Hermann Göring was presented with a
field marshal's baton by
Adolf Hitler, who made the gesture to placate Göring for not giving him any new cabinet positions in last month's shake-up.[1]
20,000 Nazis marched in
Graz, Austria in defiance of government attempts to stop them.[2]
The special court trial against
Martin Niemöller ended in Germany. He was cleared of the most serious charge against him, that of treason against the state, but was convicted of "endangering public security, exploiting the pulpit and incitement to resistance against the government". Niemöller was freed on time served but the
Gestapo immediately took him back into "protective custody".[3][4]
The German Ministry of the Interior said that
Martin Niemöller was still being held because the pastor "was determined to carry on agitation against the state, thereby endangering peace and order."[6]
The new United States Ambassador to Germany
Hugh R. Wilson presented his credentials to Hitler.[7]
Former U.S. President
Herbert Hoover visited
Adolf Hitler at the Chancellory in Berlin. Their hour-long conversation on issues such as housing, employment and agriculture was reportedly courteous.[12]
Hitler ordered his generals to prepare for an invasion of Austria. No such military plans existed yet and the General Staff scrambled to draw some up.[13]
Germany mobilized along the Austrian border threatening to invade. Chancellor
Kurt Schuschnigg resigned over the radio and explained that the Austrian military had been instructed not to resist. Schuschnigg signed off with, "I say goodbye with the heartfelt wish that God will protect Austria."[15][16]
Anschluss: The German army crossed the Austrian border at 8:00 a.m.; Hitler's convoy arrived later that day.[17] Arrests of thousands of potential opponents of the Nazis began.[15]
The new Austrian Chancellor
Arthur Seyss-Inquart proclaimed the Anschluss annexing the country to Germany. President
Wilhelm Miklas refused to sign the document and resigned.[15]
British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain made a speech in the House of Commons on the Austrian situation, saying the government "emphatically" disapproved of Germany's deed but that "nothing could have prevented this action by Germany unless we and others with us had been prepared to use force to prevent it."[21]
Hitler made a speech from the balcony of the
Hofburg Palace overlooking the
Heldenplatz, utilizing a symbol of the
Habsburg monarchy to present himself as a continuation of leadership going back to the time of the
Holy Roman Empire, or First Reich.[23]
Hitler gave a speech to the
Reichstag calling for new elections on April 10 as well as
a referendum to approve the Anschluss.[26]
The
Bombing of Barcelona severely damaged the city and left as many as 1,300 people dead.
Mexican President
Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the assets of 17 foreign oil companies. The U.S. and British governments protested the policy but the Mexican public widely supported it.[11][15]
Lithuania capitulated to Poland's March 17 ultimatum. A spontaneous celebration in the streets of
Warsaw turned into
antisemitic rioting in which 2 people were killed and the windows of many Jewish shops were smashed.[29]
Thousands of demonstrators marched in London to protest the
Bombing of Barcelona and the Chamberlain government's refusal to allow arms to the
Republicans.[30]
61 American bishops of the
Episcopal and
Methodist churches publicized an open letter to the
Catholic clergy of the United States, asking them to "bring the might of your influence to bear on Gen.
Francisco Franco to halt bombing of civilians in Spain."[31]
The
Swiss Federal Assembly approved a government declaration that any violation of Swiss neutrality would be opposed by "an unshakeable, unanimous determination to defend independence to the last drop of blood."[32]
The
Farmers' League was compelled by the Nazis to withdraw its representative from the Czechoslovakian cabinet and place itself under the direction of the
Sudeten German Party.[33]
20th Century Fox's lawsuit against the magazine Night and Day for editor
Graham Greene's infamous review of the
Shirley Temple movie Wee Willie Winkie went to trial in Britain (Greene was in Mexico and not present). The judge awarded £3,500 in punitive damages and essentially put the magazine out of business.[35][36][37]
Neville Chamberlain called upon the
Trades Union Congress and asked for their help in speeding up Britain's arms production. Plans included the introduction of day and night shifts in munitions factories and hiring an additional 100,000 semi-skilled workers.[38]
Neville Chamberlain made an important foreign policy speech in the House of Commons, saying Britain would fight for France and Belgium if they were attacked but making no such guarantee for Czechoslovakia.[2]
In order to bring the flood of refugees from Austria under control, the
Swiss Federal Council required holders of Austrian passports to have visas.[41]
The U.S. government demanded that Mexico pay fair compensation for the losses of American oil companies after the Mexican government took over their property.[11]
Benito Mussolini gave a senate speech broadcast around the world warning that "Italy's land, sea and air forces are tuned for rapid and implacable war."[45]
^
abMacDonogh, Giles (2009). 1938: Hitler's Gamble. Basic Books. pp. 31–35.
