One of the defining features of the Nazis’ regime was their apparatus of terror. This image shows the devastation of Kristallnacht, an antisemitic pogrom which took place in November 1938. Over the course of this pogrom alone, over 25,000 people were sent to concentration camps, over 7,500 businesses had their windows smashed, over 1,000 synagogues were destroyed and just under 100 people were murdered.
Courtesy of The Wiener Library.
The Nazis came to power in 1933, and were defeated at the end of the Second World War in 1945.
During their twelve years in power their ideology and actions shaped almost every aspect of life in Germany and the countries that they occupied.
This section will give an overview of the Nazis’ Third Reich.
On 19 August 1934, Hitler abolished the office of president and declared himself Führer of the German Reich and People.
On 17 August 1938, a law was passed forcing Jews who had ‘non-Jewish’ first names to adopt the middle name ‘Israel’ or ‘Sara’.
On 24 August 1941, Hitler publicly ordered the end of the T4 programme to murder disabled people. It still continued in secret.
On 1 August 1944, the Warsaw Uprising began. Led by the Polish Home Army, the uprising aimed to free Warsaw from German occupation.
On 9 August 1944, aware of the advancing Red Army, the SS and police units liquidated the Łódź Ghetto.
