Victory in Europe: End of WWII

In February of 1933, twenty different (and mysterious) fires broke out, simultaneously, at the government building in Berlin where the Reichstag (Germany’s parliament) met. Using that situation to seize power, Hitler claimed he was “protecting” the country’s security.

Two months later, Jews who lived in Berlin were already in trouble. The capital had the largest Jewish community in Germany - totaling about 160,000 people - and their businesses were targeted for a national boycott in April.

A placard, placed in front of a Jewish-owned store on April 1st, says: “Germans, defend yourselves, do not buy from Jews.” It was just the beginning of official anti-Semitism, both in Berlin and in all Nazi-controlled territory.

On the 10th of May, 1933, Nazis in Berlin burned “un-German” books, including those written by Jewish authors. Such actions bring to mind a line from Almansor, an 1821 play by Heinrich Heine:

Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings