Annihilation: The Destruction of European Jews

In 1933, Hitler became Chancellor, leading Germany amid crisis and inflation. Goebbels nurtured his cult of personality, spreading xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

In 1938, the Third Reich annexed Austria, expelling foreign Jews. By Jan 1, 1939, no Jewish businesses were left on Reich soil. German Jews, ostracized, were trapped.

By June 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Paris, dividing France. Vichy, led by Pétain, quickly enacted anti-Jewish laws without German pressure.

Leading historians reflect on the barbarity of the Holocaust. By 1941, the Nazis were using gas as the hideous method for mass killings at their death camps - including Auschwitz.

Within the Warsaw ghetto, Oyneg Shabbos meticulously recorded life accounts. Upon discovering Chelmno deaths in 1941, they grasped the Nazi annihilation mission.

By summer 1942, deportations were systematic across those parts of Europe occupied by the Nazis. Hitler issued an order for all Polish Jews to be killed before December 1942.