Saturday, February 20, 2016

1936 General Historical Events

General Historical Events


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January 20 


*George V (age 70), the King of Great Britain, died in London.  He was succeeded by his 41 year old son, Edward VIII.


February 26 

*In an army mutiny at Tokyo, young officers assassinated the former Premier Saito and the Finance Minister Takahashi in a futile attempt to set up a military dictatorship.

March 6

*Adolf Hitler summoned the Reichstag for Saturday at noon. International speculation abounded as to what the purpose of the session might be, as all that was announced for the agenda was "acceptance of a declaration of the German government."

March 7

*Hitler took advantage of the crisis over Italy's invasion of Ethiopia to reoccupy the Rhineland.

The Remilitarization of the Rhineland took place when German forces entered the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

In the Reichstag, Hitler announced the renunciation the Locarno Treaties and then called for new elections on March 29 which he intended to prove that the German people were behind him.

 In violation of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties, Nazi Germany reoccupied the Rhineland.  According to several historians, this is the last time when the Allies could have stopped Hitler with the odds overwhelmingly on their side. Hitler and other Nazis admitted that the French army alone could have destroyed the Wehrmacht.

March 8

*Spanish army officers including Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco held a secret meeting in Madrid to discuss launching a coup against the government.

March 9

*British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told the House of Commons that Germany's actions "have profoundly shaken confidence in any engagement into which the government of Germany may in future enter", but said there was "no reason to suppose that the present German action implies a threat of hostilities."

March 10

*France increased its military presence along the Maginot Line.

*In Granada, Spain, at least seven people were killed during rioting by leftists. In Pamplona, a clash between peasants and soldiers killed four.

March 11

*Five nations agreed to support France in a protest to the League of Nations against Germany's remilitarization of the Rhineland.

*Italy announced that as long as Britain and France continued to apply sanctions, it would not co-operate with any measures they took against Germany.

March 12

*Britain, France, Belgium and Italy (the signatories of the Locarno Treaties besides Germany) formally protested the German government's renunciation of the Locarno Pact. The League of Nations also noted it as a violation of international law.

*Germany threatened to enter a state of "honourable isolation" and increase its military presence in the Rhineland if France and Belgium continued to mass troops on their eastern borders.

March 13

*Leftist rioters burned down churches and a newspaper plant in Madrid. 

March 14

*The Falange was banned in Spain. Police arrested 200 Fascists who were accused of using violence to stir up the recent outbreaks of rioting, including Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. 

March 15

*Hitler set two conditions before Germany would agree to send an envoy to a conference on the Rhineland dispute. First, Germany would have equal rights with those of the other powers present. Second, the powers would immediately enter negotiations for peace pacts with Germany. France was infuriated by the second condition and insisted that no such peace proposals could be discussed until German troops were withdrawn from the Rhineland.

March 17

*Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Maxim Litvinov told the League of Nations that it would become a "laughing stock" and could not be preserved "if it does not carry out its own decisions, but to the contrary accustoms the aggressor to ignore its recommendations, its admonitions and its warnings." Litvinov expressed skepticism of Hitler's proposals for peace, pointing out that the Locarno Treaties already represented just such a pact.

March 18

*German envoy German envoy Joachim von Ribbentrop and a large entourage arrived in London ahead of a League of Nations council meeting on the Rhineland dispute.

March 19

*In London, the Council of the League of Nations formally condemned Germany as a breaker of treaties. Joachim von Ribbentrop had pleaded for the delegates to delay the vote and take more time to consider Germany's peace offer, to no avail.

March 24


*Germany rejected a settlement plan offered by the other four Locarno signatories due to "inequalities". Hitler said he would offer counter-proposals after Sunday's elections.

March 25


*Britain, France and the United States signed the Second London Naval Treaty,  limiting tonnage and gun size for each ship category. However, the restrictions were slight and the agreement had many loopholes.

March 28

*Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera was sentenced to two months in prison for insulting the Spanish Chief of Police.

March 29

*Parliamentary elections were held in Germany. No opposition parties were allowed and the Nazis claimed almost 99% of the vote. Polling booths were established in the air for the first time in history, as the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin cruised over the Saar and Rhineland all day long as passengers and crew voted.

April 1


*Germany offered a 19-point peace proposal to the other Locarno signatories. None of the points included Germany withdrawing any troops from the Rhineland.

*Austria reintroduced conscription, in violation of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

*Britain assured France and Belgium of British support in the event of war with Germany.

April 2

*Germany suspended the export of coal to Italy as a goodwill gesture to Britain.

