Monday 18 April 2022

Heinrich Himmler | Timeline

Heinrich Himmler (7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of the Holocaust. (Intro from Wikipedia)

October 7, 1900 - Munich, Germany - Heinrich Luitpold Himmler is born
January(?) 1(?), 1913 - Landshut, NE of Munich - The family moves from Munich when Gebhard Himmler is appointed joint-headmaster at Landshut
July 29, 1915 - Landshut - His elder brother turns 17 and enters the "Landsturm" (Reserve Army): "Oh I wish to be as old as that [...] and so be able to go to the front"
December 1(?), 1917 - Regensburg - Enlists with the reserve battalion of the 11th Bavarian Regiment
June(?) 1(?), 1918 - Freising - Completes a course for officer-cadets in Freising (in the Summer)
September 1(?), 1918 - Bayreuth - Completes a machine-gunner course in Bayreuth
December 18, 1918 - Landshut - Discharged. Returns to Landshut
August 1(?), 1919 - Ingolstadt - Begins his famous diary while working on a farm near Ingolstadt
September 1(?), 1919 - Ingolstadt - Gebhard Himmler takes up a post of headmaster at Ingolstadt and all family moves there
September 4, 1919 - Ingolstadt - Himmler falls ill and it is found that he had paratyphoid fever
October 18, 1919 - Munich - After his recovery, Himmler is told he had to leave the farm for at least an year. He is accepted as a student at the Munich Technische Hochschule
October 20, 1919 - Munich - Begins studying Agronomy at the Munich Technische Hochschule
December 1(?), 1919 - Munich - Diary: "I believe I have come into conflict with my religion [...] but whatever happens I shall always love God and pray to Him, and remain faithful to the Catholic Church and defend it even if I should be expelled from it"
November 5, 1921 - Munich - Attends the funeral of Ludwig II of Bavaria
January 18, 1922 - Munich - He takes part in a nationalist student ceremony to commemorate the founding of the German Empire
January 26, 1922 - Munich - Attends a meeting with Ernst Röhm at a rifle-club meeting in Munich =(START)
August 5, 1922 - Munich - Graduates from the Technical College and gains his agricultural diploma
August 1(?), 1923 - Munich - Joins the Nazi Party (NSDAP)
September 1(?), 1923 - Munich - Abandons his low-paying office job
Himmler holding the Imperial War flag
during the "Putsch" in Munich
November 8, 1923 - Munich - Hitler and the Nazis, alongside national conservatives, try toseize power in Munich in the Beer Hall "Putsch" (coup d'état). Troops open fire and 16 nazis are killed. The Nazi Party is banned
February 15, 1924 - Stadelheim - Visits Ernst Röhm at Stadelheim prison
May 30, 1924 - Viechtach - Speaks about the "dubious machinations of the jews"
August 25, 1924 - Aidenbach - Speech in Aidenbach
September 24, 1924 - Fürstenzell - Speech in Fürstenzell
April 4, 1925 - Munich - Foundation of the Schutzkommando. Himmler joins as an SS-Führer (SS-Leader)
May 1, 1925 - While in Munich - Ernst Röhm sends Hitler his resignation as leader of the SA-stormtroopers
June 4, 1925 - Straubing - Speech "The Freemasons' Lodge as a Tool of the Jews"
June 13, 1925 - Zwiesel - Speaks on the topic "Jewry and Bolshevism"
June 24, 1925 - Deggendorf - Speech in Deggendorf
August 2, 1925 - Munich - Rejoins the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Begins working under Gregor Strasser as a party secretary and propaganda assistant
November 9, 1925 - Munich - The Schutzkommando becomes "Schutzstaffel" (Protection Squadron), the SS, on the second anniversary of the Putsch
November 12, 1925 - Rotthalmünster - Speech "What does National Socialism want?"
