Germany’s surrender ends the war in Europe

American forces reached Buchenwald after prisoners had organized resistance and taken control of parts of the camp. Liberation exposed mass death and extreme abuse; prisoners were not all...

British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen and found tens of thousands of prisoners suffering from starvation and disease. Thousands died after liberation despite emergency relief, showing that freedom...

US forces entered Dachau and found thousands of prisoners, many gravely ill, and evidence of mass death. Liberation opened a period of medical emergency and survivor displacement rather than an...

Adolf Hitler died by suicide as the Red Army fought through Berlin. Nazi rule was collapsing, but killings, death marches, and camp evacuations continued in the war’s final days. The defeat of the...

US troops reached Mauthausen as the camp system disintegrated. Survivors faced severe illness and the loss of family and community; many could not safely return to their prewar homes.

The White House released Earl Harrison’s report on Jewish displaced persons. Based on his August visit, it criticized Allied treatment, urged improved conditions and distinct recognition of Jewish...

The International Military Tribunal began trials of leading Nazi officials on charges including crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The proceedings established a postwar...

The small Jewish displaced-persons camp opened to provide additional space for refugees from the overcrowded Zeilsheim camp. Survivors rebuilt communal life through schools, religious and cultural...

Local residents and members of Polish security forces attacked surviving and returning Jews in Kielce; 42 Jews were killed. The pogrom drew on entrenched antisemitism and blood-libel allegations and...

The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 96(I), declaring genocide a crime under international law and calling for an international convention. Raphael Lemkin’s work and postwar debates drew on Nazi...