ISBN978-0-465-02205-2.
^
abcMercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. pp. 493–494.
ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^Thomsett, Michael C. (1997). The German Opposition to Hitler: The Resistance, the Underground, and Assassination Plots, 1938–1945. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 64.
ISBN978-0-7864-0372-1.
^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. 1064.
ISBN0-520-07908-6.
^
abcde"1938". MusicAndHistory. Archived from
the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^"'I Yield to Force,' Austria is Told by Schuschnigg". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 12, 1938. p. 2.
^Fellner, Fritz; Wagenleitner, Reinhold F.
"Anschluss and World War Two". Britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
^Cortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 511.
ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^"18 Sentenced to Death for Soviet Treason". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 13, 1938. p. 1.
^Blitstein, Peter A. "Nation-Building or Russification? Obligatory Russian Instruction in the Soviet Non-Russian School, 1938–1953. A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-Making in the Age of Lenin and Stalin. Ed. Ronald Grigor Suny and Terry Martin. Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 253.
ISBN978-0-19-534935-1.
^Hayes, Peter (2015). How Was It Possible?: A Holocaust Reader. University of Nebraska Press. p. 219.
ISBN978-0-8032-7491-4.
^Cymet, David (2010). History vs. Apologetics: The Holocaust, the Third Reich, and the Catholic Church. Plymouth: Lexington Books. p. 132.
ISBN978-0-7391-3295-1.
Hermann Göring was presented with a
field marshal's baton by
Adolf Hitler, who made the gesture to placate Göring for not giving him any new cabinet positions in last month's shake-up.[1]
20,000 Nazis marched in
Graz, Austria in defiance of government attempts to stop them.[2]
The special court trial against
Martin Niemöller ended in Germany. He was cleared of the most serious charge against him, that of treason against the state, but was convicted of "endangering public security, exploiting the pulpit and incitement to resistance against the government". Niemöller was freed on time served but the
Gestapo immediately took him back into "protective custody".[3][4]
The German Ministry of the Interior said that
Martin Niemöller was still being held because the pastor "was determined to carry on agitation against the state, thereby endangering peace and order."[6]
The new United States Ambassador to Germany
Hugh R. Wilson presented his credentials to Hitler.[7]
Former U.S. President
Herbert Hoover visited
Adolf Hitler at the Chancellory in Berlin. Their hour-long conversation on issues such as housing, employment and agriculture was reportedly courteous.[12]
Hitler ordered his generals to prepare for an invasion of Austria. No such military plans existed yet and the General Staff scrambled to draw some up.[13]
Germany mobilized along the Austrian border threatening to invade. Chancellor
Kurt Schuschnigg resigned over the radio and explained that the Austrian military had been instructed not to resist. Schuschnigg signed off with, "I say goodbye with the heartfelt wish that God will protect Austria."[15][16]
Anschluss: The German army crossed the Austrian border at 8:00 a.m.; Hitler's convoy arrived later that day.[17] Arrests of thousands of potential opponents of the Nazis began.[15]
The new Austrian Chancellor
Arthur Seyss-Inquart proclaimed the Anschluss annexing the country to Germany. President
Wilhelm Miklas refused to sign the document and resigned.[15]
British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain made a speech in the House of Commons on the Austrian situation, saying the government "emphatically" disapproved of Germany's deed but that "nothing could have prevented this action by Germany unless we and others with us had been prepared to use force to prevent it."[21]
Hitler made a speech from the balcony of the
Hofburg Palace overlooking the
Heldenplatz, utilizing a symbol of the
Habsburg monarchy to present himself as a continuation of leadership going back to the time of the
Holy Roman Empire, or First Reich.[23]
Hitler gave a speech to the
Reichstag calling for new elections on April 10 as well as
a referendum to approve the Anschluss.[26]
The
Bombing of Barcelona severely damaged the city and left as many as 1,300 people dead.