November 19, 1925 - Landshut - Himmler meets Josef Goebbels. Speech for the Landshut local branch
January 12, 1926 - Munich - Himmler is interrogated by the Munich police
March 9, 1926 - Dingolfing - Speech for the Dingolfing local branch
March 19, 1926 - Irlbach - Speech in Irlbach
March 20, 1926 - Strasskirchen - Speech in Strasskirchen
March 25, 1926 - Landshut - Speech in Landshut
March 26, 1926 - Malgersdorf - Speech for the Malgersdorf local branch
March 27, 1926 - Plattling - Speech in Plattling
April 13, 1926 - Landshut - With Goebbels during one of his speaking tours
April 30, 1926 - Malgersdorf - Speaks about "The Threats from the Jews"
July 3, 1926 - Weimar - 2nd NSDAP congress (2 days)
October 30, 1926 - Zwickau - With Goebbels at Zwickau
April 9, 1927 - Regensburg - Public meeting of the Regensburg NSDAP local branch
January 6, 1929 - Munich - SS Commander Erhard Heiden resigns. Himmler assumes the position of Reichsführer-SS
August 8, 1929 - Munich - Daughter Gudrun is born
June 14, 1931 - Munich - Himmler interviews Reinhard Heydrich, giving him 20 minutes to outline an organizational plan for a future counter-intelligence service. Himmler is so impressed that he makes Heydrich the head of his "Ic-Dienst", which would become the SD - the Intelligence Agency of the SS and Nazy Party in 1932
December 31, 1931 - Munich - Himmler introduces the "Marriage order" - The SS Race and Settlement Main Office would only issue a permit to marry once detailed background investigations into the racial fitness of both prospective parents had been completed and proved both of them to be of Aryan descent back to 1800
March 1(?), 1933 - Munich - Reich Governor of Bavaria Franz Ritter von Epp appoints Himmler chief of the Munich Police
March 21, 1933 - Dachau, Bavaria - Himmler establishes an experimental concentration camp at Dachau, Bavaria
November 3, 1933 - Wewelsburg, near Paderborn -
First visit to Wewelsburg Castle
April 1(?), 1934 - Munich - At Hitler's request, Himmler and Heydrich begin building a dossier on SA leader Ernst Röhm in an effort to remove him as a rival for party leadership
April 10, 1934 - Berlin - Göring addresses the assembled Gestapo in the presence of Himmler and Heydrich, to explain that Himmler would in future take charge of their work as his deputy.
April 13, 1934 - Berlin - Himmler orders the "Leibstandarte Bodyguard regiment" to become known as the "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler"
April 20, 1934 - Berlin - As a means of isolating Röhm, Göring transfers control of the Prussian political police (Gestapo) to Himmler, who, Göring believed, could be counted on to move against Röhm. Reinhard Heydrich becomes his deputy
April 22, 1934 - Munich - Himmler names Heydrich to head the Gestapo, while also continuing as head of the SD
June 1(?), 1934 - Stettin - SS review in Stettin. Himmler invites Rudolf Höss to join the staff of Dachau prisoner camp
June 20, 1934 - Berlin - Conference with Hitler. After the meeting, Himmler claimed he was shot at while driving his car to the internment of the body of Carin, Göring's first wife
June 24, 1934 - Berlin - Conference of the SS High Command
July 20, 1934 - Berlin - The SS becomes an independent organisation answerable only to Hitler. The SA is converted into a sports and training organization
July 1, 1935 - Berlin - Himmler founds the "Deutsches Ahnenerbe Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte" (Society for the Study of the History of Primeval Ideas)
Himmler at Dachau
May 6, 1936 - Dachau, Bavaria -
Himmler and Eichmann inspect the Dachau concentration camp
July 2, 1936 - Quedlinburg, Harz Mountains - Himmler celebrates his new appointment with a ceremonial commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the death of Heinrich I
October 19, 1937 - Rome, Italy - Himmler attends a fashion show in Rome with Benito Mussolini, Reinhard Heydrich and Kurt Daluege
March 11, 1938 - Linz, Austria - Arrives in Linz to supervise security arrangements for Hitler's arrival
March 12, 1938 - Vienna, Austria - Himmler flies to Aspern (Vienna airport) to meet with austrian SS leader Kaltenbrunner
May 6, 1938 - Rome, Italy - Himmler and Goebbels meet Mussolini
March 10, 1939 - Berlin - Himmer meets the famous Berlin masseur Felix Kersten
March 16, 1939 - Prague - Onset of Nazi students in the courtyard of Prague Castle - with Hitler, Heydrich and Karl Wolff
May 20, 1939 - Münsterlager training area - Hitler and Himmler attend a live-fire military exercise at the Münsterlager training area
September 13, 1939 - Berlin - Departs for the north (Danzig?) to follow Hitler
September 26, 1939 - Berlin - Returns to Berlin with Hitler
October 7, 1939 - Berlin - Hitler appoints Himmler head of the Reich Commissariat for the Consolidation of German Nationhood
September 7, 1940 - Metz, France - Himmler addresses the officers of the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division
October 19, 1940 - Madrid, Spain - Visits General Franco in Madrid, Spain
March 1, 1941 - Auschwitz concentration camp (Oświęcim, Poland), 50km SW of Kraków - Heinrich Himmler visits Auschwitz and orders the camp to be expanded
March 12, 1941 - Wewelsburg - Himmler summons Heydrich, Daluege and other senior officers to Wewelsburg for a 3-day meeting. He declares that one of the aims of the Russian campaign is "to decimate the Slav population by thirty millions"
March 20, 1941 - Berlin - Himmler, Heydrich and Rudolf Hess, among others, attend a "Generalplan Ost" exhibition
August 15, 1941 - Minsk, Soviet Union - Himmler visits Minsk and witnesses the shooting of 100 jews by Arthur Nebe's Einsatzkommando. Nauseated and shaken by the experience, he was concerned about the impact such actions would have on the mental health of his SS men, and decides to look for other methods of killing
November 11, 1941 - Berlin - Himmler admits to Kersten that the destruction of the jews was being planned
November 29, 1941 - Prague - Himmler visits Prague. Welcomed by Heydrich and Karl Wolff
December 12, 1941 - Berlin - Reich Chancellery Meeting - Hitler resolves that the Jews of Europe were to be exterminated immediately, rather than after the war, which now had no end in sight.
