The son of Polish Jews living in Germany, Grynszpan fled to Paris in 1936 to escape Nazi persecution. Days after the Nazis expelled Jews with Polish citizenship from Germany, Grynszpan assassinated German Embassy official Ernst vom Rath in Paris on November 7, 1938. The assassination was used as a pretext for the Kristallnacht pogroms on November 9-10, 1938. Grynszpan was arrested and handed over to the Germans, but details of his death are unknown.
A member of Hitler’s inner circle, Göring held numerous offices within the Nazi government after 1933. He was instrumental in Nazi actions to consolidate power, including the establishment of concentration camps and the annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). As chief of the Four-Year-Plan and Hitler's deputy, Göring authorized Reinhard Heydrich to develop plans and coordinate resources for a “Final Solution to the Jewish Question”. Convicted of war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity during the Nuremberg Trials, Göring committed suicide on October 15, 1946, just before he was to be executed.
Chief of State of Vichy France (July 1940-August 1944) following the surrender of France to Nazi Germany. Pétain signed agreements with Germany and Italy and implemented anti-Jewish legislation in Vichy France. Under his leadership, the Vichy regime collaborated with the Nazis, establishing internment camps for Jews living in France and deporting them to killing centers in Poland. Petain was tried for treason after the war, convicted, and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the new president of France, Charles De Gaulle.
One of the most powerful figures of the Third Reich, Himmler was head of the SS and German Police. He expanded the SS into an elite Nazi corps with far-reaching authority to maintain the internal security of the Reich. Himmler was responsible for implementing the "Final Solution," and oversaw the establishment and operation of the Nazi concentration camp system. He was captured by Russian soldiers in May 1945 and turned over to the British, in whose custody he committed suicide on May 23, 1945.
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The 33rd president of the United States, Harry Truman was vice president under Franklin D. Roosevelt and succeeded him as president after FDR's death in 1945. He was subsequently re-elected for another term, serving until 1953. Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb against Japan in August 1945, which ended the war in the Pacific. Truman championed expanded immigration quotas for DPs, pushing Congress to pass the Displaced Persons Act in 1948.