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1933
Democracy Dismantled
Germany & The National Story
Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor on January 30. Within months, the Reichstag Fire, emergency decrees, and the Enabling Act dismantle Germany's democratic institutions and concentrate power in Hitler's hands.
The first concentration camp opens at Dachau, political opponents are arrested, and Germany rapidly becomes a one-party dictatorship governed through fear and intimidation.
The Nazi government begins systematically excluding Jews from German society. The nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses marks the regime’s first coordinated anti-Jewish action, as discrimination becomes state policy.
The Neuburger Family
The Neuburgers and Heidelbergers watch as prejudice turns into law. Rose loses her teaching position because she is Jewish, local businesses are vandalized, and violent attacks become increasingly common.
As family members debate whether to remain in Germany or leave while they still can, they begin to realize that the country they have always called home is disappearing.
A Moment in Time
Democracies are not lost in a single moment. They are dismantled one institution at a time, often through laws that appear legal and orderly. By the end of 1933, many of the rights and protections Germans had long taken for granted had vanished, making it far easier for persecution to become official government policy.
A kindergarten class in Germany, circa 1930. In 1933, Rose was forced from her teaching position as the Nazi regime began excluding Jewish educators from public life.
SA members enforce the nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933. The sign reads, "Germans! Defend yourselves! Don't buy from Jews!"—showing how the Nazi regime portrayed discrimination as an act of patriotism and self-defense.
HISTORY RECORDED HOW IT ENDED. THIS IS HOW IT BEGAN.