December 18, 1941 - Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg (Ketrzyn, Poland) - Himmler to Hitler: "What to do with the jews of Russia?" (Hitler) "exterminate them as partisans!"
May 27, 1942 - Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg (Ketrzyn, Poland) - Himmler bursts into tears after being informed that Reinhard Heydrich was seriously injured after an assassination attempt. He drives 30 miles to see Hitler at Rastenburg, and both decide to send their physicians by air to Prague in an attempt to save Heydrich's life
May 31, 1942 - Prague-Liben - Himmler visits Heydrich in the hospital and both have a conversation
June 2, 1942 - Prague-Liben - Himmler visits Heydrich in the hospital once more
June 8, 1942 - Berlin - Obsequies over Heydrich's coffin at the chancellery. Hitler lays a wreath of orchids and touches the heads of Heydrich's two little sons whom Himmler was holding by the hand. The Berlin Philarmonic Orchestra plays Wagner's funeral March. Himmler delivers the final oration on Heydrich's career before the body is taken for burial
June 9, 1942 - Berlin - Himmler takes command of the SD after Heydrich's death
July 17, 1942 - Auschwitz concentration camp (Oświęcim, Poland), 50km SW of Kraków - Himmler visits Auschwitz and is given a demonstration of the gassing of a selection of 499 dutch jews
July 18, 1942 - Auschwitz concentration camp - Himmler is given a tour of the building site of "Auschwitz III" - the new IG Farben plant being constructed at Monowitz
October 11, 1942 - Rome, Italy - Mussolini receives Heinrich Himmler
November 13, 1942 - Dachau, Bavaria - Himmler visits Dachau concentration camp to see the results of Dr.Sigmund Rascher's experiments on human beings
February 12, 1943 - Lublin, Poland - Trip to Lublin
March 9, 1943 - Dachau - Visit to Dachau concentration camp
April 1(?), 1943 - Peenemünde - Visit to the rocket establishment at Peenemünde and meets the scientist in charge of the research and development of liquid-propellant rockets, Major-General Walter Dornberger
April 11, 1943 - Berchstesgaden - Himmler meets Guderian at Berchtesgaden. He opposes any integration of the new SS armoured divisions with the Army
August 24, 1943 - Berlin - Himmler joins the six-member Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich (a war cabinet)
August 25, 1943 - Berlin - Himmler takes over the post of Interior Minister, replacing Wilhelm Frick
Posen speech
October 4, 1943 - Posen (Poznań, Poland) - First speech to a gathering of SS leaders at the"Hotel Ostland" in Posen, speaking for the first time of the "ongoing extermination of the jews"
October 6, 1943 - Posen - Second speech to a gathering of SS leaders about the "ongoing extermination of the jews"
December 4, 1943 - Hochwaldt, East Prussia - Himmler receives Kersten at this HQ in East Prussia: "give me time. I can’t get rid of the Führer, to whom I owe everything"
March 26, 1944 - Berghof, Berchstesgaden - During a meeting with Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring and Wilhelm Keitel, Adolf Hitler receives a report about the mass escape from Stalag Luft III. In a bad mood, Hitler orders the fugitives to be summarily shot. Himmler and Göring  try to persuade him from that decision, believing the killings would create an international outcry. In the end, they agree to a compromise: half of the allied officers would be shot
July 20, 1944 - Berchtesgaden - First daughter with Hedwig Potthast, Nanette-Dorothea, is born in Berchtesgaden
July 22, 1944 - Berlin - Himmler returns to Berlin after the failed attempt on Hitler's life and orders the execution of Claus von Stauffenberg and three of his co-conspirators
September 10, 1944 - Salzburg, Austria - Gives the Oak leaves decoration to tank ace Johannes Bölter
January 25, 1945 - Schneidemühl - Hitler appoints Himmler as commander of the Army Group Vistula - Himmler establishes his command centre at Schneidemühl
February 18, 1945 - Hohenlychen Sanatorium, 75km N. of Berlin - Himmler flees to the Hohenlychen Sanatorium
March 20, 1945 - While at Hohenlychen Sanatorium - Guderian convinces Hitler to remove Himmler from the command of Heeresgruppe (ArmyGroup) Vistula
March 21, 1945 - Outside the Reich Chancellery, Berlin - General Guderian tells Himmler: "The war can no longer be won...You must go with me to Hitler and urge him to arrange an armistice"
April 12, 1945 - Hohenlychen Sanatorium - Himmler meets swedish diplomat Folke Bernardotte
April 20, 1945 - Berlin - Hitler's 56th birthday. Himmler visits the Führer and swears unswerving loyaly to him. Breefing with Hitler and Göring. For the first time, Berlin is bombarded by soviet artillery
April 21, 1945 - Outside Berlin -
