Timeline by

Reichstag fire decree Feburary 28

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:40:23 UTC

An arsonist burned down the Reichstag, causing a state of emergency. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to assemble were suspended. The government could arrest political opponents without charge, dissolve political organizations, and censor newspapers.

Enabling act March 23

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:40:56 UTC

"law for rectification of the distress of nation and Reich". this law created a dictatorship in Germany.

Civil service law April 7

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:41:36 UTC

"law for the restoration of the professional civil service". law removed Jews and political opponents of the nazis from civil service positions. including school, university, and government jobs. only people are exempt if they had a job before 1941. Jewish lawyers were forbidden to practice law.

Education law April 25

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:42:58 UTC

"law against overcrowding in schools and universities". law stated that Jewish students couldn't be more than 5% of the student population of any public school or university. german schools taught nazi racial ideas about the superiority of "Aryans" and the inferiority of Jews.

Sterilization law July 14

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:46:39 UTC

"law for the prevention of offspring with hereditary diseases". law allowed the government to forcibly sterilize people with physical or mental disabilities so they could not have children. 400,000 were sterilized.

Press censorship law October 4

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:48:02 UTC

"editors law". forbade Jews from working in journalism.kept registries for "racily pure" editors and journalists. new reporters had to register and show they were not Jewish. journalists who broke the law could be sent to concentration camps.

Law against "Criminals" November 24

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:53:07 UTC

The German government passed a law about "law against dangerous habitual criminals". The government was authorized to hold prisoners indefinitely, even if they had served their prison term if the Nazis said they were "dangerous habitual criminals". prisoners were often transferred to concentration camps instead of being freed.

mandatory military service march 16

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 14:58:23 UTC

All German men were forced to go into the military if they were between the ages of 18-45. drafted soldiers had to show that they weren't Jewish. Hilter said Germany would be "rebuilding their army" even though they were already at the maximum capacity for the army and now betraying the "treaty of Versailles made during WW1

Jehovah witness organisations banned April 1

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:04:02 UTC

german government banned the watchtower bible and the Tract Society; a Jehovah's Witness publishing house. many people still practiced the religion even though it had been banned throughout Germany. they also refused to swear allegiance to Hilter/ Nazi Germany and refused to serve in the army.

Revision of paragraph 175 June 28

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:08:07 UTC

German government continued to ban male homosexuality but added more to the law including harsher punishments and what activities qualified as sexual contact. Lesbians were not targeted as they could still have children.

Reich citizenship law September 15

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:11:37 UTC

this law defined who was considered a Jew and who was a German. Jews were now categorized as a race and defined by blood and genealogy. Jews now lost their citizenship and were now considered "subjects of the state".

racial definitions explained November 14

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:14:48 UTC

The German government issued the first regulation on this day. this regulation clarified that Germans who were descended from one or two Jewish grandparents would be considered a "mixed race". the mixed race was still permitted to vote and hold civil jobs.

Nurmberg laws extended November 26

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:18:22 UTC

on this day the law had finally now applied to the Gypsies, Roma and Sinti, and Afro-Germans. they were now not permitted to marry "Aryan" Germans.

Jewish name law August 17

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:24:22 UTC

Germany made a new law called the "law of the alteration of family and personal Names. this law required all Jewish people who didn't have a "Jewish" first name to change their middle name to "Israel (for men)" and "Sara (for women)". by 1939 all Jewish people had to obtain new passports or ID's that had their new name and a letter "j" to mark them as a Jew

Anti-Jewish economy November 12

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 15:29:23 UTC

this law prohibited Jewish people from owning any business or engaging in trading. Jewish businesses already felt pressure from the "Aryanize" which meant that the Jewish owner would be forced to sell his or her business at a steep discount to a non-Jewish employee or a Nazi supporter.

Euthanasia decree September 1

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 16:40:04 UTC

Hitler signed a note that authorized designated physicians to carry out "mercy killings". note was to protect doctors from the "euthanasia" program, a secret program of mass murder targeting institutionalized people with disabilities. this was Germany first program of mass murder. historians estimate 250,000 people were murdered because of this.

German military issues commissar order June 6

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 16:43:31 UTC

commissar were officials in the Soviet communist party assigned to Soviet military units. they spread patriotic, pro-communist propaganda to soviet troops. this order authorized and encouraged German soldiers to execute commissar. commissar order sent a message to the German military that they did not have to follow the international laws of war.

Jewish badge introduced in Germany September 1

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 16:46:26 UTC

in pre-modern times Jews were sometimes forced to wear badges, patches, medals, or other means of identification. these orders were almost always accompanied by antisemitic laws. Nazi Germany forced Jewish people to wear a Star of David to identify them easily.

announcement of death penalty for aiding Jews September 15

salegria4 — 2024-03-25 16:49:17 UTC

Non-Jews were often warned for assisting Jews. many posters were made that warned Jews in hiding would be subjected to the death penalty. anyone caught hiding Jews or helping, transporting them, buying valuables from them, or providing them with food would also be sentenced to death in Poland. Very few non-Jews were willing to risk their lives to help the Jews