April 1939

April 1, 1939 (Saturday)

April 2, 1939 (Sunday)

April 3, 1939 (Monday)

  • Hitler gave a top secret directive to the military code-named Case White, ordering the preparation of military operations against Poland for any time from September 1 forward.[2]
  • Folketing elections were held in Denmark. The Social Democrats lost 4 seats but maintained their majority.
  • Died: Walery Sławek, 59, Polish military officer and politician (suicide)

April 4, 1939 (Tuesday)

April 5, 1939 (Wednesday)

April 6, 1939 (Thursday)

  • Britain and France agreed on a mutual assistance pact with Poland, pledging to come to Poland's aid in the event of a German attack.[8]
  • The Albanian government rejected Italy's ultimatum.[5]

April 7, 1939 (Friday)

April 8, 1939 (Saturday)

April 9, 1939 (Sunday)

April 10, 1939 (Monday)

  • The Italian army completed the occupation of Albania.[5]
  • Dutch troops were sent to their border with Germany.[7]
  • Born: Claudio Magris, scholar, translator and writer, in Trieste, Italy
  • Died: Peter Patton, 63, English ice hockey player and administrator

April 11, 1939 (Tuesday)

April 12, 1939 (Wednesday)

April 13, 1939 (Thursday)

April 14, 1939 (Friday)

  • U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent Hitler a message asking, "Are you willing to give assurance that your armed forces will not attack or invade the territory or possessions of the following independent nations?" Thirty-one countries were then listed. "If such assurance is given by your Government, I shall immediately transmit it to the Governments of the nations I have named, and I shall simultaneously inquire whether, as I am reasonably sure, each of the nations enumerated above will in turn give like assurance for transmission to you. Reciprocal assurances such as I have outlined will bring to the world an immediate measure of relief." A similar message was also sent to Benito Mussolini, who referred to the letter in private as "absurd" but never made a public reply. Roosevelt did not expect anything substantial to come out of the message, but sent it with the intention of demonstrating to the world an important issue between democracies and dictatorships.[15][16]
  • The John Steinbeck novel The Grapes of Wrath was published.

April 15, 1939 (Saturday)

April 16, 1939 (Sunday)

April 17, 1939 (Monday)

April 18, 1939 (Tuesday)

  • Neville Chamberlain vowed to go to the aid of the Netherlands, Denmark or Switzerland if they were attacked.[7]
  • Slovakia approved its first antisemitic legislation.[21]
  • The French ocean liner SS Paris caught fire and sank in Le Havre.

April 19, 1939 (Wednesday)

April 20, 1939 (Thursday)

April 21, 1939 (Friday)

April 22, 1939 (Saturday)

April 23, 1939 (Sunday)

April 24, 1939 (Monday)

  • Bolivian President Germán Busch announced the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and assumed dictatorial powers.[27]

April 25, 1939 (Tuesday)

April 26, 1939 (Wednesday)

April 27, 1939 (Thursday)

April 28, 1939 (Friday)

  • Hitler made a speech to the Reichstag renouncing the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact, yet offered to negotiate new non-aggression pacts with any nations that asked for them.[32] Hitler evoked laughter in the Reichstag by reciting, in exaggerated and sarcastic tones, the thirty-one countries that President Roosevelt had listed in the telegram of two weeks earlier.[33]

April 29, 1939 (Saturday)

April 30, 1939 (Sunday)

  • The 1939 New York World's Fair opened. NBC inaugurated its first television broadcast with coverage of President Roosevelt at the event.[5]
  • Baseball's "Iron Man", Lou Gehrig, plays his 2,130th consecutive game with the New York Yankees. This was also his final game ever played; suffering from ALS, Gehrig took himself out of the starting lineup in the next game three days later. He remained on the Yankees as team captain for the rest of the season.

References

  1. Edwards, Willard (April 2, 1939). "U. S. Recognizes Government of Franco in Spain". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3.
  2. Shirer, William L. (2011). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 467–468. ISBN 978-1-4516-5168-3.
  3. Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931–1940. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 522. ISBN 0-520-07908-6.
  4. Brewer, Sam (April 3, 1939). "Madrid Hails 'Day of Peace'; Troops Parade". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  5. "1939". MusicAndHistory. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  6. Taylor, Edmond (April 6, 1939). "LeBrun Elected to Second Term; Left Wing Howls". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3.
  7. Mercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 509. ISBN 978-0-582-03919-3.
  8. "Chronology 1939". indiana.edu. 2002. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  9. "Queen Flees to Greece with 2 Day Old Baby". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 8, 1939. p. 1.
  10. "Zog Joins Queen and Baby Prince in Greek Exile". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 9, 1939. p. 4.
  11. Small, Alex (April 13, 1939). "Chief Avenges Zog's Wrong to His Daughter". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  12. Lemkin, Raphael (2005). Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. Clark, New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-58477-901-8.
  13. "Slovakia Promises Solution of Jewish Problem on Reich Model". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. April 13, 1939. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  14. Darrah, David (April 14, 1939). "Chamberlain Assails Duce's Albanian Coup". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  15. Peters, Gerbhard; Woolley, John T. "Press Conference – April 5, 1939". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  16. Black, Conrad (2003). Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom. PublicAffairs. p. 516. ISBN 978-1-61039-213-6.
  17. "Rumania Moves Its Troops from Hungarian Line". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 16, 1939. p. 8.
  18. "Events of Monday, April 17, 1939". Retrosheet. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  19. "1939". Dressed to the Nines: A History of the Baseball Uniform. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  20. "Louis Knocks Out Roper in First Round". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 18, 1939. p. 1.
  21. Cymet, David (2010). History vs. Apologetics: The Holocaust, the Third Reich, and the Catholic Church. Plymouth: Lexington Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-7391-3295-1.
  22. Schultz, Sigrid (April 19, 1939). "Hitler Takes Step to Win Turkey". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  23. "Slovakia Bans Jews in Journalism, Sets 4% Limit for Lawyers". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. April 20, 1939. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  24. "Boston Marathon Yearly Synopses (1897–2013)". John Hancock Financial. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  25. "Ted Williams 1939 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  26. "Franco Gives Property Back to Exiled King". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 24, 1939. p. 1.
  27. "Chief of Bolivia Turns Dictator; Shuts Assembly". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 25, 1939. p. 6.
  28. "New British Budget". The Daily Advertiser. Wagga Wagga: 4. April 27, 1939.
  29. Herf, Jeffrey (2009). Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World. Yale University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-300-15583-9.
  30. Darrah, David (April 27, 1939). "England Drafts Boys of 20 For Army Training". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 2.
  31. "Britain's Army Draft is Voted by Parliament". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 28, 1939. p. 1.
  32. Schultz, Sigrid (April 29, 1939). "Berlin Speech Leaves Europe With a Puzzle". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  33. Bailey, Thomas Andrew; Rayan, Paul B. (1979). Hitler versus Roosevelt: The Undeclared Naval War. The Free Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-02-901270-3.
  34. Dunnett, Jane. "The Rhetoric of Romanità: Representations of Caesar in Fascist Theatre". Julius Caesar in Western Culture. Ed. Maria Wyke. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4051-5471-0.
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