The Holocaust was a unique event in world history, the systematic and industrial attempt to destroy a group of people based on their religious nationality. Hitler's obsession with killing the Jews of Europe drove many of his policies and while he was ultimately not successful in killing all the Jews of Europe, Six Million Jews were killed in the lands that he conquered. The following are the major events from the time of the invasion of Poland until the final end of the Third Reich. They are only the major events and the full story of the holocaust deserves a more in depth examination. The video below is an eight minute summary of the major events in the history of the holocaust.