Himmler meets with Norbert Mazur, a swedish representative of the World Jewish Congress, to discuss the release of jewish concentration camp inmates
April 23, 1945 - Lübeck - Himmler meets directly with Folke Bernadotte at the Swedish consulate in Lübeck. Representing himself as the provisional leader of Germany, he claims that Hitler would be dead within the next few days. Hoping that the British and Americans would fight the Soviets alongside what remained of the Wehrmacht, Himmler asks Bernadotte to inform Eisenhower that Germany wishes to surrender to the Western Allies. Bernadotte asks Himmler to put his proposal in writing, and Himmler obliges
April 27, 1945 - Rheinsburg - Himmler, Dönitz, Jodl and Keitel meet at the Army High Command to discuss the war situation and the imminent fall of Berlin
April 28, 1945 - While in Lübeck - The BBC broadcasts a Reuters news report about Himmler's attempted negotiations with the western Allies
April 29, 1945 - While in Lübeck - Hitler writes his Last Will and Testament, declaring both Himmler and Göring to be traitors. He strips Himmler of all of his party and state offices and expels him from the Nazi Party. Hitler names Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor
April 30, 1945 - Lübeck | Plön - Dönitz confronts Himmler at his headquarters in Lübeck. Later the same day, after receiving a telegram from Bormann confirming Himmler's dismissal and Dönitz's appointment as Hitler's successor, Dönitz summons Himmler to Plön to tell him of Hitler's decision
May 2, 1945 - Lübeck - Himmler argues for a move of the Reich Government to Prague, which was the last major european capital in german hands, and closer to advancing american units. However, Dönitz decides to relocate to the Mürwik Naval Academy in Flensburg
May 3, 1945 - Flensburg - Dönitz's headquarters is relocated to the port of Flensburg, northern Germany
May 6, 1945 - Flensburg - Letter from Dönitz dismissing him from all his posts
May 10, 1945 - Flensburg - Himmler decides to flee from Germany with 14 other disguised SS accomplices
May 11, 1945 - Friedrichskoog - Himmler heads south to Friedrichskoog with a small band of companions.
May 21, 1945 - Bremervörde - Himmler and two aides are stopped and detained at a checkpoint in Bremervörde set up by former soviet POWs
May 23, 1945 - Lüneburg - Heinrich Himmler is taken to the British 31st Civilian interrogation Camp near Lüneburg. After admitting who he is, Himmler is then taken to the headquarters of the Second British Army in Lüneburg. During a medical exam, he where he bites into a hidden potassium cyanide pill and collapses onto the floor, aged 44 =(END)

Sunday 10 April 2022

Stalag Luft III | Timeline

Stalag Luft III
(German: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. (from Wikipedia). It was there that the famous "Great Escape" took place in 1944.

March 21, 1942 - Sagan, Lower Silesia (Żagań, Poland) - The first compound of Stammlager Luft III, a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp, is established near Sagan, under the command of Oberst (Colonel) Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau. The site is selected because its sandy soil made it difficult for prisoners-of-war to escape by tunneling =(START)
April 1(?), 1942 - Sagan - Prisoners begin to arrive to the camp, at first, british and commonwealth officers
April 11, 1942 - Sagan - Center compound opened
May 20(?), 1942 - Sagan - Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, organizer of several escape attempts from prisoner camps, arrives at the camp
June(?) 1(?), 1942 - Meanwhile in Berlin - Roger Bushell is taken to Berlin for questioning by the Gestapo, who suspected his involvement in the killing of Reinhard Heydrich
June 19, 1942 - Sagan - RAF norwegian flyer Jens Einar Müller is shot down and taken to Stalag Luft III
July 14, 1942 - Sagan - Dutch RAF Flight Lieutenant Bram van der Stok is shot down by messerschmitts. He is taken prisoner and taken to Stalag Luft III
August 19, 1942 - Sagan - RAF norwegian flyer Per Bergsland is shot down over Dieppe and taken to Stalag Luft III
October 1(?), 1942 - Sagan - Roger Bushell is returned to Stalag Luft III
March 1(?), 1943 - Sagan - Roger Bushell conceives a plan for a mass escape from the North Compound. Three tunnels would be dug for the escape, "Tom", "Dick" and "Harry"
March 29, 1943 - Sagan - North compound opened
July 4, 1943 - Sagan - 4th of July celebrations organized by american prisoners. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Michael Codner and Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams build a wooden vaulting horse, like the ones that were used in schools, but with the real intention of using it in an escape attempt
