1931 (MONDAY)
SWITZERLAND: China appeals to the League of Nations Council stating that ". . . beginning from ten o'clock of the night of September 18, regular troops of Japanese soldiers, without provocation of any kind, opened rifle and artillery fire upon Chinese soldiers at or near the city of Mukden, bombarded the arsenal and barracks of the Chinese soldiers, set fire to the ammunition depot, disarmed the Chinehun, Kwanchengtse, and other places, and later took military occupation of the, cities of Mukden and Antung and other places and of public buildings therein, and are now in such occupation. Lines of communication have also been seized by Japanese troops. . . . In view of the foregoing facts, the Republic of China, a member of the League of Nations, asserts that a situation has arisen which calls for action under the terms of Article 11 of the Covenant."
UNITED KINGDOM: The Bank of England goes off the gold standard despite a total of UK£50 million in credit from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of France. The pound sterling fell from US$4.86 to US$3.49 as a result of the devaluation. Since many nations tied their national currencies to the British pound, the subsequent devaluation (especially in comparison to nations who remained on the gold standard) resulted in an export subsidy and temporarily stimulated trade. However, the overall result is that most countries eventually abandoned the gold standard, currencies devalued, and overall trade contracted exacerbating the global depression.
1938 (WEDNESDAY)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Faced with little support from the British and French governments, the Czechoslovak government accepts the German terms for the occupation of the Sudetenland, even though the Polish and Hungarian governments added their own claims for Czechoslovak territory.
INTERNATIONAL: Poland and Hungary demand the same rights for their minorities as the Sudetens stating that "These minorities have, however, consistently demanded similar treatment to that accorded to the Sudeten minority, and the acceptance of the Anglo-French proposals, involving the cession of the predominantly Sudeten German territories, has led to a similar demand for cession of the territory predominantly inhabited by Polish and Hungarian minorities."
UNITED KINGDOM: Winston Churchill warns of the futility of appeasing German Chancellor Adolf Hitler: "The belief that security can be obtained by throwing a small state (Czechoslovakia) to the wolves is a fatal delusion."
UNITED STATES: A great hurricane smashes into Long Island, New York, and bisects New England causing a massive forest blowdown and widespread flooding. Winds gusted to 186 miles per hour (293 kilometer per hour) at Blue Hill, Massachusetts, and a storm surge of nearly 30 feet (9 meters) caused extensive flooding along the coast of Rhode Island. The hurricane killed 600 persons and caused US$500 million damage. The hurricane, which lasted twelve days, destroyed 275 million trees. Hardest hit are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Long Island, New York. The "Long Island Express" produced gargantuan waves with its 150 mile per hour (241 kilometer per hour) winds, waves which smashed against the New England shore with such force that earthquake-recording machines on the Pacific coast clearly showed the shock of each wave.
September 21st, 1939 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The government publishes its "Blue Book" of pre-war diplomatic documents.
Corvette HMS Geranium laid down
Destroyer HMS Ardent takes wounded from SS Teakwood after it is torpedoed by
U-35 in Convoy OA-7.
Ardent ccompanies the damaged Teakwood back to Falmouth.
LUXEMBOURG: Radio Luxembourg ceases English-language transmissions. By now its headquarters complex is complete with two large and four small studios and support facilities.
GERMANY: Berlin: The Chief
of the Security Police, Reinhard Heydrich, discusses the ethnic cleansing of
Europe. It is declared that all Jews will be temporarily deported to a
"reservation" in Poland, and later to a remote part of the USSR or to
Madagascar. On 23 March 1940 the "reservation" plan will be cancelled.
POLAND: Lwow surrenders and the remaining parts of the Polish Southern Army surrender at Zamosz and Tomaszov (60,000 prisoners). The remaining diplomats are evacuated from Warsaw.
ROMANIA: Armand Calinescu,
President of the Council of Ministers, is assassinated by nine members of
the Romanian Legionary Movement. The nine turn themselves in and after being
tortured for eight hours, they are executed by the police.
U.S.A.:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt today faced a joint session of Congress in
person and urged the repeal of the Neutrality Act's embargo on arms sales to
belligerent countries. "Our acts must be guided by one single hard-headed
thought - keeping America out of this war," the president said. Allowing
arms to be sold on a cash-and- carry basis would be "better calculated than
any other means to keep us out of war."
U.S. newspapers allege that senior Nazis, including Goebbels and Hess, have foreign investments worth over 3 million pounds.
Destroyer USS Hughes commissioned.