Tragedy and Hope

Carroll Quigley

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Cuban Missile Crisis marks Cold War peak pp. 11-13
the Cold War, which culminated in the Cuban crisis of October 1962, began to dwindle toward its end during the next two years
Oceanic pressure of the West on Asia, 1498 to 1956 pp. 21-23
The Oceanic pressure began with Vasco da Gama in India in 1498, culminated aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay in 1945, and still co…
Germany conquers core of Western Civilization by 1942 pp. 21-23
by 1942 a semi-peripheral state, Germany, had conquered much of the core of the civilization.
The horse reaches the Plains Indians, 1543 pp. 24-26
The Plains Indians, for example, were weak and impoverished before 1543, but in that year the horse began to diffuse northward from the Span…
US transcontinental railroad opens, 1869 pp. 27-29
The transcontinental railroad in the United States opened in 1869
Soviet forced industrialization, 1926-1940 pp. 27-29
In the Soviet Union, especially, the high speed of industrialization in the period 1926-1940 was achieved by a merciless oppression of the r…
Japan's population surges, 1920-1960 pp. 30-33
Japan's population rose from 55 million in 1920 to 94 million in 1960.
Soviet Five-Year Plans begin, 1928 pp. 34-36
The most striking example of this preference for rural oppression over foreign indebtedness was made in the Soviet Union in 1928 with the op…
Prussia creates the German Empire, 1866-1871 pp. 40-42
With this rigid method Prussia created the German Empire by smashing Austria in 1866 and France in 1871.
Europe's mobilization triggers war, 1914 pp. 40-42
Thus, when the signal for mobilization was given in 1914 the states of Europe leaped at each other.
Marx formulates the class struggle, about 1850 pp. 43-46
It was on the basis of this development that Karl Marx, about 1850, formed his ideas of an inevitable class struggle
Founding of the Bank of England, 1694 pp. 54-56
the founding of the Bank of England by William Paterson and his friends in 1694 is one of the great dates in world history.
Watt's steam engine and the Industrial Revolution, 1776 pp. 54-56
the Industrial Revolution, which was equally well established there by 1776, when Watt patented his steam engine.
The Rothschild banking dynasty pp. 57-59
The greatest of these dynasties, of course, were the descendants of Meyer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812) of Frankfort
J. P. Morgan and Company's origins, 1838 pp. 57-59
J. P. Morgan and Company, originally founded in London as George Peabody and Company in 1838, was not incorporated until March 21, 1940
New York Federal Reserve Bank established, 1913 pp. 60-62
the central bank (the New York Federal Reserve Bank) was established late (1913) and became powerful much later
Rathenau on the men who direct Europe's economy, 1909 pp. 66-68
As early as 1909, Walter Rathenau, who was in a position to know (since he had inherited from his father control of the German General Elect…
Norman and Morgan atop the financial world, 1919-1931 pp. 66-68
the powers of these international bankers reached their peak in the last decade of their supremacy, 1919-1931, when Montagu Norman and J. P.…
Gladstone on leaving the Money Power supreme, 1852 pp. 66-68
In 1852 Gladstone, chancellor of the Exchequer, declared, "The hinge of the whole situation was this: the government itself was not to be a…
The world abandons the gold standard, 1929-1936 pp. 69-71
In the period of 1929-1936, the countries of the world went off gold because they preferred to bring their international balances toward equ…
Britain's overseas investment dominance, 1914 pp. 72-74
In 1914 British overseas investment was about $20 billion (or about one-quarter of Britain's national wealth, yielding about a tenth of the…
Pendleton civil service reform, 1883 pp. 75-77
It was with this aim in view that civil service reform began in the Federal government with the Pendleton Bill of 1883.
Rise of the American billion-dollar corporations pp. 75-77
the number of billion-dollar corporations rose from one in 1909 (United States Steel, controlled by Morgan) to fifteen in 1930.
Sinking of the Maine and the Spanish-American War, 1898 pp. 78-80
They got the excuse they needed when the American battleship Maine was sunk by a mysterious explosion in Havana harbor in February 1898.
Woodrow Wilson wins the presidency, 1912 pp. 78-80
the combined forces of the liberal East and the agrarian West were able to capture the Presidency under Woodrow Wilson in 1912.
Russia mobilizes its people against Napoleon, 1812 pp. 84-86
The autocracy found, in 1812, that it could not defeat Napoleon's army without calling on the Russian people.
Council of Nicaea fixes Christian dogma, 325 pp. 84-86
but in the decisive battle, at the first Church Council, held at Nicaea in 325, the Christian point of view was enacted into the formal dogm…
Moscow's princes eject the Mongols, 1380 pp. 84-86
These continued to flow even after the princes of Moscow (1380) led the successful revolt which ejected the Mongols.
Peter and Catherine the Great as reformers pp. 87-89
Peter the Great (1689- 1725) and Catherine the Great (1762-1796) were supporters of westernization and reform.
Assassination of Tsar Alexander II, 1881 pp. 90-92
From this background came the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881, of King Humbert of Italy in 1900, of President McKinley in 1901
Liberation of the Russian serfs, 1863 pp. 90-92
As late as the liberation of the serfs in 1863, Russia was practically untouched by the industrial process
Trans-Siberian line draws Russia toward war with Japan pp. 90-92
This line, by permitting Russia to increase her political pressure in the Far East, brought Britain into an alliance with Japan (1902) and b…
Foreign-controlled iron and steel cartel in Russia, 1902 pp. 93-95
In 1902 a cartel created by a dozen iron and steel firms handled almost three-fourths of all Russian sales of these products. It was control…
Bloody Sunday at the Winter Palace, 1905 pp. 96-98
but when, in 1905, Gapon led a mass march of workers to the Winter Palace to present a petition to the czar, they were attacked by the troop…
Assassination of Prime Minister Stolypin, 1911 pp. 96-98
He was assassinated in the presence of the czar in 1911.
Murder of Rasputin, December 1916 pp. 96-98
This situation lasted until he was murdered in December 1916.
Omens of imperial decline: Adowa and the Boer War pp. 99-101
in 1896 the Italians were massacred by the Ethiopians at Adowa; in 1899-1902 the whole might of Britain was held in check by the small Boer…
Death of Tolstoy, 1910 pp. 99-101
Thus, as late as 1910 when Tolstoi died, Russia remained true to its Greek-Byzantine intellectual tradition.
Ottoman Empire at its peak, 1526-1533 pp. 102-104
The Ottoman Empire reached its peak in the period 1526-1533 with the conquest of Hungary and the first siege of Vienna.
Ottoman losses to the Habsburgs, 1699 pp. 102-104
As early as 1699 the sultan lost Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, and Slavonia to the Habsburgs, parts of the western Balkans to Venice, and…
Greek War of Independence, 1821-1830 pp. 105-107
A second example of Balkan nationalism appeared in the Greek struggle for independence from the sultan (1821-1830).
Crimean War and the Congress of Paris, 1854-1856 pp. 105-107
The first intervention led to the Crimean War (1854-1856) and the Congress of Paris (1856)
Treaty of Berlin, 1878 pp. 108-110
The Treaty of Berlin of 1878 was a disaster from almost every point of view because it left every state, except Austria, with its appetite w…
French protectorate over Tunis, 1881 pp. 108-110
France, which had been occupying Algeria since 1830, established a French protectorate over Tunis as well in 1881.
Berlin-to-Baghdad railway main line completed, 1918 pp. 111-113
the projected "Berlin to Bagdad" railway scheme which completed its main trunk line from the Austro-Hungarian border to Nusaybin in northern…
German-Russian Potsdam agreement on Persia, 1910 pp. 111-113
In November, 1910, a German-Russian agreement at Potsdam gave Russia a free hand in northern Persia, withdrew all Russian opposition to the…
Young Turk revolt restores the constitution, 1908 pp. 114-116
The plotters were so successful that they were able to revolt in July 1908, and force the sultan to reestablish the Constitution of 1876.
Defeat of the Spanish Armada secures British sea control, 1588 pp. 114-116
It had such control from the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 until the creation of new weapons based on air power in the period after 1…
Napoleon sells Louisiana to the United States, 1803 pp. 114-116
Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803 because his primary concern had to be his position on the Continent.
Leopold II's Congo and the scramble for Africa, 1876-1880 pp. 117-119
the efforts of King Leopold II of Belgium, using Henry Stanley, to obtain the Congo area as his own preserve in 1876-1880, started a contagi…
Diamonds and gold discovered in South Africa pp. 117-119
the discovery of diamonds (in 1869) and of gold (in 1886) in South Africa, especially in the Boer Transvaal Republic, intensified this fever…
Rhodes and Stead found a secret society, 1891 pp. 120-122
This association was formally established on February 5, 1891, when Rhodes and Stead organized a secret society of which Rhodes had been dre…
Founding of Chatham House and its US counterpart, 1919 pp. 120-122
In 1919 they founded the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) for which the chief financial supporters were Sir Abe Bail…
Disraeli buys Suez Canal shares, 1875 pp. 123-125
Disraeli's purchase, with Rothschild money, of 176,602 shares of Suez Canal stock for £3,680,000 from the Khedive of Egypt in 1875 was motiv…
Mahdist revolt and the fall of Khartoum, 1883 pp. 123-125
the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmed led a Sudanese revolt against Egyptian control in 1883, massacred a British force under General Charles ("Chinese")…
Battle of Omdurman, 1898 pp. 123-125
In 1898 a British force under (Lord) Kitchener, seeking to protect the Nile water supply of Egypt, fought its way southward against fanatica…
The Boer War, 1899-1902 pp. 126-128
The Boer War (1899-1902) was one of the most important events in British imperial history.
Anglo-Japanese alliance, 1902 pp. 126-128
Britain's confidence was so shaken that it made a treaty with Japan in the same year providing that if either signer became engaged in war w…
South African Land Act, 1913 pp. 126-128
By the Land Act of 1913 about 7 percent of the land area was reserved for future land purchases by natives and the other 93 percent for purc…
Revolution on the Rand, 1922 pp. 129-131
Efforts to reduce costs in the mines by increased use of native labor led to strikes and eventually to a revolution on the Rand (1922). Over…
Invention of the tank, 1915 pp. 132-134
These men included (Sir) Maurice (later Lord) Hankey and (Sir) Ernest Swinton (who invented the tank in 1915).
Dominion status for southern Ireland, 1921 pp. 132-134
appointed Curtis to the post of Adviser on Irish Affairs (where he played an important role in granting dominion status to southern Ireland…
Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster, 1931 pp. 135-137
This point of view was restated in the so-called Balfour Declaration of 1926 and was enacted into law as the Statute of Westminster in 1931.
Central African Federation created and dissolved pp. 135-137
that area was eventually federated, over native protests, in 1953, but this creation, the Central African Federation, broke up again in 1964…
The Great Mutiny ends the Mogul Empire and East India Company, 1857-1858 pp. 138-140
At this point, in 1857-1858, a sudden, violent insurrection of native forces, known as the Great Mutiny, resulted in the end of the Mogul Em…
Kenya White Paper, 1923 pp. 138-140
From this controversy came eventually a compromise, the famous Kenya White Paper of 1923, and the appointment of Sir Edward Grigg as governo…
India's modern postal, telegraph, and rail systems begin, 1854 pp. 141-143
The modern postal, telegraphic, and railroad systems all began in 1854.
Bubonic plague reaches Bombay, 1895 pp. 141-143
Bubonic plague was introduced to Bombay from China in 1895 and killed about two million persons in the next six years.
Indian famine of 1897 pp. 141-143
In 1897 the monsoon rains failed, with a loss of 18 million tons of food crops and of one million lives from famine.
Persian as India's official language until 1837 pp. 144-146
The language of government and of the courts was Persian until 1837.
Ram Mohan Roy founds Brahma Samaj Society (1828) pp. 144-146
One of the earliest figures in this growing synthesis of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam was Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), founder of the Bra…
Indian National Congress established (1885) pp. 147-149
sought to divert it into more legal and more constructive channels by establishing the Indian National Congress in 1885.
Morley-Minto Act of 1909 enlarges Indian councils pp. 147-149
A third act, of 1909, passed by the Liberal government with John (Lord) Morley as secretary of state and Lord Minto as viceroy, enlarged the…
Montagu Declaration on Indian self-government (Aug 20, 1917) pp. 147-149
A declaration to this effect was drawn up by Lord Milner and was issued on August 20, 1917, by Secretary of State for India Edwin S. Montagu…
Government of India Act of 1919 pp. 150-152
passed by Parliament (after substantial revision by a Joint Committee under Lord Selborne) and became the Government of India Act of 1919.
Union of South Africa intensifies Indian struggle (1910) pp. 150-152
The struggle was intensified after the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 because the Transvaal restrictions on Indians, which fo…
Gandhi-Smuts compromise in South Africa (1914) pp. 150-152
Finally, after much controversy, Gandhi and Smuts worked out an elaborate compromise agreement in 1914.
Rowlatt Act passed (March 1919) pp. 153-155
The conservative group pushed through the Rowlatt Act in March 1919.
Amritsar Massacre (April 13, 1919) pp. 153-155
He fired 1,650 bullets into a dense crowd packed in a square with inadequate exits, inflicting 1,516 casualties, of which 379 met death.
Gandhi launches mass civil disobedience (Feb 1, 1922) pp. 153-155
On February 1, 1922, Gandhi informed the viceroy that he was about to begin mass civil disobedience, in one district at a time, beginning in…
Easter Revolt in Ireland (1916) pp. 156-158
This so-called Easter Revolt of 1916 was crushed and its leaders executed, but discontent continued to simmer in Ireland, with violence only…
1918 Irish election returns Sinn Fein majority pp. 156-158
In the parliamentary election of 1918, Ireland elected 6 Nationalists (who wanted Home Rule for all Ireland), 73 Sinn Fein (who wanted an Ir…
Irish Free State created (December 1921) pp. 156-158
the Articles of Agreement of December, 1921, which gave Southern Ireland dominion status as the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland continuin…
Treaties of Nanking (1842) and Tientsin (1858) pp. 159-161
Britain imposed on China the treaties of Nanking (1842) and of Tientsin (1858). These forced China to cede Hong Kong to Britain and to open…
Sir Robert Hart heads Chinese customs (1863-1906) pp. 165-167
Sir Robert Hart was head of the Chinese customs from 1863 to 1906
Chinese famines of 1877-1879 pp. 165-167
Chinese population pressure was relieved to some extent in the last half of the nineteenth century by the famines of 1877-1879 (which killed…
Chinese imperial examinations abolished (1905) pp. 168-170
the system of imperial examinations based on the old literary scholarship for admission to the civil service and the mandarinate were abolis…
Discovery at Hankow precipitates 1911 revolution pp. 168-170
Discovery of the headquarters of the revolutionists at Hankow in 1911 precipitated the revolution.
