Nazi Germany in World War II
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland in September 1939. Operating under totalitarian fascist ideology, the regime pursued aggressive territorial expansion, aggressive militarization, and racial supremacy policies. Utilizing fast-paced Blitzkrieg tactics, German forces rapidly conquered much of continental Europe. However, turning points at Stalingrad, Kursk, and Normandy led to Germany's ultimate defeat. The regime was responsible for unprecedented war crimes, systemically murdering six million Jews and millions of others during the Holocaust. The Third Reich collapsed in May 1945, leading to the Allied occupation and the subsequent division of Germany.
People
Birth
Death
Origin
Age (Death)
| 1847 | |
|---|---|
| 1889 | |
| 1893 | |
| 1893 | |
| 1893 | |
| 1894 | |
| 1897 | |
| 1897 | |
| 1900 | |
| 1900 | |
| 1905 |
Timeline
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
| Year | Nazi Germany |
|---|---|
| 1847 |
Birth of Paul von Hindenburg (Period: October 2, 1847, Location: Poznań (present-day Poznań, Poland; Posen, Kingdom of Prussia at the time of his birth))
|
| 1866 |
Austro-Prussian War
Enlistment in the Prussian Army
|
| 1870 |
Franco-Prussian War
|
| 1871 |
Witnessing the Founding of the German Empire
|
| 1879 |
Marriage (Paul von Hindenburg, Gertrud Wilhelmine von Sperling)
|
| 1889 |
Birth of Adolf Hitler (Period: April 20, 1889, Location: Braunau am Inn (present-day Republic of Austria))
|
| 1893 |
Birth of Hermann Göring (Period: January 12, 1893, Location: Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany)
Birth of Hermann Wilhelm Göring (Period: January 12, 1893, Location: Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany)
Birth of Joachim von Ribbentrop (Period: April 30, 1893, Location: Wesel, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire)
|
| 1894 |
Birth of Rudolf Hess (Period: April 26, 1894, Location: El-Ibrahimiyya district, Alexandria, Egypt (Khedivate of Egypt under British influence at the time))
|
| 1897 |
Birth of Joseph Goebbels (Period: October 29, 1897, Location: Mönchengladbach, Germany)
Birth of Paul Joseph Goebbels (Period: October 29, 1897, Location: Mönchengladbach, Germany)
|
| 1900 |
Birth of Martin Ludwig Bormann (Period: June 17, 1900, Location: Wegeleben, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire)
Birth of Heinrich Himmler (Period: October 7, 1900, Location: Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire (present-day Munich, Federal Republic of Germany))
|
| 1905 |
Birth of Albert Speer (Period: March 19, 1905, Location: Mannheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire (present-day Mannheim, Germany))
|
| 1908 |
Aspiring Painter Years in Vienna
|
| 1912 |
Enlistment in the German Military
|
| 1913 |
Relocation to Munich (Adolf Hitler)
|
| 1914 |
World War I
Deemed Unfit for Military Service During World War I
Volunteering for World War I
Participation in World War I
Battle of Tannenberg
|
| 1915 |
Military service in World War I
Service as a Fighter Pilot
|
| 1916 |
Becoming Leader of the German Army High Command
|
| 1918 |
Military Service at the End of World War I
German Revolution and Defeat in World War I
Defeat of the German Empire and Retirement from the Military (Paul von Hindenburg)
|
| 1919 |
Intelligence and Political Education Activities for the Bavarian Army
Postwar Revolution in Germany and Armed Conflicts over the Bavarian Soviet Republic
Participation in Postwar Right-Wing/Nationalist Movements
Business Activities and Marriage
Joining the German Workers' Party
|
| 1920 |
Marriage (Joachim von Ribbentrop, Anna Elisabeth Henkell)
|
| 1921 |
Becoming Leader of the Nazi Party (Adolf Hitler)
Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
|
| 1922 |
Earning a Doctorate from Heidelberg University (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Participation in the Freikorps Rossbach
