This Week in the Great Depression - Gambling is Legalised in Nevada

This Week's Historical Theme: The Great Depression

 

19 March 1931

 

A significant event throughout the history of the Great Depression that occurred in March was the legalisation of gambling in Nevada. This was done in an attempt to lift the state out of its hard times. At the beginning of the Depression, Nevada's mines were in decline and its economy was in shambles. These mining opportunities had been revealed by settlers in 1859, with discovery of the 'Comstock Lode' of gold and silver, before Nevada had been made the 36^th state of the Union during the Civil War five years later. Divorce was also legalised in the same year as gambling, in response to population flight.

 

Established in 1905, Las Vegas has since become the gambling and entertainment capital of the world. It is especially famous for its casinos, nightclubs and sporting events. In the first few decades after the legalisation of gambling, organised crime flourished in the city. It's tolerance for many forms of adult entertainment has also earned it the title of 'Sin City', making it a popular setting in literature, films, television and music videos. Today, state gambling taxes account for the lion's share of Nevada's overall tax revenues.

 

Want to find out more about the history of gambling in Nevada? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Great Depression.

November 9 - Kristallnacht

This Day in History: 9 November 2020

 

9 November 1938

 

82 years ago, today, the Nazis launched Kristallnacht, a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses in Germany and Austria. It was dubbed as 'Kristallnacht', meaning 'Night of Broken Glass' after the many smashed windows of Jewish-owned establishments. This event left around 100 Jews dead, 7,500 Jewish businesses damaged, and hundreds of synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards vandalised. It is estimated that 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many of whom were subsequently sent to concentration camps and were released when they promised to leave Germany. The pogrom represented a dramatic escalation of the anti-Semitic campaign by Adolf Hitler.

 

In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, the Nazis blamed the Jews and fined them 1 billion marks for Ernst vom Rath's death, who was a German diplomat in Paris, killed by a Polish Jew. This was used as an excuse to carry out the attacks. In repayment, the government seized Jewish property and kept insurance money owed to Jewish people. Further discriminatory policies that excluded Jews from public life were enacted to create the master Aryan race. This led to the fleeing of 100,000 Jews from Germany, and outrage from other nations. Some countries broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, but the Nazis suffered no serious consequences, leading them to believe that they could get away with mass murder in the Holocaust.

 

Want to find out more about Kristallnacht? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Holocaust.

October 16 - The Long March Begins

This Day in History: 16 October 2020 

 

16 October 1934 

 

86 years ago, today, the Long March between the Nationalists and the Chinese Communists began. Beginning at 5:00pm, they confused the Nationalists with their secrecy and rear-guard actions, so that it was several weeks before they realised that the Red Army had fled. This retreating force initially consisted of 86,000 troops, and marchedat night, when the enemy was not near. However, the first disaster came in November, when the Nationalists blocked the Communists' route across the Hsiang River, but they were able to overcome it. After enduring starvation, and aerial bombardment, Mao halted his army at the Great Wall of China a year later, ending the Long March.  

 

The Chinese Civil War had begun between the Nationalists and Communists in 1927. Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Communists employed guerrilla tactics to resist successfully the first four campaigns. However, in the fifth, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalists, raised 700,000 troops to resist the communists. The Long March was the longest continuous march in the history of warfare and marked the emergence of Mao Zedong as the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communists. The Chinese Civil War resumed in 1945, and four years later, the Nationalists were defeated. Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China and served as its chairman until his death in 1976. 

 

Want to find out more about the Long March? Click here for more information, or here for an animated video about the Chinese Civil War.  

October 3 - Iraq Achieves Independence

This Day in History: 3 October 2020

 

3 October 1932

 

88 years ago, today, Iraq gained independence when Britain terminated its mandate over the Arab nation. With the admission of the country into the League of Nations, Iraq was made independent after 17 years of British rule and centuries of Ottoman rule. During World War One, Iraq had been seized from Ottoman Turkey, and Britain was granted a mandate by the League of Nations to govern the nation in 1920. A Hashemite monarchy was organised under British protection in 1921, and in 1932, the kingdom was granted independence. The Iraqi government still maintained close economic and military ties with Britain, however.