Period of Chinese warlordism (1920-1941) pp. 168-170
The result was a period of "warlordism" from 1920 to 1941.
Foreign loan makes Yuan Shih-kai independent (1913) pp. 171-173
The chief support of his policies came from a £25 million loan from Britain, France, Russia, and Japan in 1913.
Commodore Perry's black ships reach Japan (1853) pp. 171-173
The Tokugawa Shogunate was already long past its prime when, in 1853, the "black ships" of Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay.
Western bombardments force Japan open (1863-1866) pp. 171-173
In 1863-1866 a series of naval demonstrations and bombardments of Japanese ports by Western Powers forced the opening of Japan and imposed o…
Meiji Restoration and last shogun resigns (1867) pp. 174-176
accepted the resignation of the last shogun (1867). Japan at once embarked on a policy of rapid Westernization.
Meiji Constitution drawn up (1889) pp. 174-176
the oligarchy in 1889 drew up a constitution which would assure, and yet conceal, their political domination of the country.
First Japanese Diet marked by intimidation (1889) pp. 174-176
In the first Diet of 1889, gangsters employed by the oligarchy prevented opposition members from entering the Diet chamber, and at least twe…
Execution of twelve for anarchism ends Japanese labor agitation (1910) pp. 177-180
These were brought to a violent end in 1910 by the execution of twelve persons for anarchistic agitations.
Japan's population begins rapid growth (1870) pp. 177-180
By 1870 the population began to grow, rising from 30 million to 56 million in 1920, to 73 million in 1940, and reaching 87 million in 1955.
First Japanese political parties founded (1881-1882) pp. 181-183
they organized the first real political parties, the Liberal Party of Itagaki (1881) and the Progressive Party of Okuma (1882).
Yamagata excludes Ito, forms second cabinet (1900) pp. 181-183
By 1900 Yamagata won a decisive victory over Ito and formed his second Cabinet (1898-1900), from which the Ito group was, for the first time…
Anglo-Japanese Alliance to isolate Russia (1902) pp. 184-186
In order to isolate the approaching conflict with Russia, Japan signed a treaty with Britain (1902).
Treaty of Portsmouth ends Russo-Japanese War (1905) pp. 184-186
By the Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) Russia renounced her influence in Korea, yielded southern Sakhalin and the lease on Liaotung to Japan
Japan presents Twenty-one Demands on China (January 1915) pp. 184-186
This was followed, almost immediately (January 1915), by presentation of "Twenty-one Demands" on China.
Unification of Germany ends European balance (1871) pp. 187-189
The unification of Germany by Bismarck destroyed this situation politically, while the rapid economic growth of that country after 1871 modi…
Franco-Russian Dual Alliance formed (1894) pp. 187-189
From this condition they naturally moved together to form the Dual Alliance of 1894.
Entente Cordiale between France and Britain (1904) pp. 187-189
This agreement was made in 1904 by putting all their disputes together on the negotiation table and balancing one against another.
Anglo-Russian Entente divides Persia (1907) pp. 190-192
made possible the agreement of 1907. By this agreement Persia was divided into three zones of influence, of which the northern was Russian,…
Quigley: international banking fraternity strengthened the Triple Entente pp. 190-192
One influence which worked to create and strengthen the Triple Entente was that of the international banking fraternity.
Anglo-German Baghdad Railway agreement (June 1914) pp. 190-192
in June, 1914, the two countries initialed the agreement by which Britain withdrew her opposition to the Baghdad Railway in return for a Ger…
Algeciras Conference resolves First Moroccan Crisis (1906) pp. 193-195
Instead, when the conference met at Algeciras, near Gilbraltar, in 1906, Germany found herself supported only by Austria.
Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina (October 1908) pp. 193-195
Aehrenthal suddenly annexed the two districts, leaving Izvolski without his Straits program (October 6, 1908).
Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand at Sarajevo (June 28, 1914) pp. 193-195
the heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, was assassinated by Serb extremists in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo on the 28th…
Austrian ultimatum to Serbia (July 23, 1914) pp. 196-198
This document, delivered on July 23rd, was far-reaching.
Britain declares war on Germany (August 4, 1914) pp. 196-198
On August 4th Britain declared war on Germany, emphasizing the iniquity of her attack on Belgium
Schlieffen Plan drawn up (1905) pp. 199-202
On the German side this plan, known as the Schlieffen Plan, was drawn up in 1905 and modified by the younger Helmuth von Moltke (nephew of t…
French army shattered in opening 1914 offensive pp. 199-202
By August 20th they were shattered, and by August 25th, after eleven days of combat, had suffered 300,000 casualties.
First Battle of the Marne begins (September 1914) pp. 203-205
on the following day they began a general counterattack, ordered by Joffre on the insistence of Galliéni. Thus began the First Battle of the…
Battle of the Somme (July-November 1916) pp. 203-205
On the Somme in the same year the British lost 410,000, the French lost 190,000, and the Germans lost 450,000 for a maximum gain of 7 miles…
Massed tanks break through at Cambrai (November 20, 1917) pp. 203-205
Only on November 20, 1917, were tanks used as Swinton had instructed. On that day 381 tanks supported by six infantry divisions struck the H…
Unrestricted submarine warfare drives Britain to crisis (April 1917) pp. 206-208
Then it was applied with such ruthless efficiency that almost a million tons of shipping was sunk in the month of April 1917, and Britain wa…
Britain treats food as contraband, tightening blockade (August 1914) pp. 209-211
As early as August 20, 1914, they were treating food as contraband and interfering with neutral shipments of food to Europe.
Turkey attacks Russia, entering the war (October 29, 1914) pp. 209-211
On October 29th it removed its mask of neutrality by attacking Russia, thus cutting her off from her Western allies by the southern route.
Jerusalem falls to Allenby (December 1917) pp. 209-211
Jerusalem fell to General Allenby in December 1917
Secret Treaty of London brings Italy into war (April 26, 1915) pp. 212-214
By the secret Treaty of London (April 26, 1915), Italy's demands as listed above were accepted by the Entente Powers
Quigley: Entente money funded Mussolini's interventionist paper (1915) pp. 212-214
Their chief achievement was in splitting the normally pacifist Socialist Party by large money grants to Benito Mussolini.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk forced on Russia (March 3, 1918) pp. 212-214
but on March 3, 1918, were forced to accept the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
Sykes-Picot Agreement partitions Ottoman Empire (May 16, 1916) pp. 215-217
on May 16, 1916, an agreement, known as the Sykes-Picot agreement from the names of the chief negotiators, was signed between Russia, France…
Arab Revolt against Turkey begins (June 5, 1916) pp. 215-217
Hussein began an Arab revolt against Turkey on June 5, 1916.
Balfour Declaration on a Jewish national home (November 1917) pp. 215-217
The next document concerned with the disposition of the Ottoman Empire was the famous "Balfour Declaration" of November 1917.
Lusitania sunk off the Irish coast (May 7, 1915) pp. 218-220
American protests reached a peak when the Lusitania was sunk in this way nine miles off the English coast on May 7, 1915.
San Remo conference sets Middle East mandates (April 1920) pp. 218-220
a meeting of the Great Powers at San Remo in April 1920 set up two French and two British mandates. Syria and Lebanon went to France, while…
Feisal installed as King of Iraq under British protection (1921) pp. 218-220
set Feisal up as king in Iraq under British protection (1921)
Wilson's Fourteen Points (January 8, 1918) pp. 221-223
a German note to President Wilson asked for an armistice on the basis of the Fourteen Points of January 8, 1918
Kaiser abdicates amid German Revolution (November 8, 1918) pp. 221-223
The German Revolution was spreading, and the Kaiser abdicated on November 8th.
Armistice ends the fighting (November 11, 1918) pp. 221-223
The armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, at 5:00 a.m. to take effect at 11:00 a.m.
German hyperinflation ruins the middle classes (1923) pp. 224-226
Since the last stages of inflation which dealt the fatal blow to the middle classes occurred after the war rather than during it (in 1923 in…
French State of Siege proclaimed (August 2, 1914) pp. 227-229
In France a State of Siege was proclaimed on August 2, 1914. This gave the government the right to rule by decree, established censorship, a…
British censorship established under DORA (August 5, 1914) pp. 227-229
The British censorship was established on August 5, 1914, and at once intercepted all cables and private mail which it could reach, includin…
Postwar blockade blamed for 800,000 deaths (1919) pp. 227-229
Continued for nine months after the armistice, it caused the deaths of 800,000 persons, according to Max Sering.
Bryce Committee atrocity report (1915) pp. 230-232
Lord Bryce headed a committee which produced a volume of such stories in 1915
Charteris fabricates German corpse-glycerine story (1917) pp. 230-232
General Henry Charteris in 1917 created a story that the Germans were cooking human bodies to extract glycerine, and produced pictures to pr…
Germany promised a negotiated peace on the Fourteen Points (November 5, 1918) pp. 230-232
they had been promised, on November 5, 1918, that the peace settlements would be negotiated and would be based on the Fourteen Points.
Council of Four drafts the Treaty of Versailles (1919) pp. 233-235
They put the Treaty of Versailles into form in three weeks and did the preliminary work on the treaty with Austria.
Treaty of Versailles signed at the Hall of Mirrors (June 28, 1919) pp. 236-238
On June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination at Sarajevo, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles where the German Empire had b…
Bela Kun's Red terror and Horthy's rise in Hungary (1920) pp. 236-238
the reactionaries came to power with Admiral Miklós Horthy as regent and head of the state (1920 1944) and Count Bethlen as prime minister (…
Treaty of Lausanne formally ends WWI (July 24, 1923) pp. 236-238
produced a moderate and negotiated treaty which was signed by the Kemalist government on July 24, 1923. This act ended, in a formal way, the…
Rhineland military occupation ended early (1930) pp. 239-241
the military occupation of the Rhineland and the bridgeheads was ended in 1930, five years ahead of schedule.
Saar plebiscite votes to rejoin Germany (1935) pp. 239-241
When the plebiscite was held in 1935, after an admirable League administration, only about 2,000 out of about 528,000 voted to join France
Treaty of Riga sets Poland's eastern frontier (March 1921) pp. 239-241
The final settlement, signed at Riga in March 1921, gave Poland a frontier 150 miles farther east than the Curzon Line and brought into Pola…
Full reparations bill of 132 billion marks presented (May 1921) pp. 242-244
Only in May 1921 was the full reparations obligation presented to the Germans. Amounting to 132 thousand million gold marks (about 32.5 bill…
Treaty of Rome awards Fiume to Italy (January 1924) pp. 242-244
The problem was finally settled by the Treaty of Rome of January 1924, by which Fiume was granted to Italy
United States leaves the victorious coalition (1920) pp. 242-244
The United States left the coalition as a result of the Republican victory over Wilson in the congressional elections of 1918 and the presid…
Locarno Pacts embody British 'divisible peace' (1925) pp. 245-247
The Locarno Pacts of 1925 were the first concrete achievement of this British point of view, as we shall see.
France drafts a strong League with its own army (1919) pp. 248-250
the French tried to establish a League with its own army, its own general staff, and its own powers of police action against aggressors with…
Hitler comes to power in Germany (1933) pp. 248-250
there were changes in the foreign policies of the Right and the Left after Hitler came to power in Germany (1933).
Germany rearms and remilitarizes the Rhineland (1935-1936) pp. 248-250
Germany was allowed to rearm (1935); Germany was allowed to remilitarize the Rhineland (1936)
Shifting membership of the League of Nations Council pp. 251-253
Germany was added in 1926; Japan and Germany withdrew in 1933; the Soviet Union was admitted in 1934 and was expelled in 1939 after its atta…
Germany and Soviet Russia sign Treaty of Rapallo (April 1922) pp. 251-253
The two outcast Powers drifted together and sealed their friendship by a treaty signed at Rapallo in April 1922.
Kellogg-Briand Pact renounces war (1928) pp. 254-256
The Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) was a weak and rather hypocritical document and advanced further toward the destruction of international law…
Soviet policy shifts to 'Communism in a single country' (1927) pp. 254-256
In 1927 there came a shift in Soviet policy: "world revolution" was replaced by a policy of "Communism in a single country" and a growing su…
Washington Conference sets naval ratios (1922) pp. 254-256
that country gave the United States equality in capital ships (with 15 each), while Japan was given 60 percent as much (or 9 capital ships).
Secret Anglo-French naval agreement exposed by Hearst (1928) pp. 257-260
This agreement, signed in July 1928, was revealed by pro-American employees of the French Foreign Ministry to William Randolph Hearst and pu…
World Disarmament Conference achieves nothing (1932-1935) pp. 261-263
was in session for three years (February 1932 to April 1935), yet it achieved nothing notable in the way of disarmament.
Hitler quits the Disarmament Conference (1933) pp. 261-263
When Hitler came to office in January 1933, he demanded immediate equality with France, at least in "defensive" arms. This was refused, and…
German budget reveals rearmament (March 1934) pp. 261-263
The German budget, released in March 1934, showed an appropriation of 210 million marks for the air force (which was forbidden entirely by V…
Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr (January 1923) pp. 264-266
Armed forces of the three nations began to occupy the Ruhr two days later.
German mark collapses in hyperinflation (1923) pp. 264-266
From that point it dropped to 80,000 to the pound in January 1923, to 20 million to the pound in August 1923, and to 20 billion to the pound…
Dawes Plan restructures reparations (1924) pp. 264-266
The Dawes Plan, which was largely a J. P. Morgan production, was drawn up by an international committee of financial experts presided over b…
Young Plan and Bank for International Settlements (1929) pp. 267-269
This deal was embodied in the Young Plan, named after the American Owen D. Young (a Morgan agent), who served as chairman of the committee w…
Wall Street crash opens the decade of destruction (October 1929) pp. 267-269
The crash of the New York stock market in October 1929 marked the end of the decade of reconstruction and opened the decade of destruction b…
Credit-Anstalt collapse triggers European banking crisis (May 8, 1931) pp. 267-269
On May 8, 1931, the largest Austrian bank, the Credit-Anstalt (a Rothschild institution), with extensive interests, almost control, in 70 pe…
Quigley: bankers secretly issued Treasury Notes (July 25, 1914) pp. 270-273
The decision to use Treasury Notes to fulfill the bankers' liabilities was made as early as Saturday, July 25, 1914, by Sir John Bradbury (l…
Reflation from rising gold output after 1897 pp. 270-273
Prices had been rising slowly from about 1897 because of the increased output of gold from South Africa and Alaska
United States becomes the world's greatest creditor (1920) pp. 274-276
The war changed the position of the United States in respect to the rest of the world from that of a debtor owing about $3 billion to that o…
Quigley: financial capitalism aimed to control the world's politics pp. 277-280
the powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private…
Gold maldistribution forces most nations off the gold standard (by 1933) pp. 277-280
a condition which became acute after 1928 and which by 1933 had forced most countries off the gold standard.