April 3


*Germany sent Britain a point-blank refusal to promise not to fortify the Rhineland.

April 4

*On orders from the German Labor Front,  industrial workers who did not vote in the March 29 elections were fired from their jobs as "slackers".


April 7

*Spanish parliament voted President Niceto Alcala-Zamora out of office by a vote of 238 to 5 after the Socialists brought a motion against him claiming he had acted illegally in dissolving the last parliament. It was the first time Spanish parliament had ever voted a president out of office.

April 8

*France countered Germany's peace proposal with its own plan, which included the creation of an international army working through the League of Nations.

*The Soviet Union and Mongolia signed a treaty of mutual assistance to counter Japan's growing power in the Far East.

April 14


*During a parade celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Second Spanish Republic in Madrid, several petard exploded under the presidential reviewing stand. The explosions caused no injuries but several people were trampled in the panic that ensued. Police blamed the attack on fascists.

April 17


*Turkey broke the Treaty of Lausanne by sending troops into the DMZ around the Dardanelles. 

April 19

*Baldur von Schirach said that 90 percent of young Germans were enrolled in the Hitler Youth. He appealed to parents of the remaining 10 percent to enroll their children as well, warning that special laws would be passed if they did not.

April 20

*Before a military parade celebrating Hitler's 47th birthday, General Werner von Blomberg was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall.

*The German cruiser Emden began a controversial 10-day goodwill visit to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, sponsored by local German-American groups. Over 2,000 people marched to protest the cruiser's arrival, but thousands of other Baltimoreans would wait for hours to take tours of the ship during its stay.

April 21

*On Budget Day in the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain projected a surplus of nearly £3 million for the next year, but raised taxes to help pay for increased defense spending.

April 22

*Germany announced that Eckener Avenue in Berlin, named after the Zeppelin commander Hugo Eckener, would would be renamed Adolf Hitler Street. Eckener had fallen out of favor with the Nazi regime after he declined to release a statement of support for Hitler ahead of the March 29 elections.

April 24

*Adolf Hitler formally opened three NS-Ordensburgen (National Socialist Order Castles), elite military schools where future Nazi leaders were to be trained for three years.

*Hitler gave a belated birthday amnesty to minor offenders who had been fined small amounts or sentenced to prison terms not exceeding one month.

April 27

*Hitler appointed Hermann Goring as Commissioner of Raw Materials and Foreign Currencies.


April 28

*King Ahmed Fuad (age 68) of Egypt died.  He was succeeded by his 16 year old son Farouk.

April 29

*Austria sent troops to its German border, fearing invasion.
  
April 30


*The British government announced plans to construct 38 new warships.

May 1

*In Great Britain, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Training Command was formed.

*Starting on this day, every newlywed couple in Nazi Germany was to receive a copy of Mein Kampf from the registrar.

May 3

*The French legislative elections concluded. The leftist Popular Front completed its victory and won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies. 

May 4

*Rioters in Madrid set fire to Catholic churches, schools and monasteries due to unfounded rumors that priests and nuns were distributing poisoned candy to children.

May 6

*The German airship Hindenburg departed on its first flight to the United States.


May 9

*The Hindenburg arrived at Lakehurst, New Jersey in a record time of 61 hours and 39 minutes.

May 10

*Manuel Azana became the new President of Spain.

May 14


*Guatemala notified the League of Nations that it was withdrawing from the organization.


May 15

*In a move aimed at the Heimwehr, Chancellor Schuschnigg ordered Austrian private armies to dissolve.

May 21

*During his annual message to Congress, Chilean President Arturo Alessandri hinted that Chile may withdraw from the League of Nations if it was not reorganized. "The great day of open diplomacy has not arrived", Alessandri said. "There has been no reduction of armaments. The political conveniences of the great powers have prevailed over the principles of the Covenannt. The League's peace machinery is ineffective and 15 years of experience have shown that it requires fundamental revision." Alessandri mentioned unspecified "other measures" that would be taken if this revision did not happen.

May 26

*276 Catholic monks went on trial in Koblenz, Germany on charges of immorality both among themselves and with young male pupils. The public was barred from the court proceedings.

May 28

*Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera was sentenced to five months in prison for arms trafficking.

May 29


*In the Spanish town of  Yeste, Albacete, a crowd of peasants followed the Civil Guard as they brought six prisoners to the town who had been arrested for illegally working some land that had previously been communal property. As the gathering of peasants grew larger, an agreement was reached to release the prisoners. When the crowd pushed forward a Civil Guard panicked and fired a shot, and a Guard was killed in the ensuing melee. The Civil Guard opened fire on the peasants and chased them into the surrounding hills, killing 17 in total including the deputy mayor of the town.

