In 1933, many socially significant events took place not only in our country, but throughout the world. The focus has traditionally been on the Soviet Union, the United States of America and Germany. Read more about the most significant moments of the year in this article.
Hitler comes to power
It was in 1933 that Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. On January 30, he was appointed Reich Chancellor.
Six months earlier, the Reichstag was dissolved in the country. New elections were held, in which the NSDAP won a landslide victory, receiving almost 38% of the vote. In the Reichstag, representatives of this party increased their number to 230 deputies (previously there were 143). The second in the parliament were the Social Democrats, who received 133 seats.
After this, another election took place, in which the NSDAP lost about two million votes. As a result, Kurt von Schleicher became Chancellor. But two months later, at the very beginning of 1933, the German president relieved him of his post. It was he who appointed Hitler the Reich Chancellor.
True, then the future Fuhrer did not receive all the power. After all, only the Reichstag could pass laws anyway, while Hitler’s supporters did not have a majority. In addition, inside the party itself there was a powerful opposition to Hitler, in addition, the president was the actual head of state at that time, and the Reich Chancellor served as head of the cabinet.
However, literally over the next year and a half, Hitler eliminated all these obstacles, becoming an absolute dictator. But already in 1933, the attention of the entire world community was riveted to Germany.
Roosevelt Attempt
It is known that the leaders of the most famous democracy in the world have repeatedly been exposed to mortal danger. 1933 was no exception. In America, an attempt was made on President Franklin Roosevelt.
Politics attacked the unemployed Giuseppe Dzangara. He arrived at Bayfront Park in Miami, where Roosevelt and the mayor of Chicago, Anton Chermak, performed. He carried a 32 caliber pistol with him.
When the motorcade arrived and the car door opened, Dzangara, who was in the crowd meeting the politicians, shot towards the presidential limousine, but hit Chermaku’s stomach.
He was immediately seized by the hand of Lilian Cross, who was nearby, the criminal tried to free himself by firing 4 more times, easily injuring four journalists. Finally, the police arrived, who detained him. Three weeks later, Chermak died of peritonitis, but Roosevelt was not injured.
The true motives of Dzangara are unknown. It is believed that he worked for the mafia boss Frank Nitti, who was interrupted by the mayor of Chicago. There is even a version that Chermak was the killer’s only target. According to the official version, he attempted to assassinate Roosevelt due to a mental disorder.
Already in March, Dzangaru was executed by electric chair. Newspapers around the world wrote about the United States in 1933.
The creation of the Gestapo
In Germany, meanwhile, Hitler continued to strengthen his authoritarian regime. The Gestapo was created on April 26th. This is the political police of the Third Reich, which lasted until 1945.
In fact, the Gestapo was engaged in the persecution of opposition and dissidents, anyone who was dissatisfied with Hitler's rule. It was part of the Ministry of the Interior. The Gestapo had the broadest powers for pursuing a punitive policy; it became one of the strongholds of the Nazi regime. After the outbreak of World War II, it operated not only in Germany, but also in the occupied territories.
The Gestapo investigated any activity that might be hostile to the existing regime; its employees had the right to send suspects to prison or concentration camps without a court order.
The international military tribunal, which investigated the crimes of the Nazi regime, recognized the Gestapo as a criminal organization that organized atrocities and killings in concentration camps, persecuted Jews. All members of the Gestapo, who held senior positions, were declared criminals.
Chak war
The tense atmosphere reigned that year in South America. Between Paraguay and Bolivia, the Chak war broke out. The aim of the armed conflict was the possession of the Gran Chaco region, which was believed to have large oil reserves. It really was confirmed, but only in 2012. This war became the bloodiest in South America in the 20th century.
The Battle of Boqueron, in which the air forces of both countries took part, was one of the main ones. The war actually lasted until 1935.
Bolivia lost 60 thousand people dead and missing, more than 23 thousand people were captured. From Paraguay, 31.5 thousand people died or disappeared, and two and a half thousand troops were captured.
It is noteworthy that the conflict was finally settled only in 2009, when the presidents of the two warring countries in Buenos Aires signed an agreement on the final settlement of borders in the Chak region.