July 8, 1943 - Sagan - The wooden horse emerges from the block by four carriers and taken to a prearranged spot five yards from the trip wire
August 1(?), 1943 - Sagan - "Tom" is discovered. Construction on "Harry" is halted
September 1(?), 1943 - Sagan - A Southern compound for USAAF personnel is opened
October 29, 1943 - Sagan - First escape: Lieutenant Michael Codner, Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams and Flight Lieutenant Oliver Philpot escape Stalag Luft III after digging over 30m of tunnel. They take the train at Sagan and reach Frankfurt an der Oder by daybreak
October 30, 1943 - Meanwhile in Frankfurt an der Oder - Williams and Codner catch the train to Kustrin (Kostrzyn, Poland). Philpot also catches other slow train to Kustrin. There, he boards the express to Königsberg (Kaliningrad, Russia)
October 31, 1943 - Meanwhile in Stettin and Danzig - Williams and Codner reach Stettin by train in the morning. Philpot arrives at Dirschau and boards the express to Danzig, where he arrives on the same day
November 1, 1943 - Meanwhile in Danzig - Philpot stealthily climbs to a swedish coal ship and hides himself until the he is far from the german coast
November 3, 1943 - Meanwhile in Södertälje, Sweden - Philpot arrives in Södertälje, Sweden, and completes his escape
November 11, 1943 - Meanwhile in Strömstad, Sweden - Williams and Codner arrive at Strömstad in a small danish ship, completing their escape
January 1(?), 1944 - Sagan - Construction on "Harry" resumes
February 20, 1944 - Sagan - Bushell decides that 200 men were going to attempt the escape through "Harry". The Escape Committee receives 510 requests, so all the names were put in a hat for a draw. However, the Escape Committee decides to give the first 30 places in the tunnel to the men who had the best chance of escaping. The following 20 places would be taken by those who had done the most work on the tunnel
March 24, 1944 - Sagan - "Harry" is completed. 200 men prepare to escape on a moonlessnight, but only 76 had managed to do so until a sentry caught the fugitives coming out of the tunnel. After escaping, most of the fugitives headed to Sagan train station. Others preferred to try to cross Europe alone. A first group arrives in Breslau (Wroclaw, Poland) by train, including Bram van der Stok. Another group arrives in Frankfurt an der Oder, among them Norwegian RAF pilots Per Bergsland and Jens Müller. Later that day, Bram van der Stok arrives in Dresden by train.
March 25, 1944 - Meanwhile in Saarbrücken, Stettin and Dresden, Germany - Roger Bushell and his partner Bernard Scheidhauer are caught at Saarbrücken railway station. Bergsland and Müller arrive in Stettin by train. In Dresden, Bram van der Stok purchases a ticket to Alkmaar in the Netherlands
March 26, 1944 - Hanover | Oldenzaal, Netherlands | Meanwhile in Sagan and at the Berghof, Berchtesgaden - During a meeting with Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring and Wilhelm Keitel, Adolf Hitler receives a report about the mass escape from Stalag Luft III. In a bad mood, Hitler orders the fugitives to be summarily shot. Himmler and Göring  try to persuade him from that decision, believing the killings would create an international outcry. In the end, they agree to a compromise: half of the allied officers would be shot. In Stalag Luft III, two Luftwaffe officers arrive to relieve Commandant Von Lindeiner for incompetence. Bram van der Stok changes trains in Hanover and arrives in the Dutch town of Oldenzaal, where he nervously passes a Gestapo inspection without arousing suspicion.
March 27, 1944 - Meanwhile in Utrecht, Netherlands - Van der Stok reaches Utrecht and seeks the help of a couple of his former professors. After several hours of conversation, they arrange a safe house for him in Amersfoort
March 29, 1944 - Meanwhile in Ramstein, Germany - 50 of the escapees, including Roger Bushell are executed. Of the remainder 26 escapees, 23 are caught by the germans. Per Bergsland and Jens Müller are smuggled into a swedish ship and four hours later reach Gothenburg, completing their escape
April(?) 25(?), 1944 - Meanwhile in Maastricht | Uccle, Brussels - After almost a month in Utrecht, Van der Stok is given directions to a safe house in Maastricht and smuggled across Maas River into Belgium. There, with the help of a rich uncle living in Antwerp, he finds himself spending the next few weeks in comparative luxury in the Brussels suburb of Uccle
June(?) 1(?), 1944 - Meanwhile in Paris | Toulouse | St-Gaudens - Bram van der Stok uses his last money to travel to Paris, from then to Toulouse and finally to the small town of St-Gaudens, near the Pyrenees, where he would contact the french resistance.
