Politics
Category
(273)1910
1917
1918
October
- 28
- The Aster RevolutionOn 28 October 1918 police fired on demonstrators at the Chain Bridge in Budapest. Three days later Mihály Károlyi took power in Hungary.
- The German Revolution beginsOn 28 October 1918 Germany became a parliamentary monarchy while its admirals readied the fleet for a last battle. A sailors' revolt set off a revolution.
1919
January
March
August
September
- 12
- D'Annunzio seizes FiumeOn 12 September 1919 the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio led mutinous soldiers and volunteers into Fiume and proclaimed its union with Italy in defiance of Rome.
- Key eventHitler at a German Workers' Party meetingOn 12 September 1919 Gefreiter Adolf Hitler, sent by Reichswehr propagandists, attended a meeting of Munich's tiny DAP. He soon joined it.
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1930
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
January
March
August
September
- 01
- Germany annexes the Free City of DanzigOn 1 September 1939 Albert Forster proclaimed the Free City of Danzig part of the Reich, and the Reichstag confirmed it by law. Arrests of Poles began.
- Hitler’s Reichstag speechOn 1 September 1939 Hitler told the Reichstag at the Kroll Opera House that since 5.45 Germany had been “returning fire”. He cast the war as self-defence.
- Britain prepares for warOn 1 September 1939 Britain ordered mobilisation, the blackout and the evacuation of its cities. A population register and a Ministry of Food followed.
- 03
- Chamberlain’s War CabinetOn 3 September 1939 Chamberlain formed a nine-man War Cabinet with Churchill at the Admiralty, conscription for men aged 18–41 began and Gort took over the BEF.
- India, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland at warOn 3 September 1939 the Viceroy declared India at war without consulting Indians. Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland also entered the war that day.
October
- 26
- Key eventThe annexation of Polish lands and the General GovernmentOn 26 October 1939 Hitler’s decrees took effect. Western Poland was annexed to the Reich and central Poland became Hans Frank’s General Government.
- Tiso becomes President of SlovakiaOn 26 October 1939 the Bratislava parliament unanimously elected the priest Jozef Tiso President of Slovakia. The next day Vojtech Tuka became Prime Minister.
November
- 22
- Hodža’s Slovak National CouncilOn 22 November 1939 Milan Hodža founded the Slovak National Council in Paris, a rival to Beneš’s Committee, which France had just recognised.
- The Polish government moves to AngersIn November 1939 Sikorski’s government moved from Paris to Angers on the Loire, where it got an extraterritorial seat. It reached London only in June 1940.
December
1940
February
March
April
May
- 13
- Queen Wilhelmina in LondonOn 13 May 1940 Queen Wilhelmina left the Netherlands aboard HMS Hereward and reached England. The de Geer government followed her the same day.
- “Blood, toil, tears and sweat”On 13 May 1940, in his first speech as prime minister, Churchill offered the Commons “blood, toil, tears and sweat”. The House backed him by 381 votes.
June
- 10
- Key eventItaly declares war on France and BritainOn 10 June 1940 Mussolini declared war on France and Britain as the French army was already collapsing. Roosevelt called it a stab in the back.
- The French government leaves ParisOn 10 June 1940 the French government left Paris for châteaux along the Loire. After talks with Churchill at Briare and Tours it reached Bordeaux on 14 June.
July
August
September
October
November
December
1941
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
- 18
- The arrest of Richard SorgeOn 18 October 1941 Japanese police in Tokyo arrested Richard Sorge, the Soviet spy who for a month had been reporting that Japan would not attack the USSR.
- Key eventHideki Tōjō becomes Prime MinisterOn 18 October 1941 General Hideki Tōjō, the War Minister who had refused to withdraw troops from China, became Prime Minister of Japan after Konoe resigned.
November
December
1942
January
February
- 19
- Executive Order 9066On 19 February 1942 Roosevelt authorised the army to create exclusion zones, the basis for the incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast.
- Conscription in CanadaIn February 1942 Ottawa argued over a plebiscite to release King's government from its pledge not to send conscripts overseas. No conscription act was passed.
April
May
June
July
August
September
November
- 10
- Darlan and the armistice in North AfricaOn 10 November 1942 Admiral Darlan, under pressure from General Clark, ordered the Vichy forces in North Africa to stop fighting. Oran surrendered the same day.
- “The end of the beginning”On 10 November 1942 Churchill called El Alamein “the end of the beginning”. Montgomery was knighted and made a full general; on 15 November the bells rang.
December
1943
1944
January
February
March
April
June
July
August
September
- 09
- De Gaulle's government of national unityOn 9 September 1944 de Gaulle recast the Provisional Government as a “national unity” cabinet of Resistance leaders, communists and Bidault at foreign affairs.
- The Fatherland Front coup in BulgariaOn the night of 8/9 September 1944 Zveno officers and communists seized power in Sofia under Kimon Georgiev. The Red Army entered on 15–16 September.