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Timeline: 1937

Jan 1 Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.

Jan 13 Nationalists in Poland have rioted, beating up Jews. In parliament, Colonel Meidzinski says there would be no problem if Poland had only 50,000 Jews, but he complains that "there are 3,000,000." The question arises where to send the Jews. (Human Smoke, p. 66)

Jan 23 In the Soviet Union, 17 Bolsheviks are among those on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow the Stalin regime and to assassinate its leaders.

Jan 30 Hitler formally withdraws Germany from the Versailles Treaty, including reparation payments. He demands a return of Germany's colonies.

Jan 31 In the Soviet Union, 31 accused of Trotskyism are executed.

Feb 8 In Spain, Franco's troops capture Malaga.

Feb 11 In the U.S., a sit-down strike ends with General Motors recognizing the United Automobile Workers Union.

Mar 19 Pope Pius XI publishes an encyclical entitled Divini Redemptoris, condemning atheistic Communism.

Mar 21 Britain's Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin says, "I know some of you think I should speak more roughly to Hitler than I do, but have you reflected that the reply to a stiff letter might be a bomb on your breakfast tables?"

Apr 1 The city of Aden, in Yemen, on the shore of the Arabian Sea near the mouth of the Red Sea, becomes a British crown colony.

Apr 26 In Spain, German and Italian airplanes bomb city of Guernica, killing more than 1,600.

May 6 The German zeplin Hindenburg bursts into flames when landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

May 27 In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic.

May 28 In Britain, Neville Chamberlain becomes prime minister.

Jun 3 The Duke of Windsor, former king, marries Wallis Simpson.

Jul 2 Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear over New Guinea.

Jul 4 At an International Writers Congress in Paris, Ernest Hemmingway says that fascist states "cannot produce good writers." Fascism, he says, "is a lie told by bullies." At this congress, Langston Hughes says, “We are the people who have long known in actual practice the meaning of the word Fascism… Yes, we Negroes in America do not have to be told what Fascism is in action. We know. Its theories of Nordic supremacy and economic suppression have long been realities to us.”

Jul 7 In China, the Battle of Lugou Bridge, between Japanese occupation forces and Chinese, begins what will be called the Sino-Japanese War.

Jul 22 The U.S. Senate kills President Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court.

Aug 5 Japan's government expresses concern that 182 U.S. airmen are to fly warplanes in China.

Aug 5 Stalin's regime begins periodic campaigns that will be called the Great Purge and will kill more than 724,000 Soviet citizens, deemed enemies of the state and the Soviet revolution.

Aug 12 In China, Chiang Kai-shek's government orders a general offensive against the Japanese.

Aug 14 China's 87th division, with a nascent airforce, attacks Japanese military positions around Shanghai.

Aug 21 Japan's war with China has encouraged China to sign a military pact with the Soviet Union. China's Communist Party senses a new lease on life.

Aug 26 The Japanese are bombing targets in Shanghai. They attack a car carrying Britain's ambassador.

Aug 28 Japan erects a naval blockade against Chinese ships going to and from Chinese ports. The Japanese state that "peaceful commerce carried on by third powers will be fully respected."

Aug 30 Chinese aircraft mistakingly attack the USS President Hoover. One U.S. crewman is killed and several passengers and crew are injured.

Oct 5 With Japan and Italy in mind, President Roosevelt calls for an international "quarantine of the aggressor nations." Isolationists complain that distinguishing between "peace-loving" and "warlike" nations is not neutrality but taking sides.

Oct 6 The League of Nations condemns Japanese actions in China.

Oct 10 Winston Churchill writes: "It would be a dangerous folly for the British people to underrate the enduring position in world-history which Mussolini will hold, or the amazing qualities of courage, comprehension, self-control and perseverance which he exemplifies." (Human Smoke, p. 73.)

Nov 5 In Spain near León, Franco's forces execute perhaps as many as 35,000.

Nov 6 Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact, created by Germany and Japan in 1936.

Nov 9 Japanese troops take Shanghai.

Nov 10 In Brazil, Getúlio Vargas has been speaking of the dangers of Communism. He begins his dictatorship, proclaiming the creation of a New State (Estado Novo).

Nov 17 As a diplomat for the new government of Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax visits Herman Goering in Germany. Halifax also visits Hitler, who pledges his support of the British empire. Hitler offers advice on how to deal with those in India seeking independence. Kill Gandhi, he advises, and, if that is not enough, kill the other leaders too. Lord Halifax's friend, Henry Cannon, will report that Halifax "likes all of the Nazi leaders, including Goebbels." Cannon reports that Halifax "thinks the regime absolutely fantastic."

Dec 7 Japanese troops are at Nanjing's outer defenses.

Dec 11 Italy withdraws from the League of Nations.

Dec 12 Japanese aircraft attack the USS Panay, a gunboat that is motoring on the Yangzi River, away from Nanjing. Three are killed and 43 sailors and 5 civilians wounded. The Japanese claim that the U.S. flag was not seen. They agree to pay an indemnity. But in the U.S., public opinion becomes more hostile toward the Japanese.

Dec 13 Nanjing falls to the Japanese, with Chinese soldiers fleeing from the city or rushing to change into civilian clothes.

Dec 21 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length animated cartoon, becomes a smash hit.

Dec 29 Ireland's Constitution, adopted by plebiscite, goes into effect. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy. It bans divorce but guarantees certain fundamental rights.