Quigley: Montagu Norman as head of world banking control (1920-1944) pp. 277-280
But Norman held the position for twenty-four years (1920-1944), during which he became the chief architect of the liquidation of Britain's g…
Quigley: J. P. Morgan replaces the Rothschilds (Peabody origin 1838) pp. 281-283
In this system the Rothschilds had been preeminent during much of the nineteenth century, but, at the end of that century, they were being r…
Churchill returns Britain to the gold standard pp. 284-286
the pound rose to $4.86, while the British price level had not yet fallen to the American price level, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer,…
British General Strike of 1926 pp. 284-286
The showdown on the deflationary policy came in the General Strike of 1926.
France stabilizes the franc pp. 287-289
France stabilized at 124.21 francs to the pound at the end of 1926, although the stabilization was made de jure only in June 1928.
British Gold Standard Act of 1925 pp. 287-289
In Great Britain, for example, by the Gold Standard Act of May 1925, notes could be exchanged for gold only in the form of bullion and only…
Dawes Plan rebuilds German industry, 1924-1929 pp. 287-289
In the period 1924-1929, by means of these funds, the industrial structure of Germany was largely rebuilt so that, when the depression arriv…
US foreign lending masks economic maladjustment, 1920-1931 pp. 290-292
the excessive lending abroad of the United States (which amounted to almost ten billion dollars in the period 1920-1931, bringing our total…
Bank for International Settlements created pp. 293-296
To rectify this problem to some degree, the Bank for International Settlements was created in 1929.
Central bankers divert gold purchases to New York pp. 293-296
a meeting of central bankers in New York decided that the gold purchases of France and Germany should be diverted from London to New York in…
The Hatry Case triggers the Wall Street collapse pp. 297-299
on September 26, 1929, a minor financial panic in London (the Hatry Case) caused the Bank of England to raise its bank rate from 4 ½ percent…
Britain suspends the gold standard, 1931 pp. 297-299
On September 18th New York and Paris refused further credits to the British Treasury, and three days later the gold standard was suspended.
Largest bank in Austria collapses pp. 297-299
the largest bank in Austria collapsed because of its inability to liquidate its assets at sufficiently high prices and with enough speed to…
Ottawa Imperial Preference treaties pp. 300-302
The empire was brought into closer economic ties by a group of eleven "Imperial Preference" treaties made at Ottawa in August 1932.
Britain sets up the Exchange Equalization Account pp. 300-302
the government, in May 1932, set up the Exchange Equalization Account with capital of £175 million.
United States leaves the gold standard, 1933 pp. 300-302
These orders, completed on April 20, 1933, took the United States off the gold standard.
World Monetary and Economic Conference, London 1933 pp. 303-305
This dispute over the priority of stabilization or recovery reached its peak in the World Monetary and Economic Conference held in London fr…
Roosevelt breaks off stabilization talks pp. 303-305
The mere hint of a stabilization agreement was sufficient to cause a sharp break in the rise of security and commodity prices (June 14, 1933…
United States returns to gold at a devalued dollar pp. 306-308
On February 1, 1934, the United States went back on the gold standard at a considerable devaluation under the old price. The gold content wa…
Belgium devalues, first to break the gold bloc pp. 306-308
Belgium was the first member of the gold bloc to yield, setting up exchange controls on March 18, 1935, and devaluating the belga to about 7…
French devaluation of 1936 shatters the gold bloc pp. 306-308
The French devaluation (law of October 2, 1936) provided that the gold content of the franc would be reduced to an amount from 25.2 percent…
Suicide of Ivar Kreuger, the Match King pp. 309-311
on the personal side, it might be dated at the suicide of its most spectacular individual, the "Match King," Ivar Kreuger, in Paris in April…
Quigley: banker-engendered deflation caused World War II pp. 309-311
The historical importance of the banker-engendered deflationary crisis of 1927-1940 can hardly be overestimated.
The recession of 1937 pp. 312-314
The recession was marked by a break in wholesale prices, a decline in business activity, and an increase in unemployment. In most countries…
Hull Reciprocal Trade Program enacted pp. 312-314
The act, as passed in 1934 and renewed at regular intervals since, empowered the executive branch to negotiate with other countries trade ag…
Quigley: nations learn rearmament prevents deflation pp. 315-317
it was increased by the discovery, by Germany in 1932, by Italy in 1934, by Japan in 1936, and by the United States in 1938, that deflation…
Federation of British Industries seeks pact with Germany pp. 318-320
In 1939 the Federation of British Industries went so far as to seek an agreement with Germany dividing markets and fixing prices for most ec…
United States supplies Britain through Lend-Lease pp. 318-320
In World War II the United States provided Great Britain under Lend-Lease with $27,000 million in supplies, received $6,000 million in retur…
Publication of the Communist Manifesto pp. 321-323
The dividing line between the two parts is marked by the publication in 1848 of The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Second (Socialist) International founded pp. 321-323
The Second International was the Socialist International, founded in 1889.
Marx and Engels publish Das Kapital pp. 324-326
were published in the Communist Manifesto of 1848 and in their three-volume opus, Das Kapital (1867-1894).
Third (Communist) International formed pp. 327-329
became the nucleus of the Third, or Communist, International which was formed under Russian leadership in 1919.
Lenin comes to power in Russia pp. 327-329
the fortunes of war served to bring this man to power in Russia in November 1917, as the leader of a Communist regime.
March 1917 revolution in Petrograd pp. 330-332
Public discontent showed itself in March 1917, when strikes and rioting began in Petrograd.
Bolshevik seizure of power, November 1917 pp. 330-332
On November 7, 1917, the Bolshevik group seized the centers of government in St. Petersburg and was able to hold them because of the refusal…
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk pp. 330-332
the Bolsheviks were compelled to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918). By this treaty Russia lost all the western borderlands, incl…
Kronstadt mutiny ends War Communism pp. 333-335
This culminated in peasant uprisings, urban riots, and a mutiny of the sailors at Kronstadt (March 1921).
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics organized pp. 333-335
Constitutionally the country was organized (in 1922) into a Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR).
Death of Lenin pp. 333-335
In May 1922, Lenin had a cerebral stroke and, after a series of such strokes, died in January 1924.
Russia turns toward Stalinism after 1927 pp. 336-338
The new direction which Russia's development took after 1927 and which we call "Stalinism" is a consequence of numerous factors.
First Soviet Five-Year Plan begins pp. 339-341
This program of heavy industrialization was organized in a series of "Five-Year Plans," of which the first covered the years 1928-1932.
Forced collectivization of Soviet agriculture pp. 339-341
In the space of six weeks (February-March 1930) collective farms increased from 59,400, with 4,400,000 families, to 110,200 farms, with 14,3…
Famine during Soviet collectivization, 1931-1933 pp. 339-341
Since the government insisted on taking the food needed to support the urban population, the rural areas were left with inadequate food, and…
Stakhanovism launched pp. 342-344
In September 1935, a miner named Stakhanov mined 102 tons of coal in a day, fourteen times the usual output.
Kirov murder opens the Old Bolshevik purges pp. 342-344
In 1935, following upon the murder of a Stalinist supporter, Serge Kirov, by the secret police, many of the "Old Bolsheviks," including Zino…
Purge of the Red Army leadership pp. 345-347
used as an excuse to purge the Red Army of most of its old leaders, while eight of the highest generals, led by Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevski…
Final Moscow treason trial, March 1938 pp. 345-347
Less than a year later, in March 1938, the few remaining Old Bolsheviks were tried, convicted, and executed. These included Bukharin, Alekse…
Germany invades the Soviet Union pp. 345-347
all were amazed at the Soviet Union's ability to withstand the German assault which began on June 22, 1941.
Thirty Years' War and Richelieu's use of German disunity pp. 348-350
Richelieu, on behalf of France, used the internal problems of Germany in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) to play off one group against ano…
Napoleon ends the Holy Roman Empire pp. 348-350
The former still survives, but the latter was ended by Napoleon in 1806, a thousand years after Charlemagne.
Junker-industrialist tariff and navy bargain pp. 354-356
This alliance, of which Bülow was the creator, was agreed on in May 1900, and consummated in December 1902. The tariff of 1902, which gave G…
Reichstag Peace Resolution of July 1917 pp. 354-356
Under Matthias Erzberger it allied with the Social Democrats to push through the Reichstag Peace Resolution of July 1917.
Bismarck retires, leaving an unstable balance pp. 351-353
By 1890, when he retired from office, Bismarck had built up an unstable balance of forces within Germany similar to the unstable balance of…
Ebert-Groener pact with the Officers' Corps pp. 357-360
As early as November 10,1918, Friedrich Ebert, chief figure of the Social Democratic Party, made an agreement with the Officers' Corps in wh…
Weimar constitution drafted pp. 357-360
the National Assembly elected on June 19, 1919, drew up a parliamentary constitution under the guidance of Professor Hugo Preuss.
Kapp Putsch pp. 357-360
A direct challenge to the republic from the Right came in March 1920, when Captain Ehrhardt’s Brigade of the Free Corps marched into Berlin,…
Beer-Hall Putsch pp. 361-363
By the "Beer-Hall" Putsch of November 8, 1923, Hitler and Ludendorff tried to abduct Kahr and Lossow and force them to continue the revolt.…
Hindenburg elected president of Germany pp. 364-366
Hindenburg received 14,655,766 votes, Marx (of the Center Party) received 13,751,615, while the Communist Ernst Thälmann received 1,931,151.
Osthilfe subsidy scheme organized pp. 364-366
This assistance, known as Osthilfe (Eastern Help), was organized by a joint session of the Reich and Prussian governments presided over by H…
Bruning becomes chancellor by decree pp. 364-366
In March 1930, the Center broke the coalition on the issue of reduction of unemployment benefits, the Socialists were thrown out of the gove…
Harzburg Front alliance pp. 367-369
On October 11, 1931, a great reactionary alliance was made of the Nazis, the Nationalists, the Stahlhelm (a militaristic veterans' organizat…
Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany pp. 367-369
When Adolf Hitler became chancellor of the German Reich on January 30, 1933, he was not yet forty-four years old.
German Workers' Party founded pp. 367-369
The German Workers' Party had been founded by a Munich locksmith, Anton Drexler, on January 5, 1919, as a nationalist, Pan-German, workers'…
Industrialists fund Hitler at the Dusseldorf Industrial Club pp. 370-372
in January 1932 came one of his greatest triumphs when he spoke for 3 hours to the Industrial Club of Düsseldorf and won support and financi…
Papen removes the Prussian government pp. 370-372
This obstacle to extremism was removed on July 20, 1932, when Hindenburg, by presidential decree based on Article 48, appointed Papen commis…
Reichstag fire decree suspends civil liberties pp. 370-372
The day following the fire (February 28, 1933) Hindenburg signed a decree suspending all civil liberties and giving the government power to…
Enabling Act passed pp. 373-375
The rest were asked to pass an "enabling act" which would give the government for four years the right to legislate by decree, without the n…
Concordat between the Nazi state and the Vatican pp. 373-375
It withdrew its condemnation of Nazism on March 28, 1933, and signed a Concordat with von Papen on July 20th.
Night of the Long Knives (blood purge) pp. 376-378
A meeting of SA leaders was called by Hitler for June 30, 1934, at Bad Wiessee in Bavaria. The SS, under Hitler's personal command, arrested…
Hitler combines presidency and chancellorship pp. 376-378
the army permitted Hitler to become president following Hindenburg's death in August. By combining the offices of president and chancellor,…
Gustav Krupp welcomes Hitler's rise for industry pp. 382-384
"The turn of political events is in line with the wishes which I myself and the Board of Directors have cherished for a long time."
Charter of Labor reshapes German industrial relations pp. 382-384
The Charter of Labor of January 20, 1934, which established this
Nazi law makes cartels compulsory pp. 385-388
A law of July 15, 1933, gave the minister of economics the right to make certain cartels compulsory, to regulate capacity of enterprises, an…
German Corporation Law of 1937 forces concentration pp. 385-388
The Corporation Law of 1937 facilitated mergers, refused to permit new corporations of below 500,000 marks capital, ordered all new shares t…
Four-Year Plan begins state control of the economy pp. 389-391
The Four-Year Plan, created as early as 1936, became the entering wedge of outside control. After war began the new Ministry of Munitions un…
Army refuses to enforce Irish Home Rule, 1914 pp. 395-397
In 1914, for example, the army refused to enforce the Irish Home Rule bill which had been passed after two general elections and had been ap…
Quigley: Britain was the world's greatest plutocracy until 1945 pp. 395-397
It was this lack of objections from both classes and masses which concealed the fact that Britain, until 1945, was the world's greatest plut…
Taff Vale decision drives labor into politics pp. 401-403
In the Taff Vale case (1901) the courts decided that labor unions were responsible for damages resulting from their economic actions.
Payment for Members of Parliament introduced pp. 398-400
Payment for Members was adopted first in 1911 and fixed at £400 a year. This was raised in 1936 to £500 with an additional £100 for expenses…
Salisbury hands the premiership to Balfour pp. 398-400
On retirement he handed over the leadership of the party as well as the prime minister's chair to his nephew, protégé, and hand-picked succe…
Quigley: bank directors raised to the peerage, 1931-1939 pp. 398-400
In eight years (1931-1939) thirteen directors of the "Big Five banks" and two directors of the Bank of England were raised to the peerage by…
Education Act of 1902 pp. 407-409
The Education Act of 1902, which sought to extend the availability of secondary education by shifting its control from school boards to loca…
Liberal landslide of 1906 pp. 407-409
This election of 1906 was a Liberal triumph, that party obtaining a plurality of 220 over the Conservatives and a majority of 84 over all ot…
Parliament Act of 1911 curbs the House of Lords pp. 407-409
This bill, which became law in August 1911, provided that the Lords could not veto a money bill and could not prevent any other bill from be…
Emergency Powers Act of 1920 pp. 410-412
The Conservatives prevented any realistic attack on these problems, and passed the Emergency Powers Act of 1920, which, for the first time i…
British protectorate over Egypt ended pp. 410-412
The protectorate over Egypt was ended in 1922, and a reexamination of imperial relations was made necessary by the refusal of the Dominions…
The forged Zinoviev Letter and the 1924 election pp. 410-412
They were aided greatly when the permanent officials of the Foreign Office issued, four days before the election, the so-called "Zinoviev Le…
Quigley: the 1931 crisis revealed the power of the bankers pp. 413-415
This crisis was of great significance because it revealed the incapacity of the Labour Party and the power of the bankers.
National government wins the 1931 election pp. 413-415
The result was an overwhelming government victory with 458 members supporting it and only 56 in opposition.
Quigley: the 1935 general election was the most shameful of modern times pp. 416-418
The General Election of 1935, which gave the Conservatives ten more years in office, was the most shameful of modern times.