Mexican President
Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the assets of 17 foreign oil companies. The U.S. and British governments protested the policy but the Mexican public widely supported it.[11][15]
Lithuania capitulated to Poland's March 17 ultimatum. A spontaneous celebration in the streets of
Warsaw turned into
antisemitic rioting in which 2 people were killed and the windows of many Jewish shops were smashed.[29]
Thousands of demonstrators marched in London to protest the
Bombing of Barcelona and the Chamberlain government's refusal to allow arms to the
Republicans.[30]
61 American bishops of the
Episcopal and
Methodist churches publicized an open letter to the
Catholic clergy of the United States, asking them to "bring the might of your influence to bear on Gen.
Francisco Franco to halt bombing of civilians in Spain."[31]
The
Swiss Federal Assembly approved a government declaration that any violation of Swiss neutrality would be opposed by "an unshakeable, unanimous determination to defend independence to the last drop of blood."[32]
The
Farmers' League was compelled by the Nazis to withdraw its representative from the Czechoslovakian cabinet and place itself under the direction of the
Sudeten German Party.[33]
20th Century Fox's lawsuit against the magazine Night and Day for editor
Graham Greene's infamous review of the
Shirley Temple movie Wee Willie Winkie went to trial in Britain (Greene was in Mexico and not present). The judge awarded £3,500 in punitive damages and essentially put the magazine out of business.[35][36][37]
Neville Chamberlain called upon the
Trades Union Congress and asked for their help in speeding up Britain's arms production. Plans included the introduction of day and night shifts in munitions factories and hiring an additional 100,000 semi-skilled workers.[38]
Neville Chamberlain made an important foreign policy speech in the House of Commons, saying Britain would fight for France and Belgium if they were attacked but making no such guarantee for Czechoslovakia.[2]
In order to bring the flood of refugees from Austria under control, the
Swiss Federal Council required holders of Austrian passports to have visas.[41]
The U.S. government demanded that Mexico pay fair compensation for the losses of American oil companies after the Mexican government took over their property.[11]
Benito Mussolini gave a senate speech broadcast around the world warning that "Italy's land, sea and air forces are tuned for rapid and implacable war."[45]
^
abMacDonogh, Giles (2009). 1938: Hitler's Gamble. Basic Books. pp. 31–35.
ISBN978-0-465-02205-2.
^
abcMercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. pp. 493–494.
ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^Thomsett, Michael C. (1997). The German Opposition to Hitler: The Resistance, the Underground, and Assassination Plots, 1938–1945. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 64.
ISBN978-0-7864-0372-1.
^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. 1064.
ISBN0-520-07908-6.
^
abcde"1938". MusicAndHistory. Archived from
the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^"'I Yield to Force,' Austria is Told by Schuschnigg". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 12, 1938. p. 2.
^Fellner, Fritz; Wagenleitner, Reinhold F.
"Anschluss and World War Two". Britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
^Cortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 511.
ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^"18 Sentenced to Death for Soviet Treason". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 13, 1938. p. 1.
^Blitstein, Peter A. "Nation-Building or Russification? Obligatory Russian Instruction in the Soviet Non-Russian School, 1938–1953. A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-Making in the Age of Lenin and Stalin. Ed. Ronald Grigor Suny and Terry Martin. Oxford University Press, 2001. p. 253.
ISBN978-0-19-534935-1.
^Hayes, Peter (2015). How Was It Possible?: A Holocaust Reader. University of Nebraska Press. p. 219.
ISBN978-0-8032-7491-4.
^Cymet, David (2010). History vs. Apologetics: The Holocaust, the Third Reich, and the Catholic Church. Plymouth: Lexington Books. p. 132.
ISBN978-0-7391-3295-1.