The Holocaust Journal (Lest we forget)

Germany - 1937

In spite of Hitler's signing of a concordat with the Vatican, Catholics in Germany continued to be treated roughly by the Nazis.  Many priests and nuns were arrested, parochial schools were harassed, convents and monasteries were closed.  

On March 14, an angry Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical, "With Burning Concern," which accused the Nazi government of breaking its promises to the Church.  The encyclical was smuggled into Germany and was read in most Catholic churches on Palm Sunday, March 21.

Unfortunately, the encyclical did not mention the persecution of the Jews.  Indeed, the document actually referred to Jews as people who were "constantly straying" from God and who had put Christ on the cross.

Jewish harassment and persecution continued to grow.  By 1937, over 60% of Jewish children had been thrown out of German schools.  

Here's more:

* 1937 - Hitler announced that the Third Reich will last a thousand years at a Nazi rally at Nuremberg.

* 1937 - A Jewish resistance group is formed by Herbert and Marianne Baum known as the Baum Group.

* 1937 - In the U.S., the Central Conference of American Rabbis set aside the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885 which said Jews should not look forward to returning to Israel.  A new policy was put into effect which encouraged Jews to support the establishment of a Jewish homeland.

* 1937 - Ferenc Szalasi sets up the Arrow Cross Movement in Hungary, a movement dedicated to anti-Semitism.

* 1937 - Britain suggests that an Arab and a Jewish state be established "separated by a mandated area incorporating Jerusalem and Nazareth.  Arabs refuse, demanding instead a single state with Jews given certain rights as a minority group.

* Spring 1937 - In Germany, Jewish merchants are forced to give up their businesses.

* March 15 - Large crowds attend an anti-Nazi rally held in New York City where Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, whose mother was Jewish, condemns Nazism.

* April 24 - Pastor Martin Niemoller, who was one of the strongest anti-Hitler leaders, sermonizes it was "unfortunate that God permitted Jesus to be born a Jew."

* July 1 - Pastor Martin Niemoller, in spite of his anti-Semitism, is arrested because of his opposition to Hitler.

* July 15 - The Buchenwald concentration camp is established.

* July 27 - Five Jews are tried for "ritual murder" in Bamberg, Germany.

* August - In Hummene, Czechoslovakia, Jews are accused of sacrilege and 350 physical assaults against Jews are recorded in Poland.

* September 7 - Hitler declares the Treaty of Versailles to be invalid and thus of no effect.

* November 5 - A secret conference of the German High Command and others is called by Hitler where he tells them of his "racial, geopolitical, and military plans to dominate Europe."

* November 25 - Germany signs a military pact with Japan.

1937 - 1939 - A type of synthetic fat made from coal is tested on inmates at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

More to follow.