Hoare's secret deal on Ethiopia pp. 416-418
The public did not know that he had stopped off in Paris en route to Geneva to arrange a secret deal by which Italy would be given two-third…
Prevention of Violence Act of 1939 pp. 416-418
reached its most dangerous stage with the Prevention of Violence Act of 1939, which empowers a secretary of state to arrest without warrant…
Heyday of English financial capitalism under Montagu Norman pp. 419-421
The heyday of English financial capitalism is associated with the governorship of Montagu Norman from 1920 to 1944, but it began about a cen…
Quigley: seventeen merchant banks at the core of English finance pp. 419-421
As late as 1961 a Baring (Lord Cromer) was named governor of the bank, and his board of directors, called the "Court" of the bank, included…
Bank of England nationalized pp. 419-421
despite the nationalization of the Bank by the Labour government in 1946.
End of financial capitalism in Britain (Invergordon mutiny) pp. 422-424
The decisive event which caused the end of financial capitalism in Britain was the revolt of the British fleet at Invergordon on September 1…
Thorne v. Motor Trade Association ruling pp. 422-424
Probably the greatest achievement in this direction was a decision of the House of Lords, acting as a Supreme Court, which permitted the use…
Founding of the Darmstädter Bank pp. 425-427
Their relationship to industry was close and intimate from the creation of the Darmstädter Bank in 1853.
Merger of Deutsche Bank and Disconto Gesellschaft pp. 425-427
In 1929, at the time of the amalgamation of the Deutsche Bank and the Disconto Gesellschaft, the two together had directorships in 660 indus…
German law regulating stock promotion pp. 428-430
These excesses of financial capitalist promotion led to a governmental investigation which resulted in a strict law regulating promotion in…
Re-privatization of German Great Banks pp. 428-430
In 1937 these banks that had come under government ownership were "re-privatized," but by that time industry had largely escaped from financ…
Formation of I. G. Farbenindustrie pp. 431-433
This was formed in 1904 of three chief firms, and grew steadily until after its last reorganization in 1926 it controlled about two-thirds o…
Kilgore Committee report on I. G. Farben pp. 431-433
The Kilgore Committee of the United States Senate in 1945 decided, after a study of captured German records, that I. G. Farben and United St…
West German currency reform pp. 434-436
The signal for this to begin was given by the West German currency reform of 1950, which encouraged investment and offered entrepreneurs the…
Founding of the Bank of France pp. 434-436
These roots grew rapidly in the last half of the eighteenth century and were well established with the founding of the Bank of France in 180…
Establishment of the Crédit Mobilier pp. 437-439
The establishment of the Crédit Mobilier in 1852 (with 60 million francs in assets) may be taken as the opening date for French financial ca…
French government halts securities issues pp. 437-439
The losses to security buyers were so great that on March 9, 1856, the government had to prohibit temporarily any further issue of securitie…
French investment banks Paribas and Union Parisienne founded pp. 440-442
These were dominated by two banks: the Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas set up by the Rothschild group in 1872 and the Banque de l'Union Pari…
Paribas's control over French corporations pp. 440-442
In 1931, Paribas held the securities of 357 corporations, and its own directors and top managers held 180 directorships in 120 of the more i…
Schneider family acquires Le Creusot pp. 440-442
Of these, the factories at Le Creusot, acquired by the Schneider family in 1838, were so favored by Napoleon III
Formation of the Comité des Forges pp. 443-445
In 1884, as we have said, the Comité des Forges was formed as an association of all the metallurgical industries of France, using a single c…
Treaty of Rome establishes the Common Market pp. 446-448
This was established by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, with six members (France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Luxembourg)…
Establishment of the French Fifth Republic pp. 446-448
France was unable to contribute much to this new market until its political instability was ended by the establishment of the Fifth Republic…
Feudal structure of American finance capitalism pp. 449-451
For almost fifty years, from 1880 to 1930, financial capitalism approximated a feudal structure in which two great powers, centered in New Y…
Concentration of assets in eight US power groups pp. 449-451
The aggregate value of the assets controlled by the eight power groups was about $61,205 million of the total assets of $198,351 million in…
Election of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal pp. 452-455
This shift of the farm bloc, light industry, commercial interests (notably department stores), real estate, professional people, and mass, u…
Banking Act of 1933 separates banking functions pp. 452-455
The Banking Act of 1933 separated investment banking from deposit banking.
Industrial Revolution begins in England pp. 456-458
In general, it began in England late in the eighteenth century (about 1776) and spread slowly eastward and southward across Europe, reaching…
Growth of billion-dollar corporations in the US pp. 456-458
In the United States, where this process has been studied most carefully, it was found that from 1909 to 1930 the number of billion-dollar c…
Mussolini comes to power in Italy pp. 459-461
As a result, a counterrevolution brought Mussolini to power in October 1922.
Italian dictatorship, lira stabilization, and corporative state pp. 459-461
This trend became more drastic after the creation of the dictatorship in 1925, after the stabilization of the lira in 1927, and after the cr…
The great depression of 1929-1934 pp. 462-464
As a matter of fact, this process did not work itself out in any industrial country during the great depression of 1929-1934, because the di…
Deliberate destruction of goods to fight depression pp. 465-467
Outright destruction of goods already produced is not common, and occurred for the first time as a method of combating depression in the yea…
Marshall Plan aid to Western Europe pp. 471-473
the economic and technical aid of the United States, beginning with the Marshall Plan of 1946 and continuing with United States government m…
Collapse of the collective security structure pp. 471-473
The structure of collective security, which had been so imperfectly built after 1919, by the victorious Powers, was destroyed completely in…
Japanese constitution modeled on Bismarck's pp. 474-476
The fact that the Japanese constitution of 1889 was copied from the constitution of Bismarck goes far to explain this last similarity.
Japanese financial panic of 1927 pp. 474-476
For example, in 1927, the efforts of Mitsui and Mitsubishi to smash a smaller competitor, Suzuki Company of Kobe, precipitated a financial p…
Japanese seizure of Manchuria pp. 477-479
Though the Japanese seizure of Manchuria in the autumn of 1931 was an independent action of the Japanese military forces, it had to be condo…
US non-recognition of Manchurian conquest (Stimson Doctrine) pp. 477-479
As early as January 1932, the United States notified all signers of the Nine-Power treaty of 1922 that it would refuse to accept territorial…
The Chinese Communist Long March pp. 477-479
The Communist army, whose growing exactions had disillusioned its peasant supporters, retreated in an orderly withdrawal on a twisting six-t…
Japanese attack on North China pp. 480-482
This agreement had hardly been made, and had not yet been published, when the Japanese opened their attack on North China (July 1937).
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor pp. 480-482
From this decision came the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Nazi coup and murder of Dollfuss in Austria pp. 483-485
Hitler took advantage of this to attempt a Nazi coup in Austria, murdering Dollfuss in July 1934, hut he was prevented from moving into the…
Assassination of King Alexander and Barthou at Marseilles pp. 483-485
This resulted in the murder of Alexander, the centralist Serb King of Yugoslavia, and Jean Louis Barthou, the foreign minister of France, at…
Stresa Front against German rearmament pp. 483-485
a common front against German rearmament (which had been announced in March) was made by France, Italy, and Britain at the Stresa Conference…
Italy completes conquest of Ethiopia pp. 486-488
Ethiopia was conquered on May 2, 1936 and annexed to Italy a week later.
Exposure of the Hoare-Laval deal pp. 486-488
When news of this deal was broken to the public by a French journalist on December 10, 1935, there was a roar of protest from the supporters…
Remilitarization of the Rhineland pp. 486-488
the hubbub of the Ethiopian crisis gave Hitler an opportunity to declare the rearmament of Germany and the reestablishment of the German air…
Anglo-German Naval Agreement pp. 489-491
the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of June 1935 allowed Germany to build a navy up to 35 percent of the British Navy, while France was restric…
Anti-Comintern Pact pp. 489-491
This was a union of Germany and Japan against Communism and the Third International. It was signed in November 1936 and was joined by Italy…
Founding of The Round Table review pp. 489-491
the influential and highly anonymous quarterly review known as The Round Table (founded in 1910 with money supplied by Sir Abe Bailey and th…
Amery's call forces Chamberlain from office pp. 492-494
The split between these two groups appeared openly in public and led to Chamberlain's fall from office when Amery cried to Chamberlain, acro…
The Union Now campaign pp. 492-494
One of the effusions of this group was the project called Union Now, and later Union Now with Great Britain, propagated in the United States…
Spanish defeat by the United States pp. 495-497
This, however, was destroyed by the efforts of the "Restoration Monarchy" of 1875-1931 to find support among the opponents of modernization…
Final ejection of the Arabs from Spain pp. 495-497
From the invasion of the Arabs in 711 to their final ejection in 1492, Spanish life was dominated by the struggle against this foreign intru…
Primo de Rivera's military coup in Spain pp. 498-500
a military coup under General Primo de Rivera, with the acquiescence of King Alfonso XIII, took over the government, dissolved the Cortes, a…
Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War pp. 498-500
The republic lasted only five years before the Civil War began on July 18, 1936.
Spanish conspirators' arms agreement with Mussolini pp. 501-503
Four men from these three groups then signed an agreement with Mussolini on March 31, 1934.
Popular Front wins Spanish election pp. 501-503
The election of February 16, 1936 followed a campaign of violence and terrorism in which the worst offenders were the members of a microscop…
Sanjurjo seeks German aid in Berlin pp. 504-506
It would appear that Sanjurjo went to Berlin on February 4, 1936, but could get no commitment beyond a promise to provide the necessary tran…
French proposal for non-intervention in Spain pp. 504-506
Impelled by pacifist sentiments, and a desire to avoid war at any cost, French Premier Léon Blum and French Foreign Minister Yvon Delbos sug…
Germany and Italy recognize the Franco government pp. 507-509
As part of this policy both Powers recognized the Franco government and withdraw their recognition from Madrid on November 1 8, 1936, and It…
US Neutrality Act applied to the Spanish war pp. 507-509
On January 18, 1937, the American Neutrality Act was revised to apply to civil as well as international wars, and was invoked against Spain…
Britain and France recognize Franco's government pp. 510-512
England and France recognized the Franco government on February 27, 1939, and the Axis troops were evacuated from Spain after a triumphal ma…
Toll of the Spanish Civil War pp. 510-512
When the war ended, much of Spain was wrecked, at least 450,000 Spaniards had been killed (of which 130,000 were rebels, the rest Loyalists)…
Red Vienna's social housing program pp. 510-512
Into this situation the Social Democrats came in 1918. By 1933 they had built almost 60,000 dwellings, mostly in huge apartment houses.
Ignaz Seipel becomes Austrian chancellor pp. 510-512
In May 1922, this alliance was reversed when the Christian Socialist leader, Monsignor Ignaz Seipel, a Catholic priest, became chancellor.
Dollfuss ends Austrian parliamentary government pp. 513-515
On March 4, 1933, the Dollfuss government was beaten in Parliament by one vote, 81-80. It threw out one vote on a technicality and used the…
Austria's corporative constitution of 1934 pp. 516-518
A new constitution was declared, under the emergency economic decree power of 1917, on April 24, 1934. It changed Austria from a "democratic…
Hitler announces plans for aggression (Hossbach conference) pp. 519-521
This decision was announced by Hitler to a secret meeting of seven persons on November 5, 1937.
Hitler purges his generals and foreign minister pp. 519-521
As a result of the opposition from Blomberg, Fritsch, and Neurath in this conference of November 1937, Hitler replaced these three by more a…
German invasion and annexation of Austria pp. 519-521
The invasion of Austria as early as March 12, 1938, and the immediate annexation of Austria were a pleasant surprise, even for the Nazi lead…
The Round Table rejects war over Germany's ambitions pp. 522-524
In the December 1937 issue of The Round Table, where most of the seven points which Halifax had just discussed with Hitler were mentioned, a…
Germany captures Czechoslovakia's arsenal pp. 522-524
In March 1939, when Germany overran Czechoslovakia, it captured 469 of these superior tanks along with 1,500 planes, 43,000 machine guns, an…
Schuschnigg summoned to Berchtesgaden pp. 525-527
At last Papen persuaded Schuschnigg to visit Hitler at Berchtesgaden on February 12, 1938.
Sudeten German Party's electoral surge pp. 525-527
With 600,000 members, it polled 1,200,000 votes in the election of May 1935 and obtained 44 seats in the Parliament, only one less than the…
Soviet call for collective action after the Anschluss pp. 528-530
As early as March 17, 1938, five days after the Anschluss, the Soviet government called for consultations looking toward collective actions…
Hitler's directive to smash Czechoslovakia pp. 528-530
This draft was entirely rewritten by Hitler and signed on May 3o, 1938. Its opening sentence then read, "It is my unalterable decision to sm…
German generals' plot to assassinate Hitler pp. 531-533
As a result, the plan was made to assassinate Hitler as soon as the attack was ordered. This project was canceled at noon on September 28, 1…
Britain forces France to threaten the Czech alliance pp. 531-533
From May 31st onward, Lord Halifax tried to force France to threaten the Czechs that their alliance would be revoked or at least weakened if…
Chamberlain's 'far-away country' radio speech pp. 534-536
This culminated on September 27th when he made a speech on the radio in which he said, "How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we sh…
Chamberlain meets Hitler at Godesberg pp. 534-536
The next day, September 22nd, Chamberlain took the Czech acceptance to Hitler at Godesberg on the Rhine. He found the Führer in a vile tempe…
The Munich Conference partitions Czechoslovakia pp. 537-539
At Munich, Hitler, Chamberlain, Mussolini, and Daladier carved up Czechoslovakia without consulting anyone, least of all the Czechs.
Hitler orders destruction of the Czech rump pp. 537-539
Within three weeks of this agreement (October 21, 1938), Hitler issued orders to his generals to prepare plans to destroy the rump of Czecho…
Germany seizes Memel and Italy seizes Albania pp. 540-542
Europe had not yet recovered from the shock of March Isth when Germany seized Memel from Lithuania on March 22nd, and Italy obtained its cru…
Czech gold reserves handed to Germany pp. 540-542
Moreover, £6,000,000 in Czech gold reserves in London were turned over to Germany with the puny, and untrue, excuse that the British governm…
FBI-Reichsgruppe Industrie cartel agreement pp. 543-545
A coal agreement was signed, at Britain's request, at the end of January 1939, and a general agreement was signed between the Federation of…
Hitler's 'export or die' speech pp. 543-545
In his speech of January 30, 1939, Hitler had said, "We must export or die."
British unilateral guarantee to Poland pp. 543-545
However, when news reached London of Hitler's demands on Poland, Britain suddenly issued a unilateral guarantee of the latter state (March 3…
Hitler's secret war conference on living space pp. 546-548
The very next day, May 23, 1939, Hitler held a secret conference with his generals.