 

Iraq's friendly relation with Britain sparked several anti-British revolts. A pro-Axis revolt in 1941 led to a British military intervention, and the Iraqi government agreed to support the Allied war effort. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown, and for the next two decades, Iraq was ruled by a series of military and civilian governments. Over two decades later, General Saddam Hussein became Iraqi dictator, and held onto power with an iron first, until he disappeared and later died in an American-led coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003. Today, October 3 is celebrated as National Iraqi Day.

 

Want to find out more about the independence of Iraq? Click here for more information, or here for more about Iraqi Independence Day.

September 30 - The Munich Pact is Signed

This Day in History: 30 September 2020

 

30 September 1938

 

82 years ago, today, the Munich Pact was signed between the British and French Prime Ministers, Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier, and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. This agreement averted the outbreak of war but allowed Czechoslovakia to be given away to German conquest. Daladier despised the Pact's peace making with the Nazis, but Chamberlain was happy and even stayed behind in Munich to sign a single-page document with Hitler that he believed assured the future of Anglo-German peace. Chamberlain later flew home to Britain, where he addressed a joyful crowd in London, praising the Munich Pact for bringing 'peace in our time'.

 

The day after the Pact was signed, Hitler annexed the Czech Sudetenland, where he had wanted to evacuate its population of Czechoslovakians prior to the agreement. The Czechoslovak government subsequently chose submission over destruction by the German 'Wehrmacht', the armed forces of the Nazis. In March 1939, Hitler annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia, and the country ceased to exist. In September, 53 German army divisions invaded Poland despite British and French threats to intervene. Two days later, Chamberlain called for a British declaration of war against Germany, initiating World War Two. Chamberlain would later be replaced as Prime Minister by Winston Churchill after eight months of ineffective wartime leadership.

 

Want to find out more about the Munich Pact? Click here for more information, or here for more about Chamberlain as Prime Minister.

September 15 - The Nuremberg Race Laws Are Imposed in Nazi Germany

This Day in History: 15 September 2020

 

15 September 1935

 

85 years ago, today, the Nuremberg race laws were imposed in Nazi Germany, stripping German Jews of their citizenship, thus reducing them to 'subjects' of the state. These laws became embedded in the German culture by government legislation, and so were much more radical than other Jewish discriminatory practises that were already in place. Jews were forbidden to marry 'Aryans' or engage in extramarital relations with them. Female Aryan servants under the age of 35 could also not be employed by a Jew. Buying food was now difficult for Jewish customers, as groceries, bakeries and dairies would not admit them.

 

Within the first year of Hitler's dictatorship, German Jews were already excluded from a range of offices and locations, such as journalism, radio, theatre and film. 'Jews Not Welcome' signs were also frequently seen on shop and hotel windows, as well as other public arenas. Although the Nuremberg Laws had a crippling economic and social impact on the Jewish community, the average German felt renewed hope and pride in their economy. Even most foreign and political leaders were tricked into thinking this was merely just a phase, and that Hitler, in the words of British Prime Minister Lloyd George, was a 'great man'.

 

Want to find out more about the Nuremberg Laws? Click here for more information, or here for more about the life of Jews in pre-war Germany.

September 3 - Britain and France Declare War on Germany

This Day in History: 3 September 2020

 

3 September 1939

 

81 years ago, today, Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler's German forces invaded Poland. Britain's response was initially no more than the dropping of 13 tons of anti-Nazi propaganda leaflets over Germany. The next day, however, they would begin to bomb German ships, suffering significant losses, but were working under orders simultaneously to not harm German civilians. The German military had no such restrictions. Two weeks later, France would begin an offensive against Germany's western border, but was weakened by a narrow window, enclosed by the borders of Luxembourg and Belgium. The Germans mined the passage and stalled the French offensive.

 

The first causality of Britain and France's declaration was not German, but instead the British ocean liner 'Athenia'. The ship was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and hostile. There were more than 1,100 passengers on board, 112 of whom lost their lives, and 28 of those were American. However, President Roosevelt remained unfazed by the tragedy, dashing German fears that the US might join the war on the side of Britain and France. An admission of responsibility did not come from German authorities until 1946.

 

Want to find out more about Britain and France's declaration of war? Click here for more information, or here for more about the sinking of 'Athenia'.