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December: dates we remember
Anniversaries in December: 19 events connected with Nazism, the Second World War, the Holocaust, occupation, resistance, liberation and the accountability of perpetrators. Each entry leads to an institutional source and, where the connection is documented, also to profiles in the Nazi Report archive.
2 December 1938 Resistance and rescue United Kingdom / Germany
First Kindertransport reaches the United Kingdom The first Kindertransport carrying children fleeing Nazi persecution arrives in the United Kingdom.
The programme saved children from Nazi persecution, but separated families and had clear limitations.
The history of the Kindertransports combines successful assistance with the experience of losing home and loved ones.
Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 2 December 1943 Camps and the Holocaust Monowice / Auschwitz
Buna becomes Auschwitz III-Monowitz concentration camp The Buna subcamp is formally converted into Auschwitz III-Monowitz concentration camp.
The camp's formal change of status linked IG Farben's industry, forced labour and the expanding Auschwitz subcamp system.
Monowitz is a key example of cooperation between industry and the Nazi camp system.
Related profiles Otto Ambros direct or functional connection: IG Farben director; created the Buna plant near Auschwitz-Monowitz and headed chemical weapons production.Walther Dürrfeld direct or functional connection: Technical director and construction manager of the IG Farben plant at Auschwitz-Monowitz.Heinrich Bütefisch direct or functional connection: IG Farben board member responsible for the Auschwitz-Monowitz plant and mining ventures that exploited prisoners.Carl Krauch direct or functional connection: Chairman of the IG Farben supervisory board and plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 4 December 1942 Resistance and rescue occupied Poland
Establishment of the Żegota Council to Aid Jews The Żegota Council to Aid Jews is established under the Government Delegation for Poland.
Institutional assistance included false documents, the organisation of hiding places and funding support for those persecuted.
Żegota shows that rescuing Jews could take an organised form within the structures of the Polish Underground State.
Institutional context Hans Frank institutional context: Governor-General of occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945; executed after the Nuremberg trial.Ludwig Fischer institutional context: Governor of the Warsaw District and administrative perpetrator responsible for the Warsaw ghetto.Institutional source: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Permanent link to this entry 6 December 1941 War and occupation Moscow / Eastern Front
Soviet counteroffensive near Moscow The Red Army begins its winter counteroffensive near Moscow.
The Red Army's winter attack halted the German offensive on the Eastern Front.
It was the first major halt to the German advance into the USSR.
Institutional context Adolf Hitler institutional context: Dictator of the Third Reich; principal architect of the war of aggression, the Holocaust and other genocides.Georg-Hans Reinhardt institutional context: Commander of the 3rd Panzer Group, later the 3rd Panzer Army, and acting commander of Army Group Centre.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 7 December 1941 War and occupation Hawaii / world
Attack on Pearl Harbor and United States entry into the war Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; the United States enters the war the following day.
The Japanese attack led the United States to enter the conflict the following day.
The event joined the wars in Europe and Asia into a single global conflict.
Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 8 December 1938 Law and persecution Germany
Escalation of racist persecution of Roma and Sinti Himmler orders policy towards Roma and Sinti to be conducted according to Nazi racial criteria.
Himmler's order required policy towards Roma and Sinti to follow Nazi racial criteria.
The decision marked an escalation from police surveillance towards the systematic persecution of an entire group.
Related profiles Heinrich Himmler direct or functional connection: Reichsführer-SS and chief of police; principal organiser of the Holocaust and the camp system.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 8 December 1941 Camps and the Holocaust Chełmno nad Nerem
Beginning of mass murder with gas at Chełmno nad Nerem Mass murder using gas vans begins at Chełmno nad Nerem.
Gas vans were used to kill in the first permanent centre for the mass murder of Jews with gas.
Chełmno occupies a distinct place in the development of the Nazi system of extermination.
Related profiles Herbert Lange direct or functional connection: Commander of Sonderkommando Lange and first commandant of Kulmhof.Arthur Greiser direct or functional connection: Gauleiter and Reich governor of the Wartheland; responsible for expulsions of Poles and mass murder at Chełmno.Wilhelm Koppe direct or functional connection: Higher SS and Police Leader in the Wartheland and the General Government.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 8–9 December 1941 Mass murder Rumbula, occupied Latvia
Second wave of executions at Rumbula On 8–9 December 1941, the second wave of mass executions of Jews from Riga took place in the Rumbula forest.
The murders of 8 and 9 December were a continuation of the crime at Rumbula, not a separate episode.
Presenting the two waves together preserves an accurate picture of the crime's scale and continuity.