Wilson's secret offer to abandon Poland pp. 549-551
Sir Horace Wilson definitely told Herr Wohlthat that the conclusion of a nonaggression pact would enable Britain to rid herself of her commi…
Soviet Union replaces Litvinov with Molotov pp. 549-551
To show its displeasure, the Soviet Union on May 3rd replaced Litvinov with Molotov as foreign minister.
Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact pp. 552-554
The published portion of the agreement provided that neither signer would take any aggressive action against the other signer or give any su…
German invasion of Poland pp. 552-554
The German invasion of Poland at 4:45 A. M. on September 1, 1939, did not by any means end the negotiations to make peace, nor, for that mat…
German army adopts armored warfare theory pp. 555-557
This theory was, however, accepted in the German Army, notably by Heinz Guderian in 1934, and was used very effectively against the Poles in…
Aerial bombing of Guernica and Barcelona pp. 555-557
The chief facts to support the theory were to be found in the Spanish Civil War, notably in the German destruction of Guernica in 1937 and t…
German invasion of Poland begins pp. 558-560
The German invasion of Poland began with powerful air attacks at 4:40 A. M. on September 1.
German submarine sinks the liner Athenia pp. 558-560
a German submarine sank the liner Athenia, westward bound in the Atlantic, without warning and with a loss of 112 lives, on September 3rd.
Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement divides Poland pp. 558-560
On September 28th a new agreement was made between Molotov and Ribbentrop, dividing Poland.
British interdict German coal to Italy pp. 561-563
One of the chief steps in this effort was the interruption of the export of German coal by sea from the Baltic to Italy on March 5, 1940, th…
Fritz Todt killed in air crash pp. 561-563
Todt, however, was killed in an airplane crash on February 12, 1942.
Nazi-Soviet Trade Agreement pp. 564-566
The Nazi-Soviet Trade Agreement of August 19, 1939, promised that Germany would provide 200 million marks' credit to be used for machinery a…
Japan defeated at Nomonhan; truce signed pp. 564-566
it was ended by a truce signed on September 16, 1939, only one day before Russian forces began to move into Poland.
The Venlo incident pp. 564-566
At the fifth meeting, at Venlo on November 8th, the negotiators, who were really members of the Security Police of the S.S., shot Lieutenant…
Anglo-French mutual-assistance pact with Turkey pp. 567-569
This was signed with France and England on October 19, 1939 in the form of a mutual-assistance pact, except that Turkey could not be compell…
Soviet Union attacks Finland pp. 567-569
For some unexplained reason, the Finns seem to have felt that the Russians would not attack their country, but the Soviets attacked at sever…
Soviet Union expelled from the League of Nations pp. 570-572
Although the League's consideration of the Japanese aggression in China had required fifteen months and resulted in no punishment, Russia wa…
Soviet-Finnish Peace Treaty pp. 570-572
The Soviet-Finnish Peace Treaty of March 12, 1940 was made at the insistence of the Finnish commander in chief, Baron Mannerheim, although i…
France orders Weygand to bomb Soviet oil fields pp. 570-572
on April 11th, a month after the Soviet-Finnish peace, the new French premier, Reynaud, ordered General Weygand to carry out the raid on the…
Hitler orders occupation of Denmark and Norway pp. 573-575
Formal orders were issued by Hitler on March 1, 1940 to occupy both Denmark and Norway.
Denmark surrenders to Germany pp. 573-575
Denmark yielded to a German ultimatum on April 8th as German divisions overran the country; and seaborne forces landed in Copenhagen harbor.
Churchill replaces Chamberlain as prime minister pp. 573-575
Chamberlain resigned, and was replaced by a national government under Winston Churchill.
Dunkirk evacuation pp. 576-578
In seven days, using 887 water craft of all types and sizes, 337,131 men were taken off the beaches at Dunkerque under relentless air bombar…
King Leopold surrenders the Belgian army pp. 576-578
On May 27th, King Leopold of Belgium made an unconditional surrender of his armies to the Germans, over the objections of the Belgian civil…
Franco-German armistice at Compiegne pp. 579-581
The armistice negotiations were conducted in the same railway carriage at Compiègne in the forest of Rethondes where Germany had surrendered…
Petain replaces Reynaud, seeks armistice pp. 579-581
he resigned (June 16th) and was replaced by a new government headed by Marshal Pétain.
Turning point of the Battle of Britain pp. 582-584
the turning point of the battle came on September 15th when 56 invading planes were shot down.
British radar chain begins continuous operation pp. 582-584
Adapted for defense against air attack in 1935, a chain of radar station, had been laid out in 1937 and began continuous operation in April…
Thousand-bomber raid on Cologne pp. 582-584
Using this method, Britain launched a thousand-bomber raid on Cologne in May 1942.
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact pp. 585-587
Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a military alliance on September 27, 1940. This Tripartite Pact, announced with great propagandist fanfare,…
Soviet Union demands Bessarabia from Romania pp. 585-587
On June 26, 1940, having previously notified Germany, the Soviet Union demanded Bessarabia and northern Bukovina from Romania within twenty-…
Iron Guard government under Antonescu takes power pp. 585-587
On September 5, 1940, an Iron Guard government under Ion Antonescu took office in Bucharest.
British air attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto pp. 588-590
On November 11, 1940, twenty-one British planes made a torpedo attack on the chief units of the Italian fleet in Taranto harbor and sank thr…
Italy attacks Greece from Albania pp. 588-590
The attack, which began from Albania on October 28th, was stopped completely within three weeks; the subsequent Greek counterattack carried…
Wavell attacks Graziani in Egypt pp. 588-590
A month later, on December 7, 1940, Graziani's forces of 80,000 men in Egypt were suddenly attacked by General Archibald Wavell with 31,000…
Coup d'etat in Yugoslavia overthrows the regency pp. 591-593
Most significant of all, a military coup d'état in Yugoslavia overthrew the Yugoslav regency and government on the night of March 26th-27th,…
Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece pp. 591-593
Less than six hours later, Belgrade was subjected to a violent bombardment from the Luftwaffe, and thirty-three German divisions began to in…
Nye Committee investigates arms sales and WWI pp. 591-593
In 1934 a committee of the United States Senate investigated the role played by foreign loans and munition sales to belligerents in getting…
Neutrality Acts revised for cash-and-carry pp. 594-596
Under the resulting revision of these acts, in November 1939, the embargo on munitions was repealed and all purchases by belligerents were p…
Destroyers-for-bases deal with Britain pp. 597-599
by executive fiat, gave fifty old destroyers of World War I to Britain in return for ninety-nine-year leases of naval and air bases in Briti…
Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech pp. 597-599
America was looking forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person…
Selective Service Act of 1940 pp. 597-599
the Administration persuaded the Congress to enact a Selective Service Act to build up the manpower of the armed forces through compulsion.
Lend-Lease Act becomes law pp. 600-602
A bill embodying these ideas was introduced in the Congress on January 10, 1941 as H.R. 1776, and became law two months later as the Lend-Le…
Atlantic Charter issued pp. 600-602
After four days of conferences (August 9- 12, 1941), the chiefs of government of the United States and Britain issued the so-called Atlantic…
Selective service extended by one vote pp. 600-602
An Act extending the period of selective-service training by an additional eighteen months passed the Congress on August 12, 1941, by the na…
Hitler declares war on the United States pp. 603-605
Fortunately for the Administration's plans, Hitler played into its hands by declaring war on the United States on December 11, 1941.
German torpedo destroys the Reuben James pp. 603-605
two weeks later the destroyer Reuben James was blown to pieces, with great loss of life, by a chain of explosives from a German torpedo, its…
Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union pp. 606-608
The Nazi armies sprang forward at dawn on Sunday, June 22, 1941.
German envelopment east of Kiev pp. 606-608
German Army Group South completed a colossal envelopment east of Kiev (August 24-September 21). In a great bag 200 miles wide, the Germans c…
Hitler orders the attack on Moscow pp. 609-611
On September 6, 1941, in Directive No. 35, Hitler suddenly accepted the suggestions of his generals, and ordered an attack on Moscow.
Hitler assumes personal command of the army pp. 609-611
On December 19th the commander in chief, Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch was relieved and his post taken by Hitler himself.
Japan joins the Anti-Comintern Pact pp. 612-614
on November 25, 1936, Japan had joined the league of aggressors known as the Anti-Comintern Pact.
Brussels Conference on Japanese aggression pp. 612-614
November 3-24, 1937, a conference of the signers of the Nine-Power Treaty of 1922, which guaranteed the integrity of China, met at Brussels…
U.S. cancels its 1911 commercial treaty with Japan pp. 615-617
In September 1939 Washington gave the necessary six-month notice to cancel the 1911 commercial treaty with Japan; this opened the door to al…
Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact pp. 615-617
Matsuoka at once went to Moscow, where he signed a Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact on April 13, 1941.
Japan sets up a puppet government at Nanking pp. 615-617
In March 1940 the Japanese set up a puppet Chinese government at Nanking, but the reality of its power deceived no one.
Japan moves troops into southern Indochina pp. 618-620
On July 21, 1941, Japan's threats won from Vichy France the right to move troops into southern Indochina.
United States freezes Japanese assets pp. 618-620
Within a week, on July 26, 1941, the United States froze all Japanese financial assets in the United States, virtually ending trade between…
Japan orders the attack on Pearl Harbor pp. 618-620
On November 10th operations orders were issued to the Japanese Navy to destroy the American fleet in Pearl Harbor on December 7th.
Attack on Pearl Harbor pp. 621-623
at 7:55 the attack began. Within thirty minutes the Battle Line of the Pacific Fleet had been wiped out.
Fall of Singapore pp. 621-623
This great naval base, the bastion of all British power in the Far East, had to surrender on February 15, 1942, without even being able to d…
Battle of Midway pp. 621-623
The first turning point to be reached, in the war between the United States and Japan, occurred at Midway on June 4, 1942, while the second…
Montgomery attacks at El Alamein pp. 624-626
On October 23rd, while Rommel was absent in Germany, Montgomery attacked the Axis forces at their strongest point, along the coast road, and…
Operation Torch: American invasion of North Africa pp. 627-629
The American invasion of North Africa on November 8, 1942 (Operation Torch) arose as a compromise of quite dissimilar strategic ideas in Mos…
Casablanca demand for unconditional surrender pp. 627-629
Two other decisions were to proceed to the military occupation of Sicily and to demand the "unconditional surrender" of the three totalitari…
Hitler orders the capture of Stalingrad pp. 627-629
Suddenly, on July 18th, after seven weeks of advance, Hitler ordered the capture of Stalingrad.
German Sixth Army surrenders at Stalingrad pp. 630-632
A week later Hitler promoted him to field marshal, and two days later he surrendered. Of 270,000 Germans originally surrounded, over 100,000…
Doenitz replaces Raeder as head of the German navy pp. 630-632
When Grand Admiral Raeder protested too vigorously, he was removed from his position as head of the navy, and replaced by the U-boat special…
Anglo-Soviet Treaty of alliance pp. 633-635
This Anglo-Soviet Treaty of May 26, 1942 had no territorial provisions, and included a statement that the signers would "act in accordance w…
Dieppe raid pp. 633-635
The difficulties of such raids were shown on August 19, 1942 when a force of 5,000 men, mostly Canadians, landed at Dieppe and suffered 3,35…
Allied invasion of Sicily pp. 636-638
the Allied landings were skillfully executed against light resistance (July 10, 1943).
Fall of Mussolini pp. 636-638
The fall of Mussolini, on July 25, 1943, after being in power for over twenty years, did nothing to improve Italy's position.
Italy signs armistice with the Allies pp. 639-641
After days of discussion, an armistice accepting the Allied terms was signed on September 3rd, with the understanding that it would be kept…
Italy declares war on Germany pp. 639-641
In conformity to this will, on October 13th the king's government declared war against Germany.
Allied landing at Anzio pp. 642-644
that same day (January 22nd) the two Allied divisions landed at Anzio, hoping to cut the German communications going southward toward Monte…
Allied forces enter Rome pp. 642-644
and, on June 4, 1944, the American 88th Division, an all-selective-service unit, entered Rome.
Soviet-Polish agreement of July 1941 pp. 642-644
the Soviet Union reestablished diplomatic relations with the Polish government-in-exile in London, and signed an agreement on July 30, 1941…
Katyn mass graves announced pp. 645-647
the German radio suddenly announced, on April 13, 1943, that German forces in occupied Russia had discovered, at Katyn near Smolensk, Russia…
Trident Conference sets Overlord for May 1944 pp. 648-650
Two months later, at the so-called "Trident" Conference in Washington, Churchill and Roosevelt went over the same matters (May 1943). The cr…
UNRRA founded at Atlantic City pp. 648-650
At the first meeting of this international organization, at Atlantic City, New Jersey, in November 1943, forty-four nations agreed to contri…
Connally Resolution passes the Senate pp. 651-653
in November a similar expression, the Connally Resolution, was accepted in the United States Senate by a vote of 85 to 5.
Anglo-Soviet-Iranian alliance pp. 651-653
On January 29, 1942, Britain, the Soviet Union, and Iran signed an alliance by which the first two promised to respect and protect Iran's in…
Teheran decision to back Tito over Mihajlovic pp. 654-656
For this reason Churchill at Teheran made the fateful suggestion that the Allied supplies going to Yugoslavia be shifted from Mihajloviæ to…
D-Day: the invasion of Normandy pp. 654-656
The nine months following Teheran were devoted to military matters of which the chief was Overlord, begun on D- Day, June 6, 1944.
July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler pp. 657-659
On July 20, 1944, however, success seemed near when Colonel Count Klaus Schenk von Stauffenberg, chief of staff of the Home Army, made his d…
Germany launches the V-2 rocket against England pp. 657-659
On September 8, 1944, the V-l was replaced by the much superior V-2, a rocket which could not be intercepted because it moved faster than so…
Liberation of Paris pp. 660-662
General Jean Leclerc, with the French 2nd Armored Division, burst into the city on August 24th and accepted the surrender of the German garr…
De Gaulle heads a provisional government in Paris pp. 660-662
On August 26th De Gaulle entered Paris and immediately was made president of a provisional government formed by a coalition of returning exi…
Capture of the Remagen bridge across the Rhine pp. 660-662
On March 7, 1945, the American 8th Armored Division captured the Ludendorff Railway Bridge across the Rhine at Remagen a few minutes before…
Romania surrenders to the Allies pp. 663-665
The surrender, signed on September 12th, was to the United Nations, but its enforcement was left to the Soviet High Command, with the Anglo-…
Churchill-Stalin percentages agreement on the Balkans pp. 663-665
It led to an agreement between Churchill and Stalin, at the Moscow Conference of October 9-18, 1944, that Anglo-Soviet interests in the Balk…
Hungary concludes an armistice with Russia pp. 663-665
Only on January 20, 1945, was the provisional government of General Miklos able to conclude an armistice with the Russians, although fightin…
Warsaw Home Army forced to surrender pp. 666-668
On October 3, 1944, after sixty-three days of hopeless fighting, the Polish Home Army had to surrender to the Germans.