Opening of the White Sea Canal
The year 1933 in the USSR was marked by important events in the development of industry and in the transport sector of the state economy. On August 2, the White Sea-Baltic Canal was inaugurated, which connected Lake Onega with the Baltic Sea.
He became one of the achievements of the first five-year plans, but at the same time he was not one of the “great constructions of communism”.
Peter I dreamed about the appearance of this channel, but then the project was never realized. The opening of the White Sea Canal was widely covered in the press, by Soviet propaganda it was presented as the first successful experience of re-educating the political enemies of the regime and the repeat offenders who were involved in the construction.
The Belomorkanal was even visited by a group of artists and writers led by Maxim Gorky.
Plane crash near Podolsk
On September 5, 1933, the ANT-7 plane crashed in Russia. He crashed near Podolsk. Eight people became victims. Among them were the leaders of civil and industrial aviation. Therefore, the tragedy received a wide public outcry. As a result, air traffic in the Soviet Union was almost completely reorganized.
In bad weather conditions, the plane took off from Moscow. After about 20 minutes, passing at a low altitude, he hooked the racks of his chassis on the wire of an amateur radio antenna, losing speed, the plane began to fall. As a result, crashed into a willow, and then into the ground. The aircraft was completely destroyed. All 8 people on board died.
It is still unknown why the pilot flew so low. Some believe that he lacked experience, others that the plane was heavily overloaded and simply did not manage to gain altitude. The commission, which conducted an official investigation, concluded that due to the lack of equipment for blind flights, the pilot had to fly low so as not to lose sight of the land. This led to a collision.
After the disaster, the Soviet aircraft industry and civil aviation were virtually decapitated. After that, Stalin approved a list of leaders who were forbidden to fly without a special order.
Also after this disaster, a pilot qualification test was introduced in the USSR, which began to be carried out annually. An Air Code was created, and aircraft were required to install equipment for flying instrumentation.
Famine in the USSR
In 1932-1933, a real famine reigned in the USSR. This is one of the main events of these two years. At the same time, it was carefully hiding from the public. First of all, mass famine swept the territory of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the North Caucasus, the South Urals, Western Siberia, the Volga region, as well as the region of the Central Chernozem Region.
The famine of 1933 led to a large number of victims. According to various estimates, from two to eight million people died.
According to historians, in some regions, for example, in the Volga region, famine was caused artificially due to forced Stalin grain procurements. In addition, mass collectivization played a role.
After dispossessing, the villages were greatly weakened. The so-called individual farmers seized bread stocks. Under the threat of reprisals, the collective farm leadership obliged them to hand over almost all the bread they managed to grow. This led to depletion of food supplies and to hunger.
Only in April 1933 did the Soviet leadership decide to stop the export of grain due to falling prices. This was caused by the Great Depression. The main grain districts of the Soviet Union, which found themselves in the most distressed situation, were allocated seed and food loans.
Hitler's Strengthening Power
The Emergency Powers Act 1933 further strengthened Hitler’s power at the head of the Nazi state. He was accepted by the Reichstag under the pressure of the NSDAP.
As a result, all civil liberties were effectively abolished; the government, led by the Reich Chancellor, received special emergency powers. It is believed that this was the final stage of the seizure of power in Germany by the National Socialists.
The first attack in commercial aviation
That's what historians call the plane crash that happened at Chesterton on October 10th. The American Boeing crashed, flying from Newark to Auckland. He exploded en route. On board were 3 crew members and 4 passengers. The explosive device worked in the luggage compartment, it was equipped with a clockwork. This is the first proven terrorist attack in commercial aviation history.
All people on board died. Forensic scientists have come to the conclusion that the crash occurred precisely because of a bomb with nitroglycerin.
Cubes of catfish
Standing apart in 1933 was the invention of catfish cubes - an entertaining puzzle that consists of seven figures. They are stacked in an equilateral cube.
It was invented by the Danish Pete Hein during a lecture by Werner Heisenberg on quantum mechanics. It is interesting that he borrowed the name for his invention from Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World,” in which the drug was called.