them angry. There was also a possible ban on circumcision which is a common practice among them. Their Revolt was going well at first but then the Romans fought back, and it eventually came crumbling down. Jews were then captured, starved, and killed.

This event is significant because its failure led to near depopulation of Judea, enslavement, and massive loss of life.

Destruction of the second temple (70A.D)

sp5021 — 2025-09-30 15:31:00 UTC

The first war of the Jewish revolting against the Romans resulted in their temple. The Romans breached Jerusalems walls and set fire to their temple. The city was then ravaged and many were enslaved, perished, or displaced.

This event is significant because this created Rabbinic Judaism which is what most Jewish people practice today. It led to the end of the temple based sacrificial worship.

Dreyfus Affair(October 15, 1894-1906)

sp5021 — 2025-09-30 15:52:34 UTC

It all began when the French army found a torn document offering French military secrets to the German embassy. Suspicion immediately fell on Dreyfus. Dreyfus was the only Jewish member of the elite French Army General Staff. Other people would provide evidence against him or defend him, but they would be convicted libel, or sent away. He would be court-martialed, but in 1906 all the charges dropped and he stayed in the army.

This event is significant as Dreyfus was wrongfully confused and faced court-martial twice. It wasn't until 1906 where he was officially clear.

The First Jewish Ghetto(March 29th, 1516)

sp5021 — 2025-09-30 17:13:01 UTC

They wanted the Christians and the Jewish people separated. It was created on a small enclosed island called in the Cannaregio district in Venice. It was surrounded by canals and only 2 bridges. The gates were locked at night with Christian guards that the Jewish people had to pay for themselves. If the Jews had to go anywhere outside the ghetto, they had to wear a identifying badges.

This event is significant because it's the first legal ghetto established in the world. This event also gave the world the word ghetto as it comes from a venetian word for a foundry.

Beilis Trials( September 25th, 1913-October 28th, 1913)

sp5021 — 2025-09-30 21:26:17 UTC

A Jewish factory Clark by the name of Mendel Beilis was accused of blood libel or rather known as ritual murder, of a Christian boy to use his blood for Passover matzo. Despite all the evidence proving his innocence, government officials and groups promoted the false accusations. Despite all the effort from the community, He was still convicted of ritual murder in October.

This event is important because it shows how conspiracy theories about Jewish people are never right. It also led to international putarage due to the amount of antisemitism in this trial as he accused only due to a theory.

The Fourth Lateran Council(1215)

sp5021 — 2025-10-02 21:14:30 UTC

It was a religious meeting with over 1200 church leaders to address issues. They made 70 canons that meeting.

With the 68th Canon, they said that the Jews and Muslims in Christian lands must wear distinctive clothing to be differentiated from the Christians to stop "illicit sexual relations" by mistake. Some other canons restricted Jews from holding public offices.

This event is significant because this marks the highest point of pope authority as they established discriminatory policies against anyone who wasn't Christian.

The Expulsion of Jews From Spain (1492)

sp5021 — 2025-10-02 21:29:24 UTC

The Expulsion of the Jews in 1492 was ordered by Ferdinand and Isabella, as they created the Alhambra Decree as it was signed March 31st, 1492. The whole point of that law was to stop Jews from influencing the Christian population of Spain. They gave the Jews till July 31st to decide whether they should convert to Christianity or leave the country. Over 200 000 Jews converted to Christianity. The rest were forced to leave without any of their property. Many were forced to flee towards Portugal, Italy, and North Africa. Despite the Jews converting, some were falsely convicted of secretly practicing Judaism leading to their death.

This event is important because it brought an end to the centuries of Jewish culture. Many Jews were also murdered for false accusations. The Jewish people also had a major impact on the economic system in Spain as they were their doctors, lawyers, artisans, financiers, and scholars.

Nuremberg Laws(September 15, 1935)

sp5021 — 2025-10-02 21:31:04 UTC

The Nuremberg Laws were a set of racist, antisemitic laws enacted in Nazi Germany on September 15, 1935, which institutionalized the Nazi party's ideology. IT was announced during a Nazi rally in Nuremberg, the laws stripped Jews of their citizenship and rights, providing the legal framework for the systematic persecution that would culminate in the Holocaust.

This event is significant because they were a turning point in the institutionalization of Nazi Germany's antisemitic policies, providing the legal framework for the systematic discrimination that would culminate in the Holocaust. By stripping Jews of their citizenship and fundamental rights, the laws moved persecution from unofficial harassment to state-sponsored oppression.

Kristallnacht(November 9-10, 1938)

sp5021 — 2025-10-03 14:48:06 UTC

Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a violent, state-sponsored anti-Jewish pogrom that took place throughout Nazi Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland.The name refers to the massive amount of broken glass from the windows of Jewish-owned stores, homes, and synagogues that littered the streets after the attacks. Firefighters were ordered to let synagogues burn but to prevent the fires from spreading to other buildings.The Nazi-orchestrated attacks saw mobs burn more than 1,400 synagogues and vandalize and loot thousands of Jewish-owned businesses and homes.

Kristallnacht was a significant event that marked the shift from nonviolent discrimination to open, state-sponsored violence against Jews. It shattered any sense of security within the Jewish community and signaled a harsher phase of persecution. For the Nazis, it proved they could escalate their actions without serious resistance from the German public or the international community.