January 17 Decree issued pertaining to the expiration of permits for Jewish dentists, veterinarians, and pharmacists. January 24 Establishment of a National Central Office for Jewish emigration, with central offices in Vienna and Prague. These offices lie under the SS's Intelligence Service, the Sicherheitsdienst, or SD, headed by Reinhard Heydrich. Göring orders SS leader Heydrich to speed up emigration of Jews. January 30 Hitler predicts in the parliament the "extermination of the Jewish race in Europe" in the event of war. February 21 Nazis require Jews to relinquish all their gold and silver. March 15 Occupation of Czechoslovakia, "Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia" created. Introduction of the anti-Semitic decrees that are already in force in Germany. April 18 Anti-Jewish laws passed in Slovakia. Cancellation of eviction protection. April 30 Law pertaining to rent agreements with Jews: Legal preparations for the combining of Jewish families into "Jewish Houses." Cancellation of eviction protection.
In Hamburg, 1,000 Jewish refugees board the SS St. Louis, a German ocean liner, for trip to Cuba, where they hope to find temporary refuge. Cuba and Miami turn them away. May 15 Ravensbruck concentration camp for women established north of Berlin. May 22 Nazis sign "Pact of Steel" with Italy. June 16-20 SS St. Louis returns to Europe, where the passengers disembark. July 26 Adolf Eichmann (deputy to Heydrich) placed in charge of the Prague branch of the emigration office. He becomes head of Section IVB4 of the S.D. under Reinhard Heydrich. Section IVB4 known first as the Jewish Bureau (later the Eichmann Bureau). September 1 Germany attacks Poland. World War II begins. Numerous pogroms in Poland. Curfews for Jews in Germany (9 p.m. in the summer, 8 p.m. in the winter). September 3 Britain and France declare war on Germany. September 21 In occupied Poland, Heydrich authorizes the mobilization of Einsatzgruppen (killing squads), which see action beginning in the spring of 1941 after the invasion of Russia. Heydrich also authorizes the establishment of ghettos, each under a Judenrat (Jewish Council). September 23 Confiscation of radios from Jews. September 27 Establishment of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (National Central Security Department), which coordinates all political and criminal police in Germany under Heydrich. Warsaw surrenders. September 29 Germans and Soviets divide Poland. More than two million Jews live in the German area and 1.3 million in the Soviet-controlled territory.
Nazis begin euthanasia, including murder by starvation, lethal injection, and carbon-monoxide poisoning, on sick and disabled in Germany. October 8 First ghetto (unguarded and unfenced) established in Piotrkow, Poland. October 12 First deportations from Austria and the "Protectorates" to Poland. Establishment of the Generalgouvernement (Government General) in the German-occupied territories of Poland. October 18 Introduction of wearing of the Star of David in Wloclawek, Poland. October 26 Forced labor for Jews in the Generalgouvernement. November 8 Hans Frank appointed Governor of the Generalgouvernement (headquartered in Krakow). Assassination attempt on Hitler fails. November 23 Introduction of the wearing of the Star of David in the entire Generalgouvernement (occupied Poland). November 28 Frank issues directive to establish Judenrats in Generalgouvernement. Continue: 1940 Photos: Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives. The Director's Story | Timeline of Nazi Abuses Results of Death-Camp Experiments: Should They Be Used? Exposing Flawed Science | Resources Transcript | Site Map | Holocaust on Trial Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated October 2000 |
