Germany implemented the persecution in stages . Following Adolf Hitler 's appointment as Chancellor on 30 January 1933 , the regime built a network of concentration camps in Germany for political opponents and those deemed " undesirable " , starting with Dachau on 22 March 1933 . After the passing of the Enabling Act on 24 March , which gave Hitler plenary powers , the government began isolating Jews from civil society , which included a boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933 , and enacting the Nuremberg Laws in September 1935 . On 9 – 10 November 1938 , eight months after Germany annexed Austria , Jewish businesses and other buildings were ransacked , smashed or set on fire throughout Germany and Austria during what became known as '' Kristallnacht '' ( the " Night of Broken Glass " ) . After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 , triggering World War II , the regime set up ghettos to segregate Jews from the rest of the population . Eventually thousands of camps and other detention sites were established across German-occupied Europe
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
The Holocaust