Holocaust and Civilians: World War II Timeline
Explore 21 dated records related to holocaust and civilians between 1938 and 1946.
Dated historical records
Entries below follow the dates recorded in the WWII CHRONOS archive. Each linked title opens the original historical entry, including its source reference.
- — First Anti-Jewish Law in Hungary — The law restricted Jewish participation in economic life.
- — Opening of the Évian Conference on Jewish Refugees — Representatives of states discussed the refugee crisis created by persecution in Nazi-controlled territories.
- — Kristallnacht — Mass anti-Jewish pogroms across Germany and annexed Austria on 9–10 November.
- — First Kindertransport Arrives in Britain — Groups of child refugees from Nazi-controlled territories began arriving in Britain.
- — The MS St. Louis Sails from Hamburg — Jewish refugees attempted to find safety across the Atlantic.
- — Sealing of the Łódź Ghetto — The German administration isolated the city's Jewish population.
- — Warsaw Ghetto Sealed — The German occupation authorities isolate Jews inside the Warsaw ghetto.
- — Mass Murder of Jews at Kaunas Seventh Fort — One of the early large-scale mass shootings following the invasion of the Soviet Union.
- — Bishop von Galen's Sermon against the Murder of Patients — The Catholic bishop publicly condemned the Nazi 'euthanasia' programme.
- — Babyn Yar in Kyiv — On 29–30 September, Nazi occupiers shoot tens of thousands of Kyiv's Jews.
- — Mass Killing Begins at Chełmno — The killing centre began using gas vans.
- — Deportations from the Łódź Ghetto to Chełmno Begin — The Nazis begin systematic deportations of Jews to be murdered.
- — Wannsee Conference — Nazi officials coordinate the implementation of the policy to systematically murder Europe's Jews.
- — Deportations of Jews from France to Auschwitz Begin — Deportations from occupied France were directed mainly to Auschwitz.
- — Systematic Deportations of Jews from the Netherlands Begin — Transports departed for the killing centres.
- — Grossaktion in the Warsaw Ghetto Begins — Mass deportations to Treblinka begin.
- — Warsaw Ghetto Uprising — Jewish underground fighters begin armed resistance to the Nazi liquidation of the ghetto.
- — Rescue of the Danish Jews — The Danish resistance and ordinary citizens begin a mass effort to ferry Jews to Sweden.
- — Sonderkommando Uprising at Auschwitz — Prisoners of the Sonderkommando stage an uprising at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- — Liberation of Auschwitz — The Red Army enters the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp complex.
- — Kielce Pogrom — Anti-Jewish violence in post-war Poland kills dozens of people.
For wider context, explore the interactive historical timeline and compare events across theaters.