July 1(?), 1944 - Sagan | Meanwhile in Spain - West compound opened for US officers. Bram van der Stok reaches Spain through a Pyrennes pass and from there he heads for the British Embassy in Madrid, completing his escape
July 8, 1944 - Meanwhile in Gibraltar - Bram Van der Stok arrives in Gibraltar
July 11, 1944 - Meanwhile in Bristol, England - Bram Van der Stok is flown to Bristol, England
October 5, 1944 - Colonel Von Lindeiner is court-martialled and sentenced to 12 months in prison. He avoids the penalty by feigning mental illness and is admitted to an army hospital
December 4, 1944 - Sagan - Memorial service for the 50 victims, including senior officers of the Luftwaffe and an honour guard made up of german soldiers
January 27, 1945 - Sagan - The camp is liberated by soviet forces =(END)

Saturday 2 April 2022

Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Timeline

Auschwitz concentration camp (German: Konzentrationslager Auschwitz); also KL Auschwitz or KZ Auschwitz) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschwitz I, the main camp (Stammlager) in Oświęcim; Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a concentration and extermination camp with gas chambers; Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labor camp for the chemical conglomerate IG Farben; and dozens of subcamps. The camps became a major site of the Nazis' final solution to the Jewish question. (Intro from Wikipedia)

February 1(?), 1940 - Auschwitz (Oświęcim, Poland), 50km SW of Kraków - The site, a former World War I camp in Oswiecin (Southern Poland) for transient workers and later a Polish army barracks, is first suggested as a quarantine camp for Polish prisoners by Arpad Wigand, the inspector of the Sicherheitspolizei (security police) and deputy of Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, the Higher SS and Police Leader for Silesia
Auschwitz I
April 27, 1940 - Auschwitz - Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, approves
the site on the recommendation of SS-Obersturmbannführer Rudolf Höss of the camps inspectorate and the "Auschwitz I" Camp is established =(START)
May 20, 1940 - Auschwitz - The first 30 prisoners, poles and "german career criminals", arrive from the Sachsenhausen camp
June 14, 1940 - Auschwitz - First mass transport from Tarnów to Auschwitz - 728 polish male political prisoners, including catholic priests and jews
July(?) 1(?), 1940 - Auschwitz - Construction of crematorium I begins in Auschwitz I at the end of June or beginning of July. Initially intended for prisoners who had been executed or had died in the camp
January 10, 1941 - Meanwhile in London, England - The Polish underground informs the Polish government-in-exile in London: "The Auschwitz concentration camp ...can accommodate approximately 7,000 prisoners at present, and is to be rebuilt to hold approximately 30,000"
February 1(?), 1941 - Auschwitz - Himmler orders that the jewish population of Auschwitz be expelled to make way for skilled laborers
March 1, 1941 - Auschwitz - Heinrich Himmler visits Auschwitz and orders the camp to be expanded. Prisoner number in the camp reach 10,900, most of them poles
April 1(?), 1941 - Auschwitz - Inmates begin demolishing houses in Monowitz to make way for "Auschwitz III-IG Farben", a site for a new plant to manufacture "Buna-N", a type of synthetic rubber, vital to the german war effort
April 23, 1941 - Auschwitz - Commandant Rudolf Höss sentences 10 prisoners to death by starvation in reprisal for an escaped prisoner
August 1(?), 1941 - Auschwitz - Experimental gassing in "Auschwitz I" - For the first time, Zyklon-B crystals are thrown into the basement cell of a group of soviet prisoners of war
September 3, 1941 - Auschwitz - From 3 to 5 September, a group of 600 soviet prisoners of war and around 250 sick polish prisoners are gassed
October 1(?), 1941 - Auschwitz - "Auschwitz II-Birkenau" camp begins construction 3km from "Auschwitz I"
October 7, 1941 - Auschwitz - The first group of a total of 10,000 soviet prisoners arrive at "Auschwitz I"
October 25, 1941 - Auschwitz - All 10,000 soviet prisoners are in Auschwitz
November 11, 1941 - Auschwitz - 151 inmates sentenced to death are led to the "Death Wall", stripped naked, with their hands tied behind their backs and shot in the back of the head
January 20, 1942 - Meanwhile in Wannsee, near Berlin - At the Wannsee Conference, called by the director of the Reich Security Main Office SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, senior government officials of several ministries, state secretaries and SS leaders outline the plans for the "Final Solution", whereby most of the jews of german-occupied Europe would be deported to occupied Poland and exterminated.
February 15, 1942 - Auschwitz - A transport of jews from Bytom (Poland) arrives at "Auschwitz I" and is sent straight to the gas chamber
Auschwitz II-Birkenau
March 1, 1942 - Auschwitz - First gas chamber at "Auschwitz II" operational. At the beginning of March only 945 soviet soldiers (of the original group of 10,000) are alive
March 20, 1942 - Auschwitz - A transport of jews from Silesia and Zaglebie Dabrowskie arrives at "Auschwitz II" and is sent straight to the new gas chamber
March 26, 1942 - Auschwitz - A transport of 999 jews arrives from Poprad, Slovakia. On the same day, the first mass transport of women (999 non-jewish german women from the Ravensbrück concentration camp) are registered in the new women's camp.
