Germany’s defeat in World War I triggered political extremism that led to the rise of the Nazi party and state, setting the stage for mass persecution and World War II. 

By 1933 Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. With Storm Troopers (SA) and Protection Squads (SS), his government established concentration camps for “State Enemies,” sterilizing the disabled while spreading racial propaganda. Boycotts and legislation excluded Jews from German society. The year 1938 saw the Anschluss, incorporating Austria into greater Germany; the Munich Agreement, neutralizing international opposition to allow annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia; deportation of Polish Jewish citizens to Poland (Polenaktion); and the devastating Kristallnacht pogrom.