Russia recognizes the Lublin committee as Poland's government pp. 666-668
On January 5, 1945, Russia recognized the Committee of National Liberation as the government of Poland, while the Western Powers continued t…
Greece kept from Communist domination pp. 666-668
on February 13, 1945, accepted disarmament and amnesty under the regency of Archbishop Damaskinos, with General Nicholas Plastiras as prime…
Douhet's The Command of the Air published pp. 669-671
The Combined Bomber Offensive was an effort to carry out the largely erroneous ideas of an Italian general, Giulio Douhet, whose most signif…
Baldwin's 'the bomber will always get through' speech pp. 669-671
Baldwin reflected these ideas in November 1932, when he said: "I think it is well also for the man in the street to realize that there is no…
City bombing begins by accident over London pp. 669-671
The attack on cities began by accident when a group of German planes which were lost dumped their bomb loads, contrary to orders, on London…
Firestorm raids on Hamburg pp. 672-674
For more than a week, beginning on July 24th, Hamburg was attacked with a mixture of high-explosive and incendiary bombs so heavily and pers…
American daylight raid on Schweinfurt pp. 672-674
The first great American effort, against Schweinfurt, a city which produced 80 percent of German ball bearings, showed the difficulty of the…
Mussolini captured and killed by Italian guerrillas pp. 675-677
On April 28th, Mussolini, on his way to the Swiss frontier with extensive treasure, was captured and killed by Italian guerrillas; his body…
Hitler's suicide in Berlin pp. 675-677
On the afternoon of April 30, 1945, with the Russian soldiers only a block away, Eva Braun took poison and Hitler shot himself through the m…
V-E Day and the toll of Nazi bestiality pp. 675-677
By V-E Day, May 8, 1945, this bestiality had brought death to more than 30,000,000 human beings as sacrifices to mystic Germanic tribalism.
Invasion of Guadalcanal pp. 678-680
This eastern drive began on August 7, 1942, when Guadalcanal was invaded by naval and marine forces from Wellington, New Zealand, 2,375 mile…
Conquest of the Solomon Islands pp. 678-680
By February 8, 1943, after six months of horrible jungle combat, often without either air or sea support, the Solomons were conquered.
American invasion of Leyte moved up to October pp. 678-680
the invasion of Leyte in the Philippines had been moved up from December 20th to October 20th, only four weeks after the occupation of Ulith…
Battle of Leyte, the largest naval conflict in history pp. 681-683
To destroy this landing the Japanese gave orders which resulted in the Battle of Leyte, the largest naval conflict in history.
Firebombing of Tokyo pp. 684-686
On March 9, 1945, the Air Force tried a daring experiment.
Invasion of Okinawa pp. 684-686
The assault, on a perfect Easter morning, April I, 1945, hit the coral reef, with four divisions on a front five miles wide.
Yalta Conference pp. 684-686
The conference of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin held at Yalta, in the Crimea, on February 4-12, 1945, sought to reach agreement on most o…
Death of President Roosevelt pp. 687-689
the sudden death of President Roosevelt on April 12, 1945 had a great and incalculable effect.
Yalta secret Far East agreement pp. 687-689
It was agreed to undo the results of the Russo- Japanese War of 1904 as follows:
Trinity test: first atomic bomb detonated pp. 690-692
On July 16th, while Truman was surveying the devastation of Berlin, the atomic scientists were gathered on the desolate open plain of Alamo-…
Truman orders the atomic bomb used and picks targets pp. 690-692
The President on July 18th ordered the second bomb to be dropped on Japan as soon as it was ready, and on July 24th he chose the list of pos…
Potsdam ultimatum to Japan pp. 693-695
On July 26, 1945, Truman, Attlee, and Chiang Kai-shek issued an ambiguous ultimatum to Japan, warning the latter that it must accept immedia…
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima pp. 693-695
Under that cloud, at least 40,000 Japanese were killed instantly; an additional 12,000 died in the next few days; and eventually 60,175 peri…
Japanese surrender signed on the Missouri pp. 693-695
On September 2nd the final surrender was signed on the deck of the battleship Missouri in the shadow of the great 16-inch guns
Sorel's Reflections on Violence pp. 696-698
One way, going back to men like Georges Sorel (Reflections on Violence, 1908), sought a solution of this crisis in irrationalism, in action…
Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management pp. 699-701
This gave rise to "efficiency experts" such as Frederick Winslow Taylor (whose The Principles of Scientific Management appeared in 1911)
Blackett and Operational Research pp. 699-701
As Blackett wrote in 1941, "The scientist can encourage numerical thinking on operational matters, and so can help to avoid running the war…
National Defense Research Committee created pp. 702-704
As France fell, Bush persuaded President Roosevelt to create a National Defense Research Committee with Bush as chairman.
OSRD established pp. 702-704
In May 1941 a higher and wider organization was created, the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), with Bush as chairman and…
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior published pp. 702-704
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern (Princeton, 1944)
Tizard Committee's first radar meeting pp. 705-707
The Tizard Committee, with only £10,000 for research, held its first meeting on January 28, 1935
German V-2 rockets strike London and Antwerp pp. 705-707
developed the V-2, which devastated London and Antwerp from September 8, 1944 until the war's end
Fermi splits uranium atoms in Rome pp. 708-710
As early as 1934, in Rome, Enrico Fermi (Nobel Prize, 1938) and Emilio Segre (Nobel Prize, 1959), without realizing what they had done, had…
Proximity VT fuse first used in combat pp. 708-710
First used in action by the U.S.S. Helena against a Japanese dive-bombing plane on January 5, 1943, it destroyed the attacker on the second…
First V-1 flying bombs over England pp. 708-710
The first V-l came over on June 12, 1944, the last, 80 days later, the VT fuses being used only during the final four weeks.
Frisch and Meitner name nuclear 'fission' pp. 711-713
reported on the results in quantitative terms, in the English journal Nature on February 11 and 18, 1939. These reports, which first used th…
Sengier ships Congo uranium ore to New York pp. 711-713
after the fall of France, Sengier ordered all available uranium ore, 1,250 tons of it, shipped to New York.
Roosevelt reads Einstein's atomic warning pp. 714-716
The President read the material on October 11, 1939, and the wheels of government began to move, but very slowly.
All-out atomic effort decided before Pearl Harbor pp. 714-716
Only on December 6, 1941, the day before Pearl Harbor, was the decision taken to make an all-out effort to unlock atomic energy.
First sustained nuclear chain reaction pp. 714-716
On December 2, 1942, before a team of scientists, these cadmium rods were slowly withdrawn to the point where a chain nuclear reaction took…
First plutonium pile goes critical at Hanford pp. 717-719
When the first giant pile went "critical" there on September 27, 1944, it shut itself down after a day and then restarted itself again after…
Atomic bomb secrets passed to the Soviet Union pp. 717-719
all the significant information about making the bomb, notably the relative merits of different kinds of uranium, methods of plutonium separ…
Groves report names Japan as bomb target pp. 720-722
It is true that Groves in his report of April 23, 1945, which was presented to President Truman by Secretary Stimson two days later, said th…
Quigley: nuclear stalemate rooted in two 1945 decisions pp. 720-722
the particular stalemate of nuclear terror in which the world now lives derives directly from the two decisions made in 1945 to continue the…
Stimson Doctrine of non-recognition pp. 723-725
The Stimson Doctrine of 1931 ...in the American refusal to recognize Red China, shifted recognition from the objective criterion of ability…
Assassination of Togo's President Olympio pp. 723-725
In Togo in the following year a band of disgruntled soldiers killed the president, Sylvanus Olympio, and replaced him with a recalled politi…
CIA covert operations in Iran, Guatemala, Cuba pp. 726-728
as the American CIA did in several places, successfully in Iran in August 1953, and in Guatemala in May 1954, or very unsuccessfully, as in…
United Nations membership more than doubles pp. 726-728
The number of separate states registered as members in the United Nations rose steadily from 51 in 1945 to 82 in 1958 to 104 in 1961, and co…
American atomic monopoly, 1945-1949 pp. 729-731
The American Atomic Monopoly from Alamogordo in June 1945 to the first Soviet atom bomb ("Joe I") in August 1949.
First American ICBM fired at Cape Canaveral pp. 729-731
the first American ICBM was fired from Cape Canaveral in December 1957, two months after Sputnik I, and went full range in November 1958.
Cuban Missile Crisis pp. 729-731
the Cuban Crisis of October 1962, somewhat like the Fashoda Crisis of 1898, by bringing the United States and the Soviet Union to the edge o…
Truman defeats Dewey pp. 732-734
The defeat of Dewey by Truman in 1948 was a particularly bitter pill, and the Republican partisans after that event were ready to adopt any…
Dulles's 'A Policy of Boldness' pp. 732-734
This kind of impatience with foreign problems and danger was clearly stated by Dulles in his article "A Policy of Boldness" in Life magazine…
Strategic Bombing Survey established pp. 735-737
On November 3, 1944, the United States Secretary of War, on order of the President, set up a committee of twelve to conduct a Strategic Bomb…
Douhet's prophecy of air power pp. 735-737
Douhet as early as 1921 preached that the next war would be ended in the first twenty- four hours by the total destruction of all enemy citi…
Free elections defeat Communists in Austria and Hungary pp. 738-740
when Austria and Hungary, although under Soviet military occupation, were permitted relatively free elections in November 1945. Both resulte…
Clay halts reparations to the Soviet zone pp. 738-740
On May 3, 1946, General Lucius D. Clay, head of the American Military Government in Germany, informed the Russians that no future agreements…
Chinese attack on India and Sino-Soviet break pp. 738-740
This third period ended with the Chinese attack on India in October 1962 and the break between Communist China and the Soviet Union at the e…
United States credit to Britain pp. 741-743
the United States in July 1946 provided Britain with a credit of $3,750 million, with interest at 2 percent and repayment in fifty annual in…
Stalin forces Czechoslovakia to reject Marshall aid pp. 741-743
Czechoslovakia, which accepted on July 7th, was forced by Stalin's direct order to Prime Minister Gottwald to reverse this decision on July…
McMahon Act creates the Atomic Energy Commission pp. 744-746
pushed through the McMahon bill to presidential signature in August 1946. The McMahon bill set up an Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of five…
Baruch Plan for international atomic control pp. 744-746
The final plan, presented to the UN by Baruch on June 14, 1946, provided an international control body similar to the AEC.
Break between Tito and Moscow pp. 744-746
By March 1948, a complete break between Belgrade and Moscow was reached.
Truman Doctrine proclaimed pp. 747-749
On March 12th the American President enunciated the "Truman Doctrine" to a joint session of Congress.
Marshall Plan announced at Harvard pp. 747-749
at Harvard's commencement, Secretary of State General George C. Marshall enunciated the "Marshall Plan," which offered American economic sup…
Communist coup in Czechoslovakia pp. 747-749
yielded to Gottwald's demands on February 25, 1948; he himself resigned on May 4th and died in September 1948.
German currency reform of 1948 pp. 750-752
The German currency reform of 1948 is the fiscal miracle of the postwar world.
Berlin blockade begins pp. 750-752
its blockade of Berlin which lasted in extreme form from June 24, 1948, to May 12, 1949
Italian election defeats the Communists pp. 750-752
In Italy, on April 18, 1948, desperate Communist efforts to get a strong foothold in the Italian government were defeated in the first gener…
Berlin airlift ends as ground routes reopen pp. 753-755
On May 12th, after elaborate negotiations, the ground routes to the city were reopened.
West German elections and Adenauer pp. 753-755
The West German elections of August 14, 1949, gave the Christian Democrats 31 percent of the vote, with 139 seats in the Parliament.
Nationalist government flees to Taiwan pp. 756-758
the Nationalist government, eight years to the day after Pearl Harbor, fled from the mainland to Taiwan (Formosa), where they were protected…
Sino-Soviet mutual-assistance treaty pp. 756-758
These led to a mutual- assistance treaty signed on February 14, 1950.
National Security Act reorganizes U.S. security pp. 756-758
reorganization of the whole system of intelligence and spying, through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the code- breaking National…
Forrestal, first Secretary of Defense, resigns and dies pp. 759-761
His mind collapsed under the strain, and he resigned in 1949, committing suicide shortly afterward.
LeMay takes command of Strategic Air Command pp. 759-761
taken over from General George Kenney by General Curtis E. LeMay in October 1948.
NATO founded pp. 762-764
the organization of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) following the treaty of April 4, 1949, signed in Washington.
American Communist Party membership collapses pp. 762-764
the number of Communists in the United States, according to the FBI, was only about 75,000 in 1945 and fell steadily to 50,000 in 1950 and t…
Sicily invasion deception of 1943 pp. 765-767
This was done most successfully in 1943 in preparing the American invasion of Sicily, which was a surprise to the Germans because they had b…
Arrest and acquittal of Lieutenant Redin pp. 765-767
The earliest of these was the arrest of Soviet naval Lieutenant Redin by the FBI on March 26, 1946
Truman's loyalty oath order pp. 768-770
he issued an order (March 21, 1947) requiring a loyalty oath from all government workers.
HUAC publicity launches Nixon and Mundt pp. 768-770
it carried both Mundt and Nixon to the Senate in 1948 and 1950
HUAC testimony times the 1948 election pp. 771-773
The most sensational evidence from the HUAC was released in the late summer of 1948 just in time to influence the presidential election in N…
Quigley: China lost through Chiang's own weakness pp. 771-773
Mao won out in China because of the incompetence and corruption of the Chiang Kai-shek regime, and he won out in spite of any aid the United…
Quigley: J. P. Morgan and the 'American Establishment' pp. 774-776
This group, which in the United States, was completely dominated by J. P. Morgan and Company from the 1880's to the 1930's was cosmopolitan,…
The New Republic founded pp. 774-776
The best example of this alliance of Wall Street and Left-wing publication was The New Republic, a magazine founded by Willard Straight, usi…
Quigley: Croly's biography reveals Straight's aims pp. 777-779
Croly's biography of Straight, published in 1924, makes perfectly clear that Straight was in no sense a liberal or a progressive, but was, i…
United Nations World magazine founded pp. 777-779
Straight founded a new magazine, the United Nations World, to be devoted to the support of the UN.