Related profiles Friedrich Jeckeln direct or functional connection: Higher SS and Police Leader; organiser of mass shootings in the East.Rudolf Lange direct or functional connection: Commander of Einsatzkommando 2 and commander of the Security Police and SD in Latvia; participant in the Wannsee Conference.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 9 December 1946–1947 Accountability Nuremberg, Germany
Beginning of the Doctors' Trial in Nuremberg The Doctors' Trial begins in Nuremberg, concerning experiments and the programme to murder people with disabilities.
The proceedings concerned experiments and medical personnel's participation in the programme to murder people with disabilities.
The trial became an important point of reference for professional responsibility and the origins of the Nuremberg Code.
Related profiles Karl Brandt direct or functional connection: Hitler's personal physician and co-director of Aktion T4; executed in 1948.Viktor Brack direct or functional connection: Office head in the Führer's Chancellery and organiser of the Aktion T4 “euthanasia” killings.Wolfram Sievers direct or functional connection: Managing director of the SS Ahnenerbe; coordinator of criminal pseudo-experiments.Karl Gebhardt direct or functional connection: Chief SS surgeon and coordinator of criminal experiments at Ravensbrück concentration camp.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 11 December 1941 War and occupation Berlin / Rome / Washington
Germany and Italy declare war on the United States Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
The decision following the attack on Pearl Harbor expanded direct US involvement in the war against the Axis powers.
The eleventh of December shows the consequences of Hitler's decision for the global configuration of the conflict.
Related profiles Adolf Hitler direct or functional connection: Dictator of the Third Reich; principal architect of the war of aggression, the Holocaust and other genocides.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 11 December 1944 Camps and the Holocaust Hartheim, Austria
Dismantling of the gas chamber at Hartheim The Germans dismantle the gas chamber at Hartheim, concealing evidence of the T4 programme and later murders.
The Germans removed equipment to conceal evidence of the T4 programme and later murders connected with the camp system.
Hartheim is an important link between the murder of people with disabilities and crimes committed against camp prisoners.
Institutional context (7) Christian Wirth institutional context: Commandant of the Bełżec extermination camp and inspector of the Operation Reinhard camps.Franz Stangl institutional context: Commandant of the Sobibór and Treblinka extermination camps; responsible for genocide.Franz Reichleitner institutional context: Second and last commandant of the Sobibór extermination camp.Gustav Wagner institutional context: Deputy commandant of the Sobibór extermination camp, known as the “Beast of Sobibór”.Viktor Brack institutional context: Office head in the Führer's Chancellery and organiser of the Aktion T4 “euthanasia” killings.Karl Brandt institutional context: Hitler's personal physician and co-director of Aktion T4; executed in 1948.Philipp Bouhler institutional context: Head of the Führer's Chancellery of the Nazi Party and co-organiser of Aktion T4.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 13 December 1942 War and occupation Zamość region / Auschwitz
First transport to Auschwitz of people expelled from the Zamość region The first transport of Poles expelled from the Zamość region under the Generalplan Ost arrives at Auschwitz.
The deportation was part of expulsions and Germanisation conducted under the Generalplan Ost.
The event connects the history of the Zamość region, transit camps and Auschwitz concentration camp.
Related profiles (7) Hermann Krumey direct or functional connection: Head of the Central Resettlement Office branch in Łódź, responsible for the operational side of the expulsions from the Zamość region.Werner Lorenz direct or functional connection: Head of the Main Office for Ethnic Germans.Ulrich Greifelt direct or functional connection: Chief of staff of the Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood; responsible for expulsions and Germanisation under the Generalplan Ost.Konrad Meyer direct or functional connection: Head of the Planning Office of the Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Nationhood and principal author of the Generalplan Ost.Richard Wendler direct or functional connection: Governor of the Kraków and Lublin districts.Odilo Globocnik direct or functional connection: SS and police leader in the Lublin District and head of Operation Reinhard.Rudolf Höss direct or functional connection: Commandant of Auschwitz; creator of its industrial machinery of mass murder; executed in 1947.Institutional source: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
Permanent link to this entry 15 December 1961 Accountability Jerusalem, Israel
Death sentence for Adolf Eichmann Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death for crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The court found him guilty of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The judgement emphasised the responsibility of an official who organised the operation of the apparatus of deportation and extermination.
Related profiles Adolf Eichmann direct or functional connection: Head of RSHA Section IV B4 and a principal organiser of the logistics of deporting Jews to be murdered.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 16 December 1942 Ghettos and deportations occupied Europe / Auschwitz
Order to deport Roma and Sinti to Auschwitz Himmler orders the deportation of Roma and Sinti to Auschwitz.
