On Monday, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Yesterday he gave his first radio address to the nation.
Today, delegates from 60 countries convened in Geneva to discuss reductions in armaments, especially offensive weapons.
Yesterday Adolf Hitler said:
Great as is our love for our Army as the bearer of our arms and the symbol of our great past, we should be happy if the world, by reducing its armaments, would see to it that we need never increase our own…
At the Geneva Conference, Germany will claim the right immediately to increase their armaments to equal levels with other European countries.
Eventually, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald of Britain will introduce a plan under which European armies would be cut by almost 500,000 men; France and Germany would have equal military strength. The U.S. will support this plan.
However, the Germans demand that Storm Troopers not be counted as soldiers. This is a deal-breaker.
The conference lapses from June until October. Finally an offer comes from Britain, France, Italy and the United States not to increase armaments for 4 years; at the end of 4 years, Germany would have the right to rearm itself up to the same level as the others.
The Germans, however, insist on immediate parity in "defensive weapons." On Oct. 23, Germany announces withdrawal from the Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations.
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Elsewhere today, in Nicaragua, where U.S. troops were withdrawn a month ago, the government signed a cease-fire agreement that gave amnesty to Augusto Sandino and his rebel Sandinistas.
Sandino will survive for only a little more than a year before being assassinated by National Guard forces under Anastacio Somoza Garcia.
Somoza Garcia will go on to become President and will establish a dictatorship and family dynasty controlling Nicaragua for more than 40 years.
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A note concerning media coverage of Hitler: today I happened across an interesting paper by UCSB student David Rabie: www.history.ucsb.edu/…
Rabie examined New York Times and Wall Street Journal coverage of the dictator’s rise.
Extract:
“Before he was appointed chancellor [Jan. 30, 1933], the U.S. media devoted little attention to Hitler. Their coverage of German affairs, and in particular the Nazis, was not detailed, especially when it came to Hitler.
“Between January 1933 and the end of February 1933, the media coverage of Hitler expanded enormously as his fortunes changed by becoming chancellor and then seizing a majority in the Reichstag. The change in coverage is most clearly seen towards the end of January and then again towards the end of February…. The media was not overly critical of Hitler, nor was it very thorough in its reporting.”
For the complete paper, see the link.
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Sources for this diary include:
indiana.edu/...
www.wdl.org/…
And as always, the redoubtable Wikipedia.
This is the fourth in a series of “On this day in 1933” diaries that someone suggested. I claim no expertise.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
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More on DKos:
Diary from earlier today (now topping the Rec List): "I am German, we have seen this before"
Another DKos diary today, bringing up 1933, and specifically, Nazi negotiating tactics.
Yesterday’s “On this day” diary, Hitler’s address to the nation, Wed., Feb. 1, 1933.