War Crimes Timeline

1914 Aug 23 German Troops Capture Dinant, Executing 674 of Its Inhabitants
On 23 August 1914, 674 inhabitants of Dinant were summarily executed by German troops. It was one of the biggest atrocities committed by the Germans during 1914. A series of German wa...
1936 Nazi Germany Establishes Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Sachsenhausen (German pronunciation: [zaksənˈhaʊzən]) or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 ...
1937 Jul Nazi Germany Establishes Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Buchenwald concentration camp (German: Konzentrationslager or 'KZ' Buchenwald) was a Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg (Etter Mountain) near Weimar, Thuringia, Germany...
1937 Dec 13 Japanese Soldiers Begin Six-Week 'Rape of Nanking'
"I know not where to end. Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least 1,000 cases a night, and many by day. In case of resistance or anything that see..." —Reverend James M. McCallum
1938 Dec SS Establishes Neuengamme Concentration Camp
The SS established Neuengamme in December 1938 as a subcamp of Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It was located on the grounds of an abandoned brickworks on the banks of the Dove-Elbe, a ...
1939 May Ravensbrück, the Largest Concentration Camp for Women, Opens
Ravensbrück or Ravensbrueck (German pronunciation: [ʁaːfənsˈbʁʏk]) was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a ...
1939 Sep 2 Construction on Stutthof Concentration Camp is Completed
In September 1939, the Germans established the Stutthof camp in a wooded area west of Stutthof (Sztutowo), a town about 22 miles east of Danzig (Gdansk). The area was secluded: to the nor...
1940 May 25 First Transport of Prisoners to the Mauthausen-Gusen Nazi Concentration Camp Complex
Mauthausen Concentration Camp and its sub Labor camp Gusen, combined to form the Mauthausen-Gusen Nazi concentration camp, were located near the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper ...
1940 Jun 10 The Gestapo Takes Control of Theresienstadt Fortress, Converting it to a Concentration Camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp (often referred to as Terezín) was a Nazi German concentration camp during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison c...
1941 May 1 Gross-Rosen Becomes Independent Concentration Camp
KL Gross-Rosen (Groß-Rosen) was a German concentration camp, located in Gross-Rosen, Lower Silesia (now Rogoźnica, Poland). It was located directly on the rail line between Jauer (now Jaw...
1941 Aug Jasenovac, the Largest Extermination Camp in the Independent State of Croatia, is Established by the Ustasha Regime, with Direction from Nazi Germany
Jasenovac concentration camp (Croatian, Serbian: Logor Jasenovac; Cyrillic script: Логор Јасеновац. Yiddish: יאסענאוואץ, Hebrew: יסנובץ) was the largest extermination camp in the Independ...
1941 Oct 1 Majdanek Concentration Camp Begins Operation
Majdanek was a German Nazi concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland, established during German Nazi occupation of Poland. The camp operated from October 1, 1941 until July 22...
1941 Dec Sajmište Nazi Concentration Camp is Established in the Independent State of Croatia
Sajmište concentration camp (Serbian Cyrillic: Концентрациони логор Сајмиште) was a Nazi concentration camp, located in the Independent State of Croatia, on the outskirts of Belgrade. It ...
1941 Dec 7 Chełmno Extermination Camp Begins Operation
Chełmno extermination camp (German name Kulmhof) was an extermination camp of Nazi Germany that was situated 70 kilometres (43 mi) from Łódź, near a small village called Chełmno nad Nerem...
1942 Jan 14 Inter-Allied Resolution on German War Crimes
On January 14, 1942, representatives from the nine occupied countries met in London to draft the Inter-Allied Resolution on German War Crimes. At the meetings in Tehran (1943), Yalta (194...
1942 Jan 23 Parit Sulong Massacre
On January 23, 1942, the Parit Sulong Massacre was committed against Allied soldiers by members of the Imperial Guards Division of the Imperial Japanese Army. A few days earlier, the Alli...
1942 Feb 14 Alexandra Hospital Massacre
At about 1.00pm on 14 February Japanese soldiers advanced towards the Alexandra Barracks Hospital. A British lieutenant, acting as an envoy with a white flag, approached the Japanese forc...
1942 Mar Belzec Extermination Camp Begins Operation
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec [ˈbɛu̯ʐɛt​͡s], was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust. Operating in 1942, the...
1942 May Mass Gassing Operations Begin at Sobibor Nazi Extermination Camp
Sobibor was a Nazi German extermination camp set up in the Lublin region of occupied Poland as part of Operation Reinhard; the official German name was SS-Sonderkommando Sobibor. Jews, in...
1942 Jul 24 Construction of Treblinka Nazi Extermination Camp is Completed
Treblinka II was a Nazi German extermination camp in occupied Poland during World War II. Around 850,000 people - more than 99.5 percent of whom were Jews, but also other victims (among t...
1943 Aug Prisoners at Treblinka Nazi Concentration Camp Stage a Revolt, Allowing Several Hundred to Escape
Jewish inmates organized a resistance group in Treblinka in early 1943. When camp operations neared completion, the prisoners feared they would be killed and the camp dismantled. During t...
1943 Aug 3 Szczurowa Massacre
The massacre in Szczurowa was the murder of 93 Romani people (also known as Gypsies), including children, women and the elderly, by German Nazi occupiers in the Polish village of Szczurow...