March 28, 1942 - Auschwitz - A transport of 798 jewish women from Bratislava arrives
March 30, 1942 - Auschwitz - The first transport of jews from France arrives
May 1, 1942 - Auschwitz - By the beginning of May, all 10,000 soviet prisoners had died
May 4, 1942 - Auschwitz - First selection at "Auschwitz II-Birkenau". Those selected are gassed
June 10, 1942 - Auschwitz - Mutiny and attempted escape of about 350 polish prisoners. 7 of them escape but about 300 die
July 17, 1942 - Auschwitz - Himmler visits Auschwitz and is given a demonstration of the gassing of a selection of 499 dutch jews
July 18, 1942 - Auschwitz - Himmler is given a tour of the building site of "Auschwitz III" - the new IG Farben plant being constructed at Monowitz
July 29, 1942 - For the first time, the Allies are informed about Auschwitz and Himmler's July visit there by Edward Schulte, a german industrialist and anti-nazi.
August 6, 1942 - Auschwitz - 13,000 women are transfered from "Auschwitz I" to "Auschwitz II"
September 1(?), 1942 - Auschwitz - Eduard Wirths is appointed as chief camp physician at Auschwitz
October 7, 1942 - Auschwitz - Maria Mandl is assigned to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, succeding Johanna Langefeld as SS-Lagerführerin of the women camp
Auschwitz III-Monowitz
October 30, 1942 - Auschwitz - The first inmates move to "Auschwitz III - IG Farben"
November 12, 1942 - The Allies are told that jews were being killed en masse in Auschwitz
November 25, 1942 - Meanwhile in the United States - The "New York Times" publishes a report about Auschwitz
December 1(?), 1942 - Auschwitz - Last inmates gassed in "Auschwitz I" - around 400 members of the Auschwitz II Sonderkommando, who had been forced to dig up and burn the remains of that camp's mass graves, thought to hold over 100,000 corpses
January 25, 1943 - Auschwitz - 53 people suspected of resistance activities are executed at the "Death Wall", including Colonel Jan Karcz and Major Edward Gött-Getyński
February 26, 1943 - Auschwitz - First transport of German Roma people arrives
March 1(?), 1943 - Auschwitz - Irma Grese is transfered from Ravensbrück to Auschwitz II-Birkenau
March 23, 1943 - Auschwitz - A transport of 1,700 polish Sinti and Roma people arrives and all are gassed on arrival because of illness
May 25, 1943 - Auschwitz - A transport of 1,035 polish Sinti and Roma people arrives and all are gassed on arrival
May 30, 1943 - Auschwitz - Dr.Josef Mengele is assigned to "Auschwitz II" at first in the gypsy family camp
July 1(?), 1943 - Auschwitz - The crematoria in "Auschwitz II" replaces the one in "Auschwitz I" that was in operation since August 1940
July 19, 1943 - Auschwitz - 19 polish prisoners are hanged as reprisal for the escape of a few prisoners
September 8, 1943 - Auschwitz - The first jewish 2,293 male and 2,713 female prisoners are deported by the SS from the Theresienstadt Ghetto in Terezin, Czechoslovakia
November 1(?), 1943 - Auschwitz - "Auschwitz III-Monowitz" camp becomes autonomous, with Heinrich Schwarz as its commandant
November 11, 1943 - Auschwitz - Arthur Liebehenschel becomes the overall commander of Auschwitz
November 19, 1943 - Auschwitz - Polish medical student Jerzy Tabeau escapes Auschwitz
November 22, 1943 - Auschwitz - Fritz Hartjenstein becomes commandant of "Auschwitz II-Birkenau"
December 16, 1943 - Auschwitz - 2,491 more jews are deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz
December 20, 1943 - Auschwitz - 2,473 more jews are deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz
March 8, 1944 - Auschwitz - 3,791 czech jews are gassed. Twins are held back for medical experiments
April 4, 1944 - Auschwitz - Auschwitz camps are photographed by a Royal Air Force aircraft
April 10, 1944 - Auschwitz - Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler, two slovak jews, escape Auschwitz
April 25, 1944 - Meanwhile in Žilina, Slovakia - Vrba and Wetzler write a 33-page eye-witness account of the Auschwitz concentration camp
April 29, 1944 - Auschwitz - The first 1,800 hungarian jews arrive at the camp
May 11, 1944 - Auschwitz - Richard Baer becomes commandant of "Auschwitz I"
May 14, 1944 - Auschwitz - The first group of a total of 437,000 hungarian jews begin arriving at Auschwitz
May 16, 1944 - Auschwitz - The SS tries to liquidate "Auschwitz II" but the Roma people fight them, armed with knives and iron pipes, forcing the SS to retreat
May 27, 1944 - Auschwitz - Arnošt Rosin and Czesław Mordowicz escape Auschwitz
Arrival of the trains in
Auschwitz II-Birkenau, June 1944
(Source: picture-alliance/dpa/
?Mary Evans Picture Library)
June 4, 1944 - Meanwhile in the United States - 