May 30

*Germany observed a memorial day for the Navy to mark the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland.  Hitler attended the dedication of the Laboe Naval Memorial but was not among those who spoke at the ceremony.

May 31

*Spanish politician Indalecio Prieto was shot during a socialist rally in Ecija.

June 1


*The Reichsmusikkammer decreed that using pseudonyms to hide foreign-sounding names without getting approval from the organization were illegal, effective immediately. Violations were punishable by fines or disbarment.

June 2

*A coup in Nicaragua was led by General Somoza, who deposed President Sacasa and would make himself President in 1937.

June 5

*Samuel Hoare, who had resigned as Foreign Secretary in December over the Hoare-Laval Pact  fiasco, returned to Stanley Baldwin's cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty to replace the retiring Viscount Monsell.

June 9

*Mussolini made a cabinet reshuffle relinquishing three of his eight posts. Son-in-law Galeazzo Ciano was made Foreign Minister, the youngest in Italian history at age 33.

June 10

*Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind was published.

June 16

*Jose Maria Gil-Robles y Quinones stood in the Cortes Generales and read out statistics, which he challenged the government to disprove, showing that in the last 48 hours, 65 people had been killed, 36 churches had been destroyed by fire and 34 more severely damaged. Prime Minister Quiroga did not dispute the statistics but blamed the country's strife on fascists.

June 17

*Heinrich Himmler was appointed Chief of the German Police.

June 18


*Anthony Eden told the British House of Commons that there was "no longer any utility" in continuing sanctions against Italy, causing cries of "Shame!" and "Treachery!" to ring out from the Labour benches. Eden explained that the decision was made to prevent the European situation from deteriorating. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin said his government was "hoping to bring the French, the Germans and ourselves into conference for the better security of the peace of Europe. The part that Germany can play for good or for evil in Europe is immense, and if we believe the opportunity is presented, let us do what we can to use it for good."

*The first in a series of six articles by Miguel Maura appeared in the leading Madrid newspaper El Sol calling for a multiparty "national Republican dictatorship" to save Spain from descending into anarchy.


June 22

*A conference opened in Montreaux to discuss Turkey's request to be allowed to refortify the Dardanelles.

*Honduras notified the League of Nations of its intention to withdraw from the organization.

*Nazi Germany introduced the death penalty for the crime of kidnapping for purposes of extortion.

June 25

*At the Montreaux Conference, the Soviet Union demanded the right to unrestricted passage through the Dardanelles for its warships.

June 27

*Franklin Delano Roosevelt was unanimously renominated for President at the Democratic National Convention. John Nance Garner was renominated that same day for Vice President.  President Roosevelt gave an open-air address to 110,000 people at Franklin Field and millions more by radio, accepting the renomination. "I accept the commission you have tendered me", the president said in conclusion. "I join with you. I am enlisted for the duration of the war."

June 28

*The fascist French Popular Party was founded.

June 30

*The Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations in person, "to claim the justice that is due to my people".  He prophetically added, "It is us today; it will be you tomorrow."

July 2

*The 1000th anniversary of the death of King Henry I was observed in Germany with a ceremony in Quelinburg Abbey. Speeches made at the event depicted Hitler as the rightful successor to Henry's legacy.

July 3

*Slovak Jewish journalist Stefan Lux committed suicide in the General Assembly of the League of Nations by shooting himself in the chest. He left behind a note explaining that his act was carried out to draw attention to the plight of Jews in Germany.

July 4

*The League of Nations Council voted to end economic sanctions against Italy.

July 5

*15,000 members of the French far-right opposed to the government of Leon Blum rioted along the Champs-Elysees.  About 60 civilians and 31 police were injured in the clashes.

July 7 

*In Japan, 17 of the army officers involved in the attempted coup in February were sentenced to death.

court-martial in Tokyo sentenced 17 leaders of the February 26 Incident to death. 49 others were given prison sentences ranging from 18 months to life.

July 8

*The British government announced that German airships would no longer be allowed to fly over Britain except in cases of emergency due to weather. The decision was made after the Hindenburg chose a course over England during a recent flight to the United States and back, drawing concerns that German officers aboard could be studying military bases and learning government secrets.

July 11

*Austria and Germany signed an agreement in which Germany pledged to respect Austrian sovereignty in exchange for Austria favoring Germany in its policies.

July 12

*Guardia de Asalto Lieutenant Jose Castillo was murdered by Falangists in the streets of Madrid.

