1940

February 8, LODZ (Poland) - Nazi Germany ordered the setting up of the Lodz Ghetto. Before the war, Lodz was the second largest Jewish community in Poland with 233,000 Jews, one-third of the city's residents. As the Germans arrived around 75,000 fled the city. By May 1st, 160,000 Jews were funneled into the ghetto renamed Litzmannstadt. Of the more than 200,000 who were to live in the ghetto, only about 10,000 would survive. The reality that Lodz was annexed by Germany and isolated from the rest of the city, and the fact that people thought that the work camps may keep them alive, all contributed to the lack of any attempt at revolt. [111] (103)

April 27, AUSCHWITZ (Poland) - Under Himmler's orders, work began on Auschwitz. The first and smallest camp was used for German criminals. Later it was used for Polish prisoners as well. It only began taking in massive numbers of Jews in March 1942. Auschwitz was to become the main killing center for European Jewry. In May, its first commandant, Rudolf Hoess, was appointed. He eventually constructed the camp at Birkenau and developed an assembly line system for murder. At its peak, Auschwitz was able to "process" 10,000 people in 24 hours. Hoess was later captured by the British and hung on April 16, 1947 on the one-person gallows outside the entrance to the gas chamber. [111] (103)

May 14, NETHERLANDS FALLS - Just four days after the German invasion and one day after Queen Wilhelmina fled to London, the country surrendered to the Germans. Arthur Seyss-Inquart, an Austrian lawyer who had played an important role in the Anschluss, was appointed Reich commissioner. Almost all of Holland's Jews lived in three cities with 60% in Amsterdam alone, making it very easy for the Germans to concentrate their efforts. Out of Holland's 140,000 Jews, 80% would perish in the Holocaust. Seyss-Inquart was later hung after the Nuremberg trials. [111]

June 15, LA MER ET L'ENFANT (Paris, France) - Became the first social welfare organization in occupied France. Under the guidance of David Rapoport, "Mother and Child" helped thousands of Jews. Rapoport and his wife were arrested by the Nazis in June 1943 and deported to Auschwitz where they perished. The La Mere et l'Enfant was originally founded at a day camp known as the Colonie Scolaire which was located at 26 Rue Amelot. There were also known by some as the Rebels of the Rue Amelot. [111] (103) June 22, FRENCH ARMISTICE (Compiégne, France) - Was signed. France was divided into two sections; an occupied zone under direct German rule and an unoccupied "free" zone in Vichy. It was estimated that of the 350,000 French Jews, less than half were native born. Approximately 90,000 were murdered. [111] (103)

September, DANUBE (Yugoslavia) -,300 Jewish refugees on the way to Eretz Israel were stranded when they could not find a vessel to continue their journey. Two hundred refugees (mostly children) received immigration certificates and were able to continue on to Eretz Israel. The remaining men were taken to the village of Zasavica in October 1941 and shot. The women and children that were left were taken from the Sajmiste camp in February and gassed in closed trucks. There were no survivors. [111] (103)

September 6, KING CAROL RESIGNED (Romania) - Bowing to German pressure. This left the way for Ion Antonescu, the former minister of defense, to take power. Now a National Socialist state with the Iron Guard, its police force began anti-Jewish programs. The Iron Guard was similar to the SS and served as a political police force. Many Romanian guards joined the SS and took part in the mass killings of Jews. In Romania approximately 300,000 people (50% of the Jewish population) were murdered. [111] (103)

October 4, VICHY REGIME "The Free Zone" (France) - The Vichy government agreed to the internment of all foreign-born Jews, who were declared stateless. 25,000 thousand German and Austrian refugees were taken to the Gurs, Les Milles or Rivesaltes concentration camps (all operated by the French) where many of them died from hunger and disease. [111] (103)

December 24, LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE NATION (Bulgaria) - Was passed by Parliament (Sobranie) and then signed into law by King Boris. Unlike Germany, the definition of a Jew did not include native Bulgarian Jews who converted, which led to many fictitious conversions.

Although Bulgaria's Prime Minister Bogdan Filov, and Minister of Interior Ivalio Gabrovski were eager to please the Germans, especially when it came to anti-Jewish measures, they were met with partial opposition by the Church, other politicians, and many common people. This did not apply to Jews in Macedonia and Thrace. Many German measures had full effect, including confiscation of property, ban on travel and eventual deportation. Of the 64,000 Jews in Bulgaria, 14,000 were murdered. Almost all were from Macedonia and Thrace. [111] (103)