Anniversaries in October: 15 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.
01
1 October
1 October1943Resistance and rescueDenmark / Sweden
Mass operation to rescue Danish Jews
Danish citizens begin a mass effort to rescue Jews from deportation.
The actions of Danish citizens extended earlier assistance in helping persecuted people escape to Sweden.
The October anniversary emphasises the collective dimension of rescue and completes the account of efforts begun in September.
The International Military Tribunal delivers its judgements in the trial of the major Nazi war criminals.
The decision addressed responsibility for the gravest crimes and assessed Nazi organisations, and included both convictions and acquittals.
The Nuremberg judgement became a fundamental point of reference for postwar accountability of the Third Reich's leaders.
Related profiles (15)
Hermann Göringdirect or functional connection: Second-ranking figure in the Third Reich, founder of the Gestapo and commander of the Luftwaffe.
Wilhelm Keiteldirect or functional connection: Head of the Armed Forces High Command (OKW); endorsed criminal orders.
Alfred Jodldirect or functional connection: Chief of the OKW Operations Staff; signatory to criminal orders; executed in Nuremberg.
Ernst Kaltenbrunnerdirect or functional connection: Head of the RSHA, the central authority for the Gestapo, SD and police; jointly responsible for the Holocaust.
Alfred Rosenbergdirect or functional connection: Principal Nazi Party ideologue and Reich minister for the occupied eastern territories.
Hans Frankdirect or functional connection: Governor-General of occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945; executed after the Nuremberg trial.
Wilhelm Frickdirect or functional connection: Reich Minister of the Interior and architect of the legal foundations of terror and the exclusion of Jews.
Julius Streicherdirect or functional connection: Publisher of the antisemitic Der Stürmer and Gauleiter of Franconia; incited the Holocaust.
Fritz Sauckeldirect or functional connection: General plenipotentiary for labour deployment in the Third Reich; organiser of forced labour.
Arthur Seyss-Inquartdirect or functional connection: Reich Commissioner for the occupied Netherlands; responsible for the Holocaust of Dutch Jews.
Albert Speerdirect or functional connection: Third Reich armaments minister; led an armaments empire based on forced labour.
Walther Funkdirect or functional connection: Reich minister of economics and president of the Reichsbank; involved in the plunder of Holocaust victims' property.
Karl Dönitzdirect or functional connection: Commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine and Hitler's successor as head of state.
Baldur von Schirachdirect or functional connection: Leader of the Hitler Youth and Gauleiter of Vienna; involved in the deportation of Viennese Jews.
Konstantin von Neurathdirect or functional connection: Foreign Minister and Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia; the IMT found him guilty on all four counts and sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Execution of those convicted at the Nuremberg trial
Ten death sentences imposed on convicted major Nazi war criminals are carried out in Nuremberg.
Ten of those convicted were executed, while Hermann Göring was not hanged.
The fate of those convicted completes the history of the main trial, but requires distinguishing between the individual sentences and their execution.
Related profiles (9)
Wilhelm Keiteldirect or functional connection: Head of the Armed Forces High Command (OKW); endorsed criminal orders.
Alfred Jodldirect or functional connection: Chief of the OKW Operations Staff; signatory to criminal orders; executed in Nuremberg.
Ernst Kaltenbrunnerdirect or functional connection: Head of the RSHA, the central authority for the Gestapo, SD and police; jointly responsible for the Holocaust.
Alfred Rosenbergdirect or functional connection: Principal Nazi Party ideologue and Reich minister for the occupied eastern territories.
Hans Frankdirect or functional connection: Governor-General of occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945; executed after the Nuremberg trial.
Wilhelm Frickdirect or functional connection: Reich Minister of the Interior and architect of the legal foundations of terror and the exclusion of Jews.
Julius Streicherdirect or functional connection: Publisher of the antisemitic Der Stürmer and Gauleiter of Franconia; incited the Holocaust.
Fritz Sauckeldirect or functional connection: General plenipotentiary for labour deployment in the Third Reich; organiser of forced labour.
Arthur Seyss-Inquartdirect or functional connection: Reich Commissioner for the occupied Netherlands; responsible for the Holocaust of Dutch Jews.
The Germans, assisted by the collaborationist authorities, begin round-ups of Norwegian Jews.
German actions were conducted with the assistance of the collaborationist authorities, distinguishing this history from the successful rescue operation in Denmark a year later.
Comparing the Norwegian round-ups with the Danish rescue operation makes it possible to examine the roles of collaborationist authorities and aid networks without generalising about the attitudes of entire societies.
30 October1942Camps and the HolocaustMonowice / Auschwitz
From the IG Farben factory to Auschwitz III-Monowitz
The IG Farben synthetic rubber factory gives rise to the Buna subcamp, later Auschwitz III-Monowitz.
The synthetic rubber plant gave rise to the Buna subcamp, which relied on prisoners' forced labour.
The history of Monowitz shows corporate responsibility within the camp system and the lethal conditions of labour exploitation.
Related profiles (6)
Otto Ambrosdirect or functional connection: IG Farben director; created the Buna plant near Auschwitz-Monowitz and headed chemical weapons production.
Walther Dürrfelddirect or functional connection: Technical director and construction manager of the IG Farben plant at Auschwitz-Monowitz.
Heinrich Bütefischdirect or functional connection: IG Farben board member responsible for the Auschwitz-Monowitz plant and mining ventures that exploited prisoners.
Carl Krauchdirect or functional connection: Chairman of the IG Farben supervisory board and plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan.
Rudolf Hössdirect or functional connection: Commandant of Auschwitz; creator of its industrial machinery of mass murder; executed in 1947.
Fritz ter Meerdirect or functional connection: IG Farben board member and head of its Technical Committee; the tribunal found that he actively participated in procuring forced labour for the Auschwitz and Fürstengrube enterprises.