The "New York Times" publishes a report about Auschwitz
June 15, 1944 - Meanwhile in London, England - BBC World Service Press coverage about Auschwitz
June 20, 1944 - Meanwhile in the United States - The "New York Times" publishes another report about Auschwitz, which carried a 22-line story that 7,000 Jews had been "dragged to gas chambers in the notorious German concentration camps at Birkenau and Oświęcim [Auschwitz]"
June 27, 1944 - Auschwitz - Mengele kills four pairs of twins by injecting chloroform or phenol in them. The interest was apparently on an anomaly in their eye colour
July 3, 1944 - Meanwhile in the Unites States - New York Times - "Inquiry Confirms Nazi Death Camps"
July 6, 1944 - Meanwhile in the United States - New York Times - "Two Death Camps Places of Horror; German Establishments for Mass Killings of Jews Described by Swiss"
July 7, 1944 - Meanwhile in Budapest, Hungary - The Regent of Hungary, Miklós Horthy, orders an end to deportations to Auschwitz
July 10, 1944 - Auschwitz - During 3 days, the nazis liquidate the Theresienstadt sub-camp, sending 7,000 jews to the gas chambers
July 28, 1944 - Auschwitz - Mengele starts medical experiments in twins
August 1(?), 1944 - Auschwitz - Last mass transport of 67,000 jews from the Łódź Ghetto arrives. Another 8,000 jews from Slovakia and 2,000 from Theresienstadt also arrive to the camp
August 2, 1944 - Auschwitz - The last 2,897 Roma people are gassed
August 20, 1944 - Auschwitz - The Allies bomb the IG Farben plant next to "Auschwitz III" camp
September 3, 1944 - Auschwitz - Mengele's notebook: "The Czech section of Auschwitz concentration camp was liquidated this date due to a prevalence of typhus among the prisoners"
September 13, 1944 - Auschwitz - The Allies bomb the IG Farben plant next to "Auschwitz III" camp
October 3, 1944 - Auschwitz - Mengele finishes his experiments with twins
October 7, 1944 - Auschwitz - A riot takes place in Auschwitz concentration camp when the Sonderkommando Jewish collaborators understood that they also were slated for extermination. Over 450 are killed in suppressing the revolt, along with many others who escaped the camp in the melee
October 30, 1944 - Auschwitz - Last selection
November 1, 1944 - Himmler orders the SS to halt the mass murder by gas
November 2, 1944 - Auschwitz - Gassing bunker #2 in "Auschwitz II" is demolished
November 25, 1944 - Auschwitz | Meanwhile in the United States - Himmler orders that Auschwitz's gas chambers and crematoria be destroyed. The Vrba-Wetzler report is published in english by the Executive Office of the US War Refugee Board. In Auschwitz, the last 13 prisoners are gassed or shot
December 1, 1944 - Auschwitz - Over one million items of clothing begin being packed to be shipped out of Auschwitz
December 18, 1944 - Auschwitz - The Allies bomb the IG Farben plant next to "Auschwitz III" camp
December 26, 1944 - Auschwitz - The Allies bomb the IG Farben plant next to "Auschwitz III" camp
January(?) 1(?), 1945 - Himmler orders the evacuation of all camps, telling camp commanders: "The Führer holds you personally responsible for ... making sure that not a single prisoner from the concentration camps falls alive into the hands of the enemy."
January 6, 1945 - Auschwitz - Last public execution at Auschwitz. 70 polish prisoners are sentenced to death by a german summary court. Also, four jewish women are hanged for helping the preparation of the Sonderkommando mutiny
January 17, 1945 - Auschwitz - 58,000 Auschwitz detainees (2/3 of them jews) are evacuated under guard to other concentration camps. Fewer than 9,000 remain in the camps, deemed too sick to move. Mengele leaves Auschwitz and heads to Gross-Rosen Concentration camp, leaving his notebook behind
January 18, 1945 - Auschwitz - Engelbert Marketsch, a german criminal transfered from Mauthausen, becomes the last prisoner to be assigned a serial number in Auschwitz
January 19, 1945 - Auschwitz - The SS orders the "Auschwitz III-IG Farben" to be evacuated, sending 9,000 inmates (most of them jews) on a death march to another Auschwitz subcamp at Gliwice
January 20, 1945 - Auschwitz - Crematoria II an III are blown up
January 23, 1945 - Auschwitz - Auschwitz warehouses are set on fire
January 26, 1945 - Auschwitz - Crematorium V is blown up
January 27, 1945 - Auschwitz - The "Auschwitz III-IG Farben" camp and 800 inmates left behing in the Monowitz hospital are liberated by the Red Army.
January 28, 1945 - Auschwitz - At dawn, the Red Army liberates "Auschwitz I" and "Auschwitz II-Birkenau". They find another 6,200 prisoners alive, 500 in other subcamps and over 600 corpses =(END)