Quigley: Wallace's 1948 run destroyed U.S. Communism pp. 780-782
This ended Communism as a significant political force in the United States, and the end was reached by December 1948, long before McCarthy o…
Communist research group's Marshall Plan attack pp. 780-782
an alternative Communist plan for European reconstruction, which was published in The New Republic on January 12, 1948
McCarran Committee and the 'loss of China' pp. 783-785
In 1951 the Subcommittee on Internal Security of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the so-called McCarran Committee, sought to show that China…
Quigley: Wall Street foundations financed the IPR pp. 783-785
of which about half, in each case, came from the Carnegie Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation (which were themselves interlocking grou…
Quigley: I have studied this network for twenty years pp. 786-789
I know of the operations of this network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960's, to…
Round Table Groups organized pp. 786-789
The Round Table Groups were semi-secret discussion and lobbying groups organized by Lionel Curtis, Philip H. Kerr (Lord Lothian), and (Sir)…
Quigley: Council on Foreign Relations as a Morgan front pp. 786-789
In New York it was known as the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a front for J. P. Morgan and Company in association with the very smal…
Reece Committee investigates tax-exempt foundations pp. 790-792
The Eighty-third Congress in July 1953 set up a Special Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations with Representative B. Carroll Reece…
Truman announces the first Soviet atomic bomb pp. 793-795
President Truman, on September 23, 1949, made a public announcement: "Within recent weeks an atomic explosion occurred in the USSR."
Houtermans proposes solar hydrogen fusion pp. 793-795
Houtermans suggested that the energy of the sun came from the fusion of four hydrogen atoms to make a single helium atom.
Truman orders development of the hydrogen bomb pp. 796-798
On January 31, 1950, the President gave a decision which has frequently been misrepresented: he ordered the AEC to proceed with its efforts…
Fuchs confession and McCarthy's Wheeling speech pp. 796-798
Klaus Fuchs confessed to atomic espionage in England on January 27th; President Truman ordered work on the H-bomb four days later; and McCar…
'Mike' thermonuclear explosion at Eniwetok pp. 796-798
The feasibility of this new plan was tested in a successful thermonuclear explosion (called "Mike”) as part of the tests of Operation Ivy at…
'Bravo' thermonuclear test at Bikini pp. 799-801
we exploded, at Bikini on March 1, 1954, our first real thermonuclear bomb.
Quigley: the Teller 'father of the H-bomb' myth pp. 799-801
This, of course, was not believed by the atomic scientists, but seemed convincing to many well-informed persons from the strange fact that W…
NSC 68 accepted pp. 802-804
was accepted in April 1950 by the National Security Council as directive NSC 68, but with a cost figure of only $18 billion a year.
Acheson's defense-perimeter speech pp. 802-804
The MacArthur defense perimeter in the Far East was accepted by Secretary of State Acheson in a speech on January 12, 1950
North Korea invades South Korea pp. 802-804
On June 25, 1950, after a two-hour artillery bombardment, 60,000 North Koreans, led by a hundred Soviet tanks, crossed the 38th parallel and…
UN votes collective force in Korea pp. 805-807
On June 27, 1950, the Security Council, with Yugoslavia casting the only opposing vote, condemned the aggression and asked its members to gi…
Inchon landing pp. 805-807
On September 22nd they captured Seoul and, six days later, were joined by the main United Nations offensive driving up the peninsula from Pu…
Chinese intervention in Korea begins pp. 805-807
The Red Chinese decision to intervene in North Korea was made about the third week in August and began on October 15th, nine days after Amer…
Chinese counteroffensive in Korea pp. 808-810
Until November 26th the MacArthur offensive rolled northward against only moderate resistance, but, just as it reached the Yalu frontier at…
Truman relieves MacArthur pp. 808-810
Five days after the MacArthur-Martin letter had been read in Congress, Truman removed the general from all his commands in the Far East.
Japanese peace treaty signed pp. 811-813
One of these was Dulles's success in obtaining a peace treaty for Japan (September 8, 1951).
J. P. Morgan and Company disappears into Guaranty Trust pp. 811-813
from its deeply anonymous status as a partnership (founded in 1861) to its transformation into an incorporated public company in 1940 and it…
Stalin's death breaks the Korean deadlock pp. 814-816
Only the death of Stalin in March 1953 broke this stalemate.
Korean armistice signed pp. 814-816
The truce was signed on July 27, 1953, after 37 months of war in which the United States had lost 25,000 dead, 115,000 other casualties, and…
McCarthy's Senate attack on Marshall pp. 817-819
In June 1951, Senator McCarthy delivered in the Senate a speech of 60,000 words attacking General Marshall as a man "steeped in falsehood,"
Eisenhower elected president pp. 817-819
With Eisenhower as candidate, combined with Richard Nixon, the ruthless enemy of internal subversion, as a running mate, and using a campaig…
Dulles announces 'massive retaliation' pp. 820-822
This was publicly announced in his speech of January 12, 1954, before the Council of Foreign Relations, but had been forecast in his article…
SEATO signed pp. 820-822
The third pact, SEATO, signed in 1954, had eight members (United States, Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Thailand, and…
Baghdad Pact formed pp. 820-822
The Baghdad Pact of 1955 was largely a Dulles creation but did not include the United States. Its members were Britain, Turkey, Iran, Iraq,…
Oppenheimer's classified papers seized pp. 823-825
On July 7th, at the request of Strauss, the AEC ordered that classified documents in Oppenheimer's possession in Princeton be taken from him…
Borden's letter accusing Oppenheimer pp. 823-825
more probably than not J. Robert Oppenheimer is an agent of the Soviet Union.
Oppenheimer security hearings pp. 823-825
The hearings, from April 12 to May 6, 1954, allowed Oppenheimer to have counsel who were permitted to cross-examine witnesses, but the condu…
AEC ends Oppenheimer's clearance pp. 826-828
On the basis of the recommendation of the Hearing Board, the AEC voted 4 to 1 (with the scientist Henry D. Smyth dissenting) not to restore…
Eisenhower inaugural speech signals 'unleashing' of Chiang Kai-shek pp. 829-831
In his inaugural speech the new President announced that he was unleashing Chiang Kai-shek against Red China.
'New Look' defense strategy adopted in NSC 162 pp. 829-831
views were incorporated in NSC 162 in October 1953, and accepted by the President on October 30th.
Stalin's Great Purge of 1937 destroys thousands of army officers pp. 832-834
Stalin had shown his power over it in the Great Purge of 1937 when he had destroyed at least 5,000 of its officers on falsified charges of d…
Secretary Wilson dismisses Soviet satellite race threat pp. 832-834
In November 1954, three years before "Sputnik," a journalist asked Wilson for comment on the possibility that the Russians might beat the Un…
Death of Stalin pp. 835-837
At this point, just when the purge was to begin, Stalin died, possibly from a series of strokes, on March 5, 1953.
East Berlin workers' uprising pp. 835-837
On June 16, '953, these workers rose up against the Communist government in East Berlin.
Khrushchev launches the 'virgin lands' scheme pp. 838-840
In February 1954, a large conference of agricultural leaders in Moscow was thunderstruck by a suggestion from Khrushchev for a radical new a…
Warsaw Pact signed pp. 838-840
The solidity of the satellites was to be preserved by the Warsaw Pact of May 14, 1955, which established a twenty-year alliance of the Sovie…
Eisenhower's 'open-skies' plan at Geneva Summit pp. 841-843
This was his "open-skies" plan, which never came to anything but which gave the United States a propaganda advantage the Soviet Union could…
International Geophysical Year pp. 841-843
The most amazing of these projects was the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, in which scientists of sixty-six countries cooperate…
Twentieth Party Congress convenes pp. 841-843
The Twentieth Party Congress met for eleven days, February 14-25, 1956, within the Kremlin walls.
Khrushchev's secret speech: Stalin ignored 1941 invasion warnings pp. 844-846
By April 3, 1941, Churchill through his ambassador to the USSR, Cripps, personally warned Stalin that the Germans were regrouping their arme…
Khrushchev's secret speech published in the West pp. 847-849
One of these found its way to the United States government and was published on June 2, 1956.
Soviet extraction of wealth from eastern Europe pp. 850-852
In all, it has been estimated that the Soviet Union extracted goods worth $20 billion out of eastern Europe in 1945-1946.
Poznan and Hungarian unrest begins pp. 850-852
The crisis began in both countries in the last week of June 1956.
Soviet forces invade Hungary and take Budapest pp. 853-855
the Soviet invasion was in full operation, overrunning the country and smashing into Budapest before dawn on November 4th.
Soviet economic reorganization law decentralizes industry pp. 853-855
The economic reorganization law was passed on May 10, 1957, abolishing twenty-five economic ministries (retaining nineteen) and devolving th…
Khrushchev defeats the 'anti-party group' pp. 856-858
This change of July 23, 1957, was Khrushchev's most smashing personal victory and the most significant event in Russia's internal history af…
Khrushchev becomes premier pp. 856-858
Following the elections and assembly of the new Supreme Soviet on March 28th, Bulganin resigned as premier and was replaced by Khrushchev.
Sino-Soviet Treaty of August 1945 pp. 862-864
This Soviet attitude toward China was reflected in the Sino-Soviet Treaty of August 14, 1945, which obtained Chiang's consent to the concess…
Red Chinese-Soviet treaty of February 1950 pp. 862-864
did Stalin accept a Communist regime in China and seek to bring it under his influence by means of the Red Chinese-Soviet treaty of February…
Japanese Communist Party collapses in 1952 elections pp. 862-864
the Communist Party of Japan obtained less than 3 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections of October 1952 and lost all of its twe…
Independence of Southeast Asian states pp. 865-867
Burma became an independent state in 1948, followed by Indochina in 1949, by Malaya in 1957, and by Singapore (under a special relationship)…
Red China recognizes Ho Chi Minh's Vietnam pp. 865-867
Mao's government was the first state to give Vietnam diplomatic recognition (January 1950), and at once began to send military supplies and…
Fall of Dien Bien Phu pp. 868-870
The fall of Dien Bien Phu on May 7th opened a vigorous debate in the French Assembly and led to the fall of Premier Joseph Laniel's governme…
Geneva settlement partitions Indochina pp. 868-870
The Indochinese settlement of July 20, 1954 was basically a compromise, some of whose elements did not appear in the agreement itself.
SEATO founded at Manila pp. 868-870
The new state system of Southeast Asia was brought within the Dulles network of trip-wire pacts on September 8, 1954, when eight nations of…
Deaths of Gandhi and Jinnah after India's partition pp. 871-873
The founders of the two states, Gandhi in India and Jinnah in Pakistan, both died in 1948, the former assassinated by a Hindu religious fana…
Ayub Khan establishes martial law in Pakistan pp. 871-873
In October 1958, martial law was established and the commander in chief, General Muhammad Ayub Khan, became president and quasi-dictator as…
Soviet loan follows Khrushchev-Bulganin visit to Kabul pp. 871-873
These relations were sealed by a state visit of Khrushchev and Bulganin to Kabul in November 1955. From this came a Soviet loan of $100 mill…
D'Arcy oil concession in Iran pp. 874-876
Of these concessions the most significant was one granted in 1901 to William Knox D'Arcy for the exclusive right to exploit all stages of th…
Reza Pahlavi seizes control of Iran pp. 874-876
The chief Iranian officer in that force, Reza Pahlavi, in the course of 1921- 1925, gradually took over control of the government and eventu…
Assassination of Razmara and Iranian oil nationalization pp. 877-879
The Iranian opposition to nationalization was broken in March 1951, when the prime minister, Ali Razmara, and his minister of education were…
World oil cartel formed by 1928 tripartite agreement pp. 877-879
This world oil cartel had developed from a tripartite agreement signed on September 17, 1928 by Royal Dutch-Shell, Anglo-Iranian, and Standa…
CIA directs overthrow of Mossadegh pp. 880-882
The chief effort came from the American super-secret intelligence agency (CIA) under the personal direction of its director, Allen W. Dulles…
Quigley links Schroeder Bank to Hitler's 1933 chancellorship pp. 880-882
It will be recalled that the Schroeder Bank in Cologne helped to arrange Hitler's accession to power as chancellor in January 1933.
Iranian oil dispute settled by 1954 consortium pp. 880-882
In the meantime the oil dispute was settled by a compromise in October 1954.
Truman requests admission of 100,000 Jews to Palestine pp. 883-885
In August 1945, President Truman asked British permission to admit 100,000 European Jews into Palestine, but his repeated requests were refu…
Irgun bombs the King David Hotel pp. 883-885
the Irgun Zvai Le'umi in reprisal exploded 500 pounds of TNT under the British headquarters in the east wing of the luxurious King David Hot…
United Nations votes to partition Palestine pp. 886-888
the British sought to escape from the situation by appealing to the United Nations, which voted in November to partition Palestine into two…
State of Israel proclaimed pp. 886-888
The new state of Israel was proclaimed by Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, and was recognized by President Truman sixteen minutes later, in a rac…
Egypt granted independence by Britain pp. 889-891
Egypt had been granted its independence by Great Britain in 1922, but the latter continued to interfere in the governing of the country by p…
Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 pp. 889-891
Relations with Britain were finally regulated by a treaty in 1936 which established a twenty-year alliance, granted Britain continued posses…
Cairo riots of January 1952 burn British landmarks pp. 889-891
The next day (January 26, 1952) riots in Cairo burned down about four hundred buildings, including the famous Shepheard's Hotel, the center…
Farouk forced to abdicate in Egyptian revolution pp. 892-894
Four days later, with tanks surrounding the palace, Farouk was forced to abdicate and was sent into exile.
Nasser replaces Naguib as Egypt's prime minister pp. 892-894
A civilian prime minister was replaced by General Naguib on September 7th, and he was replaced by Nasser on February 25, 1954.
Egyptian Agrarian Law of 1952 pp. 892-894
The Agrarian Law of September 1952 determined much of the subsequent political and economic policy of the regime.
US withdraws Aswan aid; Nasser nationalizes Suez Canal pp. 895-897
This decision of July 19, 1956, was answered on July 26th, fourth anniversary of the expulsion of King Farouk, by Nasser with the sudden nat…
Israel attacks Egypt across Sinai pp. 895-897
Four days later, on the 29th, Israel attacked Egypt, and at once began a spectacular advance across the Sinai Desert toward the Suez Canal a…
UN Assembly demands Suez cease-fire pp. 895-897
On November 2nd the Assembly of the United Nations, by its largest majority to date, accepted, by a vote of 64-5, a Dulles resolution callin…
Eisenhower Doctrine announced pp. 898-900
the American position, ignoring all the real problems of the area, was stated in the form of the so-called Eisenhower Doctrine in January 19…
American forces land in Lebanon pp. 898-900
To prevent this, American forces were landed in Lebanon in the same week (July 15-17) in which a United Nations commission on the spot repor…
Iraqi military revolt under Qassim pp. 901-903
In Iraq the military revolt of July 1958, led by General Abdul Karim Qassim
Missile race runs from Cuban crisis to Kennedy's death pp. 901-903
The next seven years were filled with the missile race, and reached their culmination and denouement in the year from the Cuban missile cris…
Nuclear test moratorium begins pp. 904-906
the Kremlin entered upon an unofficial international suspension of nuclear-bomb testing (the Test Moratorium) from October 31, 1958 to Octob…
Soviet Union resumes testing with 58-megaton bomb pp. 904-906
in October 1961, the Soviet Union broke the test moratorium of three years by resuming nuclear testing, but, to conceal the purpose of the t…
Test Ban Treaty of 1963 pp. 904-906
the first formal agreement based on it was the official Test Ban Treaty of August 1963.
