August 23, 1939- The Non-Aggression Pact

 

At the end of World War 1 Germany was defeated and subjected to numerous restrictions on its military as well as war reparations to the Allies that devastated its economy. This state of affairs contributed to the rise of the Nazi Party and a German foreign policy aimed at regaining lost territory and greater expansion.


The war also ended with the collapse of the Tsarist regime in Russia. Out of the various factions that created a provisional government, the Bolshevic communists emerged victorious and founded the Soviet Union. The capitalist states of Western Europe and the U.S saw the communist regime as a direct threat to their global power and worked to isolate them internationally.


When Hitler took power in Germany he immediately began building up the military and annexed Austria and part of Czechoslovakia. France and Britain attempted several diplomatic efforts to prevent another European war. They also signed a treaty with Poland vowing to come to its aid if it was invaded by a foreign power.


The Nazis were even more hostile to the Soviet Union than other Western states due to their ideological rejection of communism and their racist convictions that saw many Eastern Europeans, particularly Slavic peoples, as genetically inferior.


So it was a shock to the Allies when Germany and Russia signed a non-aggression pact, formally agreeing not to attack each other for 10 years, and not to aid any third power that may attack the other. One of the main reasons many argue that Germany lost the first World War was that it was fighting states on either side of it. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact seemed to ensure that would not happen again, making war with Western Europe more likely. Soon after the pact was signed Germany invaded Poland, beginning the second World War. 2 weeks later Russia invaded Poland from the east. 


At the end of the war it was revealed that there was a secret protocol included in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that specified how Germany and Russia would carve up Eastern Europe into separate spheres of influence, including the division of Poland between them.


The pact was dissolved in 1941 when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in a surprise attack known as “Operation Barbarossa.” Most historians argue that despite Hitler and the Nazis’ deep hostility to communism and racist stance towards Slavic peoples, Stalin and the leadership of the Soviet Union were genuinely caught off guard by the invasion. Initial gains by Germany were soon bogged down in arguably the most vicious fighting of the war. Many battle sites on the eastern front, such as Stalingrad, still bear devastation directly related to the constant bombardment. 27 million Russians died in World War 2- approximately 19 million civilians and 9 million military personnel. 



Sources:

Molotov-Ribbentrop: The Pact That Changed Europe's Borders- 

Radio Free Europe

German-Soviet Pact- The Holocaust Encyclopedia

The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact – Archive- The Guardian

August 16, 1933- The Christie Pits Riot

 

Photograph of two individuals displaying swastikas, August 1933

(Toronto Daily Star/8 August 1933)

At the beginning of the 20th century anti-Semitism was far more prevalent in Canada, the US, and western Europe than it is today. The Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929 exacerbated this dynamic globally. Swastika clubs proliferated in Toronto. Members would parade through public parks and beaches with swastika flags to try and drive Jewish citizens out.

At a baseball game at the Christie Pits ballpark involving one mostly Jewish team, a group of young anti-Semites ran out onto the field with a swastika banner. During the night they returned and wrote “Hail Hitler” on the roof of the clubhouse.

2 days later on August 16, 1933, at the follow-up game, anti-Semites showed up in large numbers, but so did young Jews, joined by Italians and other minorities that at the time were not considered White. Fights broke out in the stands throughout the game and near the end another swastika banner was marched out onto the field. Violence exploded as the rival groups fought over possession of the banner.

The riot spilled out onto the streets, ultimately involving 10,000 people brawling with clubs and improvised weapons. There were no casualties, but hundreds were injured. In the aftermath Toronto’s mayor, William Stewart, announced that future displays of the swastika in public would be prosecuted.

Sources:

Christie Pits Riot- Canadian Encyclopedia

Toronto’s Christie Pits Riot- Museum of Toronto

Remembering the Christie Pits Riot- Canadian Broadcasting Company

August 2, 1936- Hitler Snubs Cornelius Johnson

 
Black and white photo of Cornelius Johnson performing the high jump at the 1936 Olympics.

Cornelius Johnson, winner of the gold medal at the Olympics, in a high jump. , 1936. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017767777/.

The 1936 Olympic Games were held in Nazi Germany. The men’s high jump was dominated by the American team- Cornelius Johnson won the gold, David Albritton the silver, and Delos Thurber the bronze. Johnson and Albritton were Black.

David Albritton. Author unknown.

On the first day Hitler made a point to congratulate all the gold medalists with a handshake. Rather than shake Johnson’s hand, Hitler left the stadium before the ceremony. He was then reprimanded by the Olympic Committee who told