After Guardia de Asalto leader Jose Castillo was killed by falangists at 10pm on July 12, in the first hours of July 13 a group of Guardia de Asalto and other leftist militiamen led by Civil Guard Fernando Condés went to Calvo Sotelo's house in a revenge mission, arrested him and later killed him with gunshots in a police truck. His body was later dropped at the entrance of one of the city's cemeteries. According to all later investigations, the perpetrator of the murder was a socialist gunman, Luis Cuenca, who was known as the bodyguard of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Spanish: Partido Socialista Obrero Español or PSOE) leader Indalecio Prieto. 

In the days following, the Spanish government undertook a routine investigation that never reached any conclusion. This only accelerated the preparations for a military revolt that was being developed since the electoral triumph of the Popular Front in the month of February. These preparations led to the uprising of the Army of Africa in Melilla on July 17, 1936 that, under the assumed command of Generals Emilio Mola, Francisco Franco, Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and Jose Sanjurjo, marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. 

*Fifteen leaders of the February 26 Incident were executed by firing squad in Tokyo. No explanation was given for why two others condemned to death were not shot.

July 13

*Viscount Cranborne responded to a question in the House of Commons by saying he understood that Heligoland was being refortified by Germany (in violation of Article 115 of the Treaty of Versailles). Germany issued an official statement that same day denying "rumors that Heligoland will be made a forbidden area for military reasons and that bathing establishments will be closed."

July 14

*Bastille Day celebrations along the Champs-Elysees were marred by further riots by right wing demonstrators.

*The British government announced plans to mass-produce gas masks with the goal of one for every citizen. The masks would be stockpiled in centers around the country and then issued free of charge when the government deemed it necessary.

July 15

*The League of Nations lifted sanctions against Italy. 

*Five died in political and labor disorders across Spain. The government made 150 arrests.

July 16

*An apparent attempt to assassinate Edward VIII was foiled on Constitution Hill. As the king's horse passed the crowd while returning to Buckingham Palace from a colors ceremony in Hyde Park, a man raised a revolver. A woman grabbed the man's arm and shouted, alerting a constable who knocked the weapon from his hand. The man, identified as George Andrew McMahon, told police he had no intention of harming the king and was only making a protest.  Adolf Hitler sent Edward a telegram offering his "heartiest congratulations" on his escape.

*Italy lifted its wartime restrictions on meat and nightlife curfews.

*Father Charles Coughlin aligned himself with Francis Townsend and denounced President Roosevelt as a "great betrayer and liar", saying, "He who promised to drive the money changers from the temple has built up the greatest public debt in the nation's history. Is that driving the money changers from the temple?"

July 17

* Francisco Franco and other high-ranking officers in the Spanish Army launched a coup against the Second Spanish Republic. The conspirators in the Army of Africa moved to seize control of Spanish Morocco.  Spanish rebels seized the radio station in Melilla and proclaimed martial law. The Spanish Civil War had begun. 

*The French Chamber of Deputies voted 484-85 to nationalize the munitions industry.



July 18

*The Spanish Civil War began as army officers in Spanish Morocco started an insurrection against the Madrid government rallying behind Generals Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco.  The revolt spread to garrisons at Cadiz, Saragossa, Burgos, and Seville.

The Spanish government announced on the radio that the uprising had been contained but, in fact, the Spanish uprising had spread spread to Seville. In Madrid, the Siege of Cuartel de la Montana began.

*The Free City of Danzig suspended its constitution. Senate President Arthur Greiser ordered the move to crush opposition to the Nazi-controlled government.

*At the Montreaux Conference, the signatories of the Treaty of Lausanne agreed to grant Turkey the right to remilitarize the Dardanelles. The Russian navy was granted the right to free passage through the straits during peacetime, but during wartime all belligerents would be prohibited from using the straits unless acting for the League of Nations or under a regional pact signed with Turkey.

July 20

*Mola and Franco formed a junta at Burgos.

*The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits was signed in Montreux, allowing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peace.

November 6

*The troops of the Spanish junta of Mola and Franco laid siege to Madrid using equipment from Germany and Italy.

December 10

*In England, Edward VIII abdicated in favor of his brother George VI.

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*Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected by a landslide to a second term as the United States President.

*Stalin liquidated his enemies in the Soviet Union in a great purge that lasted two years and cost up to 10 million lives.

*The Queen Mary went into service on the North Atlantic run.





*Boulder (later Hoover) Dam was completed, blocking the Colorado River to create Lake Mead, the world's largest reservoir.