Launch of Sputnik I and Sputnik II pp. 907-909
On October 4th Sputnik I, weighing 184 pounds, was shot into an orbit around our earth; a month later, Sputnik II, weighing 1,120 pounds and…
First humans sent into space pp. 907-909
in April and August 1961 Soviet vehicles successfully sent the first human beings into space: Vostok I was recovered after a single orbit, a…
Khrushchev's Berlin ultimatum pp. 910-912
On November 27th, Khrushchev, filled with self-confidence and truculence, sent a note to the Western Powers demanding settlement of the Berl…
Khrushchev visits the United States pp. 910-912
a significant turning point in Soviet-American relations appeared during Khrushchev's visit to the United States, September 15-17, 1959.
Berlin Wall built pp. 913-915
the East German authorities on August 13, 196r, clamped down a rigid "death strip" along the East German-West German frontier, and hastily b…
Forced collectivization of East German agriculture pp. 913-915
In three months, February-April 1960, almost a million farmers were forced into less than 20,000 collective farms by methods of violence and…
Soviet missile buildup in Cuba begins pp. 916-918
Whatever the reason for the Soviet missile buildup in Cuba, once begun, in August 1962, it proceeded with amazing speed.
Kennedy announces quarantine of Cuba pp. 916-918
This speech established a "quarantine on all offensive equipment under shipment to Cuba," demanded dismantling of the missile sites, and wit…
Soviet ships turn back at the Cuban quarantine pp. 919-921
Within a few hours, it became clear that twelve of twenty-five Soviet ships en route to Cuba were turning back. The Kremlin had backed down.
Khrushchev accepts settlement of the missile crisis pp. 919-921
On Sunday morning, by radio from Moscow, Khrushchev's acceptance was announced: the work on the missile sites was ordered stopped and they w…
Quigley traces Latin American traits to the Arab conquest of Spain pp. 928-930
In Spain, the Arab conquest of 711, which was not finally ejected until 1492, served to spread Arab personality traits, in spite of the obvi…
Mexican Revolution challenges the old oligarchy pp. 931-933
This challenge, which first appeared in Mexico in 1910, was a consequence of the commercialization and, much later, the incipient industrial…
Peron comes to power in Argentina pp. 934-936
This was evident in the career of Juan D. Perón, an army officer who came to power by a coup d'état in 1943 and sought to base that control…
Bolivian revolution of 1952 pp. 934-936
The older officers prevented the MNR from participating in the new government, but their junta split and was overthrown by an uprising in Ap…
Guatemalan land reform targets United Fruit pp. 937-939
opposition from the United States began as soon as it became clear that the Land Reform Act of June 1952 would be applied to the United Frui…
Batista seizes power in Cuba pp. 937-939
The fourth such election, scheduled for 1953, was prevented when Batista seized power once again, in March 1952.
Castro lands in Cuba to begin guerrilla war pp. 937-939
The failure of the rising of July 26th gave Castro two years of imprisonment and more than a year of exile, hut at the end of 1956 he landed…
Castro marches into Havana pp. 940-942
The steady attrition of the regime's popular and military support made it possible for Castro's forces to advance across Cuba, and, on New Y…
Mikoyan trade agreement draws Cuba toward the USSR pp. 940-942
these changes within the island, and especially the long visit there of Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan in February 1960, forced a rec…
Bay of Pigs invasion fails pp. 940-942
As a result of these errors, the 1,500 men landed at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba on April 17, 1961 were destroyed in seventy-two hours…
Castro declares himself a Marxist-Leninist pp. 943-945
On May Day 1961, Castro had proclaimed that Cuba would be a socialist state and, in a two-day speech on December 1-2, 1961, he had announced…
Good Neighbor Policy announced pp. 946-948
The Good Neighbor Policy, announced by President Roosevelt in 1933, reduced intervention while retaining investment.
Military coup ousts Goulart in Brazil pp. 946-948
That this failure continued into the 1960's was clear in Washington's joy at the military coup that ejected the left-of-center João Goulart…
Alliance for Progress charter signed at Punta del Este pp. 949-951
The formal agreement for the Alliance for Progress was signed by all members of the Organization of American States except Cuba, at Punta de…
American occupation reforms Japanese agriculture pp. 952-954
The reorganization of Japanese agriculture was largely due to the American Military Occupation (SCAP), and was so successful that the index…
Commercial television arrives in Japan pp. 955-957
Commercial television began in Japan in 1953; five years later, 16 percent of urban houses had a set, but by 1961, 72 percent had sets
SCAP issues Japan's postwar constitution pp. 955-957
The Constitution itself, issued by SCAP in 1946, provided that a prime minister be chosen by the 467 members of the House of Representatives…
US-Japan Mutual Defense Alliance pp. 955-957
The Mutual Defense Alliance with the United States, signed in March 1954, bound Japan to maintain a defense force of 275,000 men.
Sino-Soviet Alliance of 1950 pp. 958-960
The Sino-Soviet Alliance of February 1950 was accompanied by an economic development loan of $300 million and was followed by the arrival in…
Mao's request for nuclear warheads rebuffed pp. 958-960
In November 1957, Mao Tse-tung took a delegation to Moscow and made a formal request for nuclear warheads, but was rebuffed.
China's 'Great Leap Forward' begins pp. 961-963
This steadily growing crisis was brought abruptly to the acute stage by the "Great Leap Forward" in 1958, the first year of the Second Five-…
China's Land Reform Law eliminates landlordism pp. 961-963
Previous to the Land Reform Law of June 1950, 10 percent of families owned 53 percent of the farm land, while 32 percent owned 78 percent of…
China's 1958 grain crop overstated pp. 964-966
The official estimates for the 1958 grain crop were originally set at over 300 million tons, but in 1959 and later, this was revised to less…
Soviet advisers withdrawn from China, 1960 pp. 964-966
The withdrawal of almost all Soviet technical and military advisers in China during the summer of 1960 could not be defended solely on the b…
70,000 flee China into Hong Kong, 1962 pp. 964-966
in May 1962, not a year in which the crisis was generally acute, 70,000 hungry Chinese pushed across the barricaded border of China into the…
Hundred Flowers Campaign, 1956 pp. 967-969
I et a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend.
Birth of Mao Tse-tung, 1893 pp. 967-969
was born in 1893 in Hunan Province. His father, a domestic tyrant and local miser, had less than four acres
Founding of the Chinese Communist Party, 1920 pp. 967-969
in 1920 was one of the eleven original founders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
China publishes expansive border map, 1954 pp. 970-972
The year 1954 may be taken as the initial date in this effort, because at that time the Peking government published a map of China that show…
Tibetan revolt crushed, Dalai Lama flees, 1959 pp. 970-972
This pressure began at once, and reached an acute stage in March 1959, when the Chinese authorities sought to arrest the Dalai Lama, head of…
Open warfare in the Plaine des Jarres, Laos, 1963 pp. 970-972
This effort broke out into open warfare in the Plaine des Jarres in April 1963.
Ne Win's military coup in Burma, 1962 pp. 973-975
in March 1962, another military coup, led by General Ne Win, ousted U Nu, suspended the constitution, and ruled through a junta of seventeen…
Ngo Dinh Diem becomes president of South Vietnam, 1955 pp. 973-975
When Diem became president in 1955, after the deposition of the pro-French Emperor Bao Dai, the country had just received 800,000 refugees f…
Overthrow of the Diem family, 1963 pp. 973-975
On November 1, 1963, an American-encouraged military coup, led by General Duong Van Minh, overthrew the Diem family, killing several of its…
Sino-Indian War, 1962 pp. 976-978
By October 1962, Chinese-Indian border incidents, on territory claimed by both, erupted into open war.
Colonial subjects at the start of World War II, 1939 pp. 976-978
When World War II began in 1939, a quarter of the human race, six hundred million people, mostly with nonwhite skins, were colonial subjects…
Sino-Soviet split becomes unbridgeable, 1964 pp. 976-978
By 1964 the split within the Communist movement seemed unbridgeable.
Birth of the French Fifth Republic, 1958 pp. 979-981
This change ended the Fourth French Republic and brought into existence a new regime, the Fifth Republic, whose constitutional provisions we…
Algerian settlement reached, 1962 pp. 979-981
It took almost four years more before agreement was reached between the Algerian rebels and the De Gaulle regime on a settlement of the Alge…
Ben Bella's visit to the Western Hemisphere, 1962 pp. 979-981
The erratic instability and demagogy associated with so many newly independent states was displayed by Ben Bella during his visit to the Wes…
Bandung Conference of uncommitted nations, 1955 pp. 985-987
a number of meetings of so-called "uncommitted nations" of which the chief was held at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955
Suez defeat triggers African decolonization, 1956 pp. 988-990
the trigger on the chain reaction of the decolonization process was the defeat of the Anglo-French effort at Suez because of America and Sov…
Independence of Ghana, 1957 pp. 988-990
With good will on both sides, a transition period of six years gave Ghana its independence, under Nkrumah's rule, in March 1957.
Independence of Nigeria, 1960 pp. 988-990
Nigeria, the largest territory in the British colonial empire, larger than any European state and four times the size of the United Kingdom,…
Guinea rejects the French Community, 1958 pp. 991-993
Sékou Touré, of Guinea, however, persuaded his area to vote against ratification and was, in retaliation by De Gaulle, instantly ejected fro…
Independence of the Mali Republic, 1960 pp. 991-993
Senegal and the Sudanese Republic, linked together briefly as the Mali Republic, obtained freedom in April 1960, and started a flood of decl…
Formation of the Brazzaville Twelve, 1960 pp. 991-993
Called the "Brazzaville Twelve," after their second meeting at Brazzaville, French Congo, in December 1960, these formed a loose organizatio…
UAMS charter signed at Tananarive, 1961 pp. 994-996
Its charter of Union, for example, was not signed until the fourth conference, at Tananarive, in September 1961.
Marx's Communist Manifesto, 1848 pp. 1015-1017
The period, associated with Hegel, Hugo, and Heine, culminated in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto (1848), which found the key to man's socia…
Imperialist aggressions of 1894-1899 pp. 1015-1017
the imperialist aggressions that began with Japan, Italy, and Britain in China, Ethiopia, and South Africa
Councils of Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451) pp. 1018-1020
From this religious basis established on "Both" as early as the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451), the outlook of the West develo…
Eastern Establishment dominates both U.S. parties since 1900 pp. 1033-1035
They had been the dominant element in both parties since 1900, and practiced the political techniques of William C. Whitney and J. P. Morgan…
Eisenhower nominated over Taft, 1952 pp. 1033-1035
The ability of the latter to nominate Eisenhower over Taft in 1952 was a bitter pill to the radical bourgeoisie
Kennedy's entry into the Establishment, 1938-1940 pp. 1033-1035
John Kennedy's introduction to the Establishment arose from his support of Britain, in opposition to his father, in the critical days at the…
Goldwater captures the Republican nomination, 1964 pp. 1036-1038
The capture of the Republican National Party by the extremist elements of the Republican Congressional Party in 1964, and their effort to el…
Rousseau's Emile and permissive education, 1762 pp. 1039-1041
In educational theory this erroneous idea went back to the Emile of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762), which idealized the state of nature as equ…
Western European integration begins, 1948 pp. 1066-1068
The integration of Western Europe began in 1948 as a consequence of the growth of Soviet aggression that culminated in the Prague coup and t…
Schuman proposes a common coal and steel authority, 1950 pp. 1066-1068
In 1950 Robert Schuman, then French foreign minister and later prime minister, who had been a German subject during World War I, suggested t…
French Assembly rejects the EDC treaty, 1954 pp. 1066-1068
Unfortunately for these plans, the Left and the Right in the French Assembly joined together to reject the EDC treaty (August 1954).
Paris Treaties restore German sovereignty, 1954 pp. 1066-1068
the French Assembly in December 1954 ratified the Paris Treaties that legalized the changes in Germany's status that France most feared.
Rome Treaty creates the Common Market, 1957 pp. 1066-1068
From this flowed the Rome Treaty of March 1957, which established the European Economic Community, better known as the Common Market, as wel…
Britain forms EFTA after Free Trade Area collapses, 1958 pp. 1072-1074
When France, with West German support, broke off the Free Trade Area negotiations in December 1958, the British were left out of the EEC, wh…
French force de frappe becomes operational, 1964 pp. 1075-1077
By the end of 1964, when twenty of these planes were operational, they were being produced at a rate of one a month and were being matched b…
De Gaulle forces through French nuclear force bill, 1960 pp. 1078-1080
he forced through the bill to create an independent French nuclear force without allowing the Assembly to debate the issue or to vote on the…
Army revolt in Algeria, 1961 pp. 1078-1080
the mutiny and revolt of several army contingents in Algeria in April 1961 showed fairly clearly that this opposition movement was largely r…
De Gaulle wins referendum on presidential election, 1962 pp. 1078-1080
By the referendum on the constitutional change, on October 28, 1962, De Gaulle achieved his purpose with almost 62 percent of the votes regi…
Churchill retires; Eden becomes prime minister, 1955 pp. 1078-1080
Anthony Eden served a brief and rather unsuccessful prime ministership from the retirement of Winston Churchill in April 1955 until his own…
Labour wins the British general election, 1964 pp. 1081-1083
As a result, Labour won the election of October 1964 by a bare majority of the House of Commons.
Britain applies to join the Common Market, 1961 pp. 1084-1086
Application was made in August 1961, opening many months of onerous negotiations.
Nassau Conference on Anglo-American nuclear cooperation, 1962 pp. 1084-1086
The Nassau Conference sought to iron out various Anglo-American differences, to agree on steps that might avert De Gaulle's steady weakening…
Death of Gaitskell; Wilson leads Labour, 1963 pp. 1084-1086
Gaitskell died early in 1963, and was succeeded as party leader by Harold Wilson
De Gaulle vetoes British entry to the EEC, 1963 pp. 1087-1090
Within less than a month, in January 1963, he rejected the British seventeen-month-old application to join the EEC.
Assassination of President Kennedy, 1963 pp. 1087-1090
President Kennedy was assassinated by an unstable political fanatic in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
Khrushchev removed; Nehru dies, 1964 pp. 1087-1090
the removal from office of Khrushchev in October 1964, and the death that year of Jawaharlal Nehru, who had been prime minister of India fro…