Joining the Nazi Party
|
| 1923 |
Becoming Leader of the Sturmabteilung (Hermann Wilhelm Göring)
Marriage (Hermann Wilhelm Göring, Carin von Kantzow)
Murder of Walther Kadow
Joining the Nazi Party
Beer Hall Putsch (Munich Putsch)
Beer Hall Putsch
|
| 1924 |
Writing and Publication of "Mein Kampf"
Refounding of the Nazi Party and Shift to the Electoral Strategy (Adolf Hitler)
Imprisonment in Landsberg Prison after the Beer Hall Putsch
Imprisonment for the Murder of Walther Kadow
|
| 1925 |
Acquisition of the "von" Title
Appointment as Hitler's Personal Secretary (Rudolf Hess)
Weimar Republic Presidential Election (Paul von Hindenburg)
Assuming the German Presidency (Paul von Hindenburg)
|
| 1926 |
Appointment as Gauleiter of Berlin (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
|
| 1927 |
Founding and Editing of "Der Angriff"
Marriage (Rudolf Hess, Ilse Pröhl)
|
| 1928 |
First Election to the Reichstag (Hermann Wilhelm Göring)
Election to the Reichstag (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Approaching Adolf Hitler
Marriage (Heinrich Himmler, Margarete Boden)
Marriage (Albert Speer, Margarete (Margret) Weber)
|
| 1929 |
Great Depression and the Rise of the Nazi Party
Appointment as Reichsführer-SS (Heinrich Himmler)
Marriage (Martin Ludwig Bormann, Gerda Buch)
|
| 1930 |
Transition to Rule by Presidential Decree
Appointment as Reich Propaganda Leader of the Nazi Party (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Meeting and Approaching Hitler
|
| 1931 |
Establishment of the SD (SS Security Service)
Marriage (Paul Joseph Goebbels, Magda Goebbels)
|
| 1932 |
Directing Hitler's Presidential Campaign Propaganda (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
1932 German Presidential Election (Paul von Hindenburg)
Appointment as Chairman of the Nazi Party Central Political Commission (Rudolf Hess)
|
| 1933 |
Nazi Party's Legal Rise to Power
Involvement in the Establishment of the Hitler Regime
Establishment of the Dictatorship
Seizure of Power in the State of Prussia
Forced Alignment (Gleichschaltung) of German Culture
The Holocaust
Control of the German Police Apparatus
Expansion of the Concentration Camp System
Rise as a Nazi Party Architect
Appointment as Chancellor of Germany (Adolf Hitler)
Appointment of Hitler as Chancellor
Reichstag Fire
Establishment of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and Appointment as Propaganda Minister (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Passing of the Enabling Act
Appointment as Deputy Führer (Rudolf Hess)
Appointment as Minister of Aviation (Hermann Wilhelm Göring)
Book Burning in Germany
Appointment as Chief of Staff to Rudolf Hess (Martin Ludwig Bormann)
|
| 1934 |
Night of the Long Knives
Death of Paul von Hindenburg
Hindenburg's Death and Becoming Führer (Adolf Hitler)
|
| 1935 |
Rearmament and Remilitarization of the Rhineland
Appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe (Hermann Wilhelm Göring)
Marriage (Hermann Wilhelm Göring, Emmy Sonnemann)
Signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement
Involvement in the Nuremberg Laws
Enactment of the Nuremberg Laws
|
| 1936 |
Spanish Civil War
Rome-Berlin Axis and Strengthening of German-Italian-Japanese Relations
Rhineland Occupation
Appointment as Head of the Four-Year Plan (Hermann Wilhelm Göring)
Appointment as German Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Joachim von Ribbentrop)
|
| 1937 |
Involvement in the Displacement and Resettlement Policies of Jewish Inhabitants (Albert Speer)
Appointment as General Building Inspector for Berlin (Albert Speer)
|
| 1938 |
Territorial Expansion into Austria and Czechoslovakia
Appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Joachim von Ribbentrop)
Annexation of Austria (Anschluss)
Munich Agreement and Cession of the Sudetenland
Munich Agreement and Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)
Involvement in Kristallnacht
|
| 1939 |
