A
fter World War I, Germany faced a time of depression and political upheaval that created a favorable environment for Hitler and the Nazi Party to take power. During his reign as Führer, Hitler strengthened the German economy and expanded the German Empire, but this aggressive strategy in Europe caused World War II and the deaths of millions of Jews and “undesirables” in concentration camps. The Nazi Reich taught the world how hatred and power could build up a nation, but would ultimately destroy it.
Timeline
Nazi Strongholds: Capital City
Berlin, Germany
Nazi Strongholds: Berghof, Hitler's Residence
Berchtesgaden, Germany
Other: Nazi Army invades Poland
1 Sept 1939
Other: Nazis invade Yugoslavia and Greece
6 Apr 1941
Other: Nazi Army occupies Bulgaria
2 Mar 1941
Other: Hermann Göring captured
9 May 1945
Other: First day of the Nuremberg Trials
20 Nov 1945
Other: Potsdam Conference dismantles the Nazi state
Aug 1945
Other: Nazi Army invades Romania
7 Oct 1940
Other: Nazi Army surrenders at Stalingrad
2 Feb 1943
Other: Nazi Army invades the Soviet Union
22 June 1941
Other: Nazi Army invades Denmark and Norway
9 Apr 1940
Other: Nazi Army invades France, Belgium, and Holland
10 May 1940
Other: Tripartite (Axis) Pact signed
27 Sept 1940
Other: Hitler commits suicide in his bunker
30 Apr 1945
Other: National Flag
Swastika flag
Other: National Anthem
Deutschlandlied
Other: Political Party in power
National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party)
Other: Government
Totalitarian, Controlled by the Nazi party, built upon Fascist principles but Nazis never declared themselves as Fascist
Other: Economy
Mixed, contained aspects of both a free market and a centrally planned economy.
Other: Hitler declares himself Fuhrer
2 Aug 1934
Other: The Gestapo is created by Hermann Göring
26 Apr 1933
Other: Failed Beer Hall Putsch
1923
Other: Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany
30 Jan 1933
Other: Night of the Long Knives
30 June 1934
Other: Dachau concentration camp opens
22 Mar 1933
Other: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact signed
23 Aug 1939
Other: Reichstag fire
27 Feb 1933
Other: Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”)
9 Nov 1938
Other: Nazi Army occupies the Rhineland
6 Mar 1936
Other: Nazi Army takes Czechoslovakia
15 Mar 1939
Other: Hitler begins his quest for Lebensraum
1938
Other: Munich Conference
29 Sept 1938
Other: Nazi Army occupies the Sudetenland
15 Oct 1938
Other: Mein Kampf (My Struggle) published
1925
Other: Anschluss, Germany annexes Austria
12 Mar 1938
Other: Berlin hosts the Olympics
Other: Nuremberg Laws
15 Sept 1935
Nazi Strongholds: Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, Wolf's Lair
Ketrzyn, Poland
Other Facts
Adolf Hitler
Chancellor, 1933-1945; Führer, 1934-1945
Karl Adolf Eichmann
headed Gestapo Department IV B4 for Jewish Affairs; “Jewish Specialist.”
Reinhard Heydrich
Second in SS organization, lead planner of Hitler’s Final Solution.
Hans Frank
Governor-General of Occupied Poland, perpetuated the Holocaust in Poland.
Martin Bormann
Head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler.
Joseph Goebbels
Minister of Nazi Propaganda; succeeded Hitler as chancellor for one day; On May 1, 1945, he committed suicide
Rudolf Hess
Deputy Führer, number three after Göring.
Heinrich Himmler
Head of the German SS, Reichsführer-SS; committed suicide in Luneburg by potassium cyanide
Hermann Göring
President of the Reichstag, commander of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), committed suicide after Nuremberg trials
