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| 1941 |
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| By the fall 70,000 people suffering from incurable illnesses had been killed through a policy of euthanasia instituted in Oct. 1939. When word of this became public, Bishop Wurm of Württemberg and Bishop Count Galen of Münster condemned the policy publicly. It is the only major case in which public indignation stopped Nazi practices. | 1 |
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| 1942, Jan |
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| The WANNSEE CONFERENCE. Reinhard Heydrich, commissioned in July 1941 to develop a plan for the “final solution” of the Jewish question, convened a group of high-ranking Nazis. Agreement was reached on the collection of all the Jews of Europe into ghettos and then into extermination camps in Poland. From this point to the war's end, more than 6 million Jews were killed (the HOLOCAUST). | 2 |
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| 1943, Jan. 27 |
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| As the war began to go badly for Germany, the government ordered the civil conscription of women to fill labor demands. | 3 |
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| Feb. 3 |
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| A broadcast from Hitler's headquarters conceded that the Battle of Stalingrad had ended in a German defeat. | 4 |
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| May |
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| The air offensive on Germany became more destructive. Berlin and other cities began to experience heavy damage. The saturation bombing of German cities disrupted communications and thereby strengthened Nazi control. The government maintained control of roads, railroads, telegraph and telephone lines. While the population suffered great hardships, it is believed that the Nazi apparatus alone maintained awareness of the situation as a whole. | 5 |
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