With the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg on January 30, 1933, the Weimar Republic went down and the "seizure of power" of the National Socialists in Germany took its course. A little later, Hitler received dictatorial powers in the state by the Enabling Act, democracy was abolished gradually. The programmatic "Gleichschaltung" (forcible-coordination) and oppression of any opposition by persecution and terror were initiated in the same year, as well as the preparations for the systematic extermination of the Jews; Dachau concentration camp was already built in March. In front of the Reichswehr, Hitler announced the Germanization of the East, an ideological war of conquest based on Social Darwinism and racist ideology was inevitable.
However, the fateful year 1933 only marked the beginning of twelve years of Hitler's reign of terror.
History
Shaped by the Concert of Europe in the Age of Imperialism and the resulting "Great War", shattered by the Second World War as a result of the dark chapter of National Socialism, characterized by the Cold War and the division of Germany – historical world constellations as well as people's living conditions have often and seriously changed in the turbulent 20th century.
Here you will find photo dossiers on the various historical phases and events of the past century in Germany and around the world. In addition to major politics, the focus is on changes in the "zeitgeist": people's everyday experiences in the individual decades, changes in culture and fashion, and progress in technology and science.