1943 Oct 14 Jewish Prisoners Stage Successful Uprising at Sobibor Extermination Camp
Sobibor was the site of one of two successful uprisings by Jewish prisoners in a Nazi extermination camp — there was a similar revolt at Treblinka on August 2, 1943. A revolt at Auschwitz...
1944 Jun 10 Oradour-sur-Glane Massacre
The attack was carried out by soldiers of the Der Führer Regiment of the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich. On that day they killed a total of 642 men, women and children without gi...
1944 Dec Bergen-Belsen, Once a Holding Camp for Prisoners, Becomes a Full-Fledged Concentration Camp
Bergen-Belsen (or Belsen) was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as the prisoner of war ...
1944 Dec 17 Malmédy Massacre
The Malmedy massacre refers to a war crime in which about 90 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors. The massacre was committed on December 17, 1944 by Kampfgrupp...
1945 Aug 8 London Charter of the International Military Tribunal
The London Charter of the International Military Tribunal (usually referred to simply as the London Charter or Nuremberg Charter) was the decree issued on August 8, 1945, that set down th...
1946 Oct 1 Conclusion of the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT)
Throughout the trials, specifically between January and July 1946, the defendants and a number of witnesses were interviewed by American psychiatrist Leon Goldensohn. His notes detailing ...
1946 Dec 9
to 1947 Aug 20
 Doctors' Trial (officially United States of America v. Karl Brandt, et al.)
The Doctors' Trial (officially United States of America v. Karl Brandt, et al.) was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone ...
1947 Jan 2
to 1947 Apr 14
 The Milch Trial: The United States of America vs. Erhard Milch
The Milch Trial (or officially, The United States of America vs. Erhard Milch) was the second of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone in Ger...
1947 Mar 5
to 1947 Dec 4
 The Judges' Trial (or the Justice Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Josef Altstötter, et al.)
The Judges' Trial (or the Justice Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Josef Altstötter, et al.) was the third of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities ...
1947 Apr 8
to 1947 Nov 3
 The Pohl Trial (or WVHA Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Oswald Pohl, et al.)
The Pohl Trial (or WVHA Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Oswald Pohl, et al.) was the fourth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their ...
1947 Apr 19
to 1947 Dec 22
 The United States of America vs. Friedrich Flick, et al. or the Flick Trial
The United States of America vs. Friedrich Flick, et al. or the Flick Trial was the fifth of twelve Nazi war crimes trials held by U.S. authorities in their occupation zone Germany (Nurem...
1947 Jul 8
to 1948 Feb 19
 The Hostages Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Wilhelm List, et al.)
The trial got its name from the issue it dealt with. The four counts charged the defendants with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity through: participation in the murder of ...
1947 Aug 27
to 1948 Jul 30
 The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al., also known as the IG Farben Trial
The United States of America vs. Carl Krauch, et al., also known as the IG Farben Trial, was the sixth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation zo...
1947 Sep 29
to 1948 Apr 10
 The Einsatzgruppen Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Otto Ohlendorf, et al.)
On September 10, 1947, the U.S. Military Government for Germany created Military Tribunal II-A (later renamed Tribunal II) to try the Einsatzgruppen Case. The 24 defendants were all leade...
1947 Oct 20
to 1948 Mar 10
 The RuSHA Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Ulrich Greifelt, et al.)
The RuSHA Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Ulrich Greifelt, et al.) was the eighth of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in their occupation...
1947 Dec 8
to 1948 Jul 31
 The Krupp Trial (or officially, The United States of America vs. Alfried Krupp, et al.)
The Krupp Trial (or officially, The United States of America vs. Alfried Krupp, et al.) was the tenth of twelve trials for war crimes that U.S. authorities held in their occupation zone a...
1947 Dec 30
to 1948 Oct 28
 The High Command Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Wilhelm von Leeb, et al.)
On December 23, 1947, the U.S. Military Government for Germany created Military Tribunal V-A to try the High Command Case. The 14 defendants, formerly all leading command or staff officer...
1948 Jan 6
to 1949 Apr 13
 The Ministries Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Ernst von Weizsäcker, et al.)
The Ministries Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Ernst von Weizsäcker, et al.) was the eleventh of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S. authorities held in thei...
1968 Mar 16 My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the mass murder conducted by a unit of the U.S. Army on March 16, 1968 of 347 to 504 unarmed citizens in South Vietnam, all of whom were civilians and a majority o...
1969 Nov 12 Investigative Journalist Seymour Hersh Breaks My Lai Massacre and Cover-Up to an Outraged American Public
The first reports claimed that "128 Viet Cong and 22 civilians" were killed in the village during a "fierce fire fight". General William C. Westmoreland, MACV commander, congratulated the...
1971 Mar 29 2nd Lieutenant William L. Calley Becomes Sole Conviction in My Lai Massacre
On November 17, 1970, the United States Army charged 14 officers, including Major General Samuel W. Koster, the Americal Division's commanding officer, with suppressing information relate...
2009 Jul 14 Charles Taylor Denies all Charges at His War Crimes Tribunal
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Former Liberian President Charles Taylor testified at his war crimes trial Tuesday that the case against him was built on lies and misinformation, and he denied h...
2010 Mar 23 Ex-Nazi, Heinrich Boere, Sentenced to Life in Prison for War Crimes
As German authorities pursue suspected Nazi war criminals to the last, a court in Aachen convicted an 88-year-old former SS soldier on Tuesday on charges of killing three Dutch civilians ...