1932 Pecora Commission

The Pecora Investigation was an inquiry begun on March 4, 1932, by the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the causes of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The name refers to the fourth and final chief counsel for the investigation, Ferdinand Pecora. His exposure of abusive practices in the financial industry galvanized broad public support for stricter regulations. As a result, the U.S. Congress passed the Glass–Steagall Banking Act of 1933, the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

●τ 1933

1933-11-16 USA~USSR diplomatic relations ..

Prohibition, USA - 1920 - 1933 ..

1933-11-16 USA~USSR diplomatic relations

.16th November 1933: USA~USSR formal diplomatic relations - HiPo > .

The United States had broken off diplomatic relations with Russia shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Woodrow Wilson refused to recognise the new government due to its seizure of American property in Russia, alongside its refusal to pay back debts incurred by the Tsar or honour existing international treaties.

As the Bolshevik government consolidated its power in the Civil War, America remained concerned that the new Soviet Union was a threat to American values. Nevertheless the two countries maintained and expanded commercial links throughout the 1920s, with the Ford Motor Company even collaborating with the Soviet government to provide parts and establish the Gorky Automobile Plant.

Shortly after taking office in March 1933, President Roosevelt began to explore establishing formal diplomatic relations. Hoping to limit Japanese expansion in Asia and develop American commercial interests in the Soviet Union, he commissioned a survey that showed 63% of the public in favour of recognizing the USSR. Consequently he called on advisor Henry Morgenthau and Russian expert William C. Bullitt to initiate contact.

The following month the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Maxim Litvinov, travelled to Washington to meet with Roosevelt. He agreed to religious and legal rights for U.S. citizens living in the Soviet Union, and promised not to aid the U.S. Communist Party. Meanwhile both sides agreed to return to the debt question in the future. Roosevelt announced the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with the USSR on 16 November, and appointed William C. Bullitt as the first Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

1933-2-27 Reichstag Arson

27th February 1933: Reichstag building in Berlin set on fire in an arson attack - HiPo > .

23-7-17 Nazis: A Warning from History | BBC Select > .

22-10-6 Rise of Hitler, 1930s, Invasion of Poland | WWII. E 2 (subs) - Katz > .

22-10-3 Comparing Pootin to Hitler | Dream of the Great Past (subs) - Katz > .

Rise of the Nazis - doc | BBC Select > .

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin was set on fire in an arson attack.

Adolf Hitler had been appointed Chancellor of Germany on 30 January, but had demanded new elections for the Reichstag. These were scheduled to take place across Germany on 5 March. Hitler hoped that they would increase the Nazis’ share of the seats and therefore allow him to pass the Enabling Act to take control of political decisions for himself.

Shortly after 9pm on the evening of 27 February, Goebbels was informed that the Reichstag was on fire. Although the blaze was extinguished before midnight, the inside of the building was destroyed. Communists were blamed for starting the fire, and Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was found and arrested.

The following day Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to pass the emergency Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State. This suspended many civil liberties and allowed the Nazis to arrest their opponents. Thousands of communists, liberals and Social Democrats were rounded up by the SA and placed in so-called ‘protective custody’. Van Der Lubbe was tried, convicted, and executed.

Although there is debate over the exact circumstances surrounding the fire, historian Sir Ian Kershaw says there is a general consensus among the vast majority of scholars that van der Lubbe did set the fire.

There is no argument, however, that the fire was exploited by the Nazis who used it as the first step in the creation of a single-party state.

●τ 1934

1934-7-31 The Road Traffic Act 1934 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced by the Minister of Transport, Leslie Hore-Belisha. The Act was made in a year in which there had been a record numbers of road casualties.

1934-8-2 Hindenburg dies; Hitler = Führer ..