Himmler's directive was a direct step towards establishing the family camp at Birkenau.
The document connects a decision by the central SS authorities with the next stage in the genocide of Roma and Sinti.
Related profiles Heinrich Himmler direct or functional connection: Reichsführer-SS and chief of police; principal organiser of the Holocaust and the camp system.Rudolf Höss direct or functional connection: Commandant of Auschwitz; creator of its industrial machinery of mass murder; executed in 1947.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 16 December 1944 War and occupation Ardennes, Belgium / Luxembourg
Beginning of the German offensive in the Ardennes Germany begins an offensive in the Ardennes.
The attack in Belgium and Luxembourg was Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front.
The operation shows that, despite the Third Reich's approaching defeat, it continued to undertake large-scale offensive action.
Related profiles Adolf Hitler direct or functional connection: Dictator of the Third Reich; principal architect of the war of aggression, the Holocaust and other genocides.Alfred Jodl direct or functional connection: Chief of the OKW Operations Staff; signatory to criminal orders; executed in Nuremberg.Wilhelm Keitel direct or functional connection: Head of the Armed Forces High Command (OKW); endorsed criminal orders.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 17 December 1942 Accountability Allies / world
Allies confirm the mass extermination of European Jews The Allies publicly confirm that the German authorities are carrying out the mass extermination of European Jews.
The joint declaration publicly stated that the German authorities were carrying out the mass murder of Jews.
The statement is an important point in the history of Allied knowledge of the Holocaust and debate over their response.
Institutional context Heinrich Himmler institutional context: Reichsführer-SS and chief of police; principal organiser of the Holocaust and the camp system.Reinhard Heydrich institutional context: Head of the RSHA and one of the principal architects of the Holocaust.Adolf Eichmann institutional context: Head of RSHA Section IV B4 and a principal organiser of the logistics of deporting Jews to be murdered.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 20 December 1945 Accountability occupied Germany
Law No. 10 and further war crimes trials The Allied Control Council adopts Law No. 10, the basis for further war crimes trials in Germany.
The Allied Control Council act provided the basis for proceedings against physicians, lawyers, industrialists and SS members after the main trial.
The law enabled accountability to extend beyond the narrow group of leaders tried before the International Military Tribunal.
Institutional context Ernst Kaltenbrunner institutional context: Head of the RSHA, the central authority for the Gestapo, SD and police; jointly responsible for the Holocaust.Oswald Pohl institutional context: Head of the SS WVHA; administrator of the camp and slave-labour system; executed in 1951.Otto Ohlendorf institutional context: Commander of Einsatzgruppe D, responsible for the murder of approximately 90,000 people; executed in 1951.Karl Brandt institutional context: Hitler's personal physician and co-director of Aktion T4; executed in 1948.Institutional source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Permanent link to this entry 22 December 1947 Accountability Kraków, Poland
Judgement in the first Auschwitz trial The Supreme National Tribunal delivers its judgement in the first Auschwitz trial.
The Supreme National Tribunal's decision concluded the proceedings that began in Kraków on 24 November.
The judgement was an important stage in Poland's efforts to hold members of the Auschwitz concentration camp staff accountable.
Related profiles Arthur Liebehenschel direct or functional connection: Commandant of Auschwitz I and the Auschwitz garrison, and later commandant of Lublin-Majdanek concentration camp.Maria Mandl direct or functional connection: SS overseer and head of the women's camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau; the “Beast” of Birkenau.Maximilian Grabner direct or functional connection: Head of the Gestapo Political Department at Auschwitz concentration camp.Erich Mußfeldt direct or functional connection: Head of the crematorium and the unit that removed bodies at Lublin-Majdanek concentration camp, and later overseer of the crematoria at Auschwitz-Birkenau.Institutional source: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
Permanent link to this entry 27 December 1939 Mass murder Wawer / Warsaw
Wawer massacre In reprisal for the killing of two German non-commissioned officers, the Germans shoot civilians in Wawer.
The Germans shot civilians in reprisal for the killing of two German non-commissioned officers.
The execution at Wawer was among the first mass murders of civilians in occupied Poland.
Related profiles Max Daume direct or functional connection: Order Police officer in Warsaw responsible for reprisals and the execution of hostages.Ludwig Fischer direct or functional connection: Governor of the Warsaw District and administrative perpetrator responsible for the Warsaw ghetto.Institutional source: Institute of National Remembrance
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