1931 (TUESDAY)
CHINA: General Chiang Kai-shek resigns as President of the Nanking Government stating "but realizing . . . that a successful safeguard against foreign invasion depends upon the cessation of civil trouble and the unification of the country, I decided temporarily to leave my duties. . . . I therefore request the Central Government to accept my resignation from my offices so as to enhance the realization of unification and accomplish the purpose of national salvation. . . ." Canton leaders plan to go to Nanking. ". . . so that a National Government might be established at an early date for the solution of the national crisis."
1932 (THURSDAY)
INTERNATIONAL: Most of the Allied governments default on their war debt obligations to the U.S. in response to the U.S. Congress' rejection of the Lausanne Conference agreement. Between 16 June and 9 July1932, representatives from the U.K., France, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Japan gathered at Lausanne on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland to address the pressing issues of war debts and reparations. It was amply clear to the delegates that the deepening depression had made it impossible for Germany to resume its reparations payments. They came to an agreement on a two-point plan: (1) Not to press Germany for immediate payments and (2) to reduce German indebtedness by nearly 90 percent and require Germany to prepare for the issuance of bonds valued at 3 billion Reichsmarks to be administered by the Bank for International Settlements and issued when world economic conditions warranted. This provision was close to cancellation, reducing the German obligation from the original $33 billion to $714 million. It was informally agreed among the delegates that these provisions would be effective only in the event that the United States agreed to cancellation of war debts owed by other Allied governments. Concerned about the impact of the Depression, in early December the U.S. Congress passes a resolution that no foreign debt to the U.S. should be cancelled or reduced, which effectively kills the Lausanne Agreement. The German government does not make any payments under this plan and the National Socialists (Nazis) repudiate the reparation debt as interest slavery. Finland is the only country to repay its war debt to the U.S. in full.
1934 (SATURDAY)
FINLAND: Finland paid all her war debts; all other countries default.
UNITED STATES: The Secretary of the Navy approves acceptance of the Curtiss XO3C-1 Seagull, a single-engine biplane observation seaplane; the aircraft is subsequently converted to the XSOC-1 Seagull. Aircraft of this type are operated from battleships and cruisers from late 1935 through World War II.
1938 (THURSDAY)
GERMANY: The French Ambassador in Berlin, Robert Coulondre, reports that Germany is planning aggression in the East. He writes, "The insistence with which it has been explained to me that Germany has no claims in the direction of France would have been enough to enlighten me. But I received even more explicit information; all those with whom I held conversations, with the exception of Herr Hitler, spoke to me, in different ways, and always with intentional vagueness, of the necessity for German expansion in Eastern Europe, Herr von Ribbentrop spoke of the creation of zones of influence in the east and southeast; Field-Marshal Göring, of 'an essentially economic penetration in the south-east.' "
UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: Daylight anti-shipping sweep over the North Sea. 77 Sqn. Two aircraft. Nothing sighted.Anti-Aircraft cruiser HMS Diadem laid down.
Minesweeping trawler HMS Juniper launched.
FRANCE: Chamberlain visits the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front.
In Paris life carries on much as in peacetime. Elegant Parisiennes are trying to make war chic. The latest evening wear is a tailored suit bearing the crest of the RAF. Society hostesses help the war effort by giving balls for the Red Cross or the army. Coco Chanel has closed her Rue Cambon salon and put her seamstresses to work making gloves and knitwear for the army - all bearing her designer label. This winter has turned out to be a cold one, with coal in short supply, many families are living in single draught proof rooms to save fuel. Although there is no shortage of food or of 'Saint-Raphael', the vital warming tonic wine, patisseries are becoming hard to find as bakers turn their attentions to bread rather than cakes.
GERMANY: Hundreds of factories are said to be producing 'ersatz' [artificial] coffee from barley, figs, berries and other substitutes.
U-75 laid down.
The German armored ship Deutschland returns to Wilhelmshaven from Gotenhafen (former Gdynia, Poland) and is renamed Lutzow
FINLAND: The Finnish counterattack against the Soviet Eighth Army comes to an end. It has been a resounding success; the Soviet 163rd and 75th divisions have been completely wiped out, and a large amount of military hardware has been captured by the Finns. However, the Soviets mount heavy enemy attacks at Taipale.
GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Exmoor, detained by British authorities since 7 December, is released.
URUGUAY: After looking over the evidence gathered on the 14th, and after serious consideration of all the suggestions from the Americans, French, Germans, and British, a Presidential decree was declared stating that the Graf Spee would be allowed 72 hours to make any and all repairs. The time limit would end at 8:00pm on the 17th of December, 1939. Also 320 crew members in full uniform were allowed to land and bury the Graf Spee's dead. In attendance was the ships captain as well.
U.S.A.: The Government discourages application for aircraft shipments to nations bombing civilians "in view of the policy to which the President referred [in his statement of December 2." .
The motion picture "Gone With The Wind" premieres at the Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Directed by Victor Fleming, this southern, civil-war, romantic drama, based on Margaret Mitchell's novel, stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Victor Jory, Hattie McDaniel, Ward Bond, Butterfly McQueen, Eddie Anderson and Jane Darwell. This film is nominated for 15 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role (Gable and Leigh) and two actresses are nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel); the film wins nine "Oscars" including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Vivien Leigh) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (McDaniel). The American Film Institute rated this movie Number 4 on its list of the 100 Greatest American Movies.
Nylon yarn is sold to hosiery mills to make women's stockings, marking the first use of commercial yarn for apparel. The DuPont product enables a record number of ladies' hose to go on sale for the first time in May 1940.
Submarine USS Grayling laid down.
CARIBBEAN SEA: Trailing the German liner Columbus USN destroyer USS Jouett (DD-396) relieves the destroyer USS Benham (DD-397) at sea; the latter attempts to locate the German freighter SS Arauca, while Jouett joins the destroyer USS Lang (DD-399) in shadowing the German passenger liner SS Columbus.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-48 sank SS Germaine.