Designation as Hitler's Successor
Propaganda Direction During World War II
Mass Murder by the Einsatzgruppen
Signing of the Pact of Steel
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Invasion of Poland
Outbreak of World War II and Confirmation of the Line of Succession
Invasion of Poland and Outbreak of World War II
Outbreak of World War II
Establishment of the Reich Main Security Office (RSHA)
|
| 1940 |
Invasion of France, the Netherlands, and Other Countries
Promotion to Reichsmarschall
Tripartite Pact (Berlin Tripartite Pact)
Signing of the Tripartite Pact
|
| 1941 |
Promotion of the Holocaust
Command of the Eastern Front
Promotion of Generalplan Ost (General Plan for the East)
Involvement in the Holocaust and Jewish Deportation Policies
Involvement in Nazi Church Policy and Anti-Christian Policies
Germany's War against the Soviet Union / Eastern Front
Hess's Flight to Scotland and Peace Overtures
Solo Flight to Scotland
Rudolf Hess's Flight to Britain
Appointment as Head of the Nazi Party Chancellery (Martin Ludwig Bormann)
Eastern Front / Operation Barbarossa
Involvement in the Declaration of War on the United States
Declaration of War on the United States after Pearl Harbor
|
| 1942 |
Operation Reinhard
Involvement of the Diplomatic Apparatus in Jewish Deportations and the Holocaust
Foreign Office Cooperation in the Holocaust
Involvement in the Expansion of Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Expansion of German Armaments Production
Wannsee Conference
Appointment as Minister of Armaments and War Production (Albert Speer)
Battle of Stalingrad
|
| 1943 |
Total War and the Defeat of Germany
Sportpalast Speech (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Propaganda Exploiting the Katyn Massacre
Appointment as Hitler's Personal Secretary (Martin Ludwig Bormann)
Posen Speeches (Heinrich Himmler)
Involvement in the Posen Speeches (Albert Speer)
|
| 1944 |
Strengthening Fighter Aircraft Production
July 20 plot (Hitler assassination attempt)
July 20 Plot
Appointment as Plenipotentiary for Total War (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Warsaw Uprising
|
| 1945 |
Himmler's Secret Peace Negotiations with the Western Allies
Response to the Scorched-Earth Policy Just Before Defeat
Command of Army Group Vistula
Rupture with Hitler
Fall from Power and Flight at the End of World War II
Battle of Berlin and Collapse of the Nazi Regime
Move to the Führerbunker
Dismissal by Hitler
Final Days in the Führerbunker
Marriage (Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun)
Designation as Party Minister in Hitler's Political Testament
Death of Adolf Hitler
Fall of Berlin and Hitler's Suicide
Assuming the Office of Chancellor of Germany (Paul Joseph Goebbels)
Death of Joseph Goebbels
Death of Paul Joseph Goebbels
Suicide and the End of the Nazi Regime
Arrest and Transfer to the Nuremberg Trials
Death of Martin Ludwig Bormann
Escape from Berlin and Death
Capture by US Forces
Capture and Suicide
Death of Heinrich Himmler
Nuremberg Trials
|
| 1946 |
Formation and Collapse of the Speer Myth
Life Sentence at the Nuremberg Trials
Death Sentence at the Nuremberg Trials
Death of Hermann Göring
Death of Hermann Wilhelm Göring
Suicide
Death of Joachim von Ribbentrop
Execution
|
| 1947 |
Long-Term Imprisonment at Spandau Prison
Imprisonment in Spandau Prison
Imprisonment in Spandau Prison
|
| 1966 |
Publication of Memoirs and Postwar Writing Activities
|
| 1972 |
Discovery and Identification of Bormann's Remains
|
| 1981 |
Death of Albert Speer
|
| 1987 |
Death of Rudolf Hess
Death in Spandau Prison
|
Map
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
Europe
World
Related Links
| Group | List |
|---|---|
| Western Europe | British Politics French Politics Jewish relief Nuclear Science |
| Central Europe | Nazi Germany Weimar Republic German Anti-Nazis Warsaw Ghetto Arts & Music |
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