The Holocaust—the genocide of European Jews during the Second World War—is often regarded as having started after Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939. But from 1933 until the outbreak of hostilities, Jews felt the effects of more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all aspects of their public and private lives. And, in fact, as early as 1919 the "Jewish Question" had been commented upon by an angry and disillusioned Great War veteran called Adolf Hitler. Twelve months later, in 1920, the Nazi Party had been created. Thus was formed the political and military regime responsible for the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews and other minority groups. But what was the sequence of events that led to the biggest crime in human history being perpetrated?
Click through for a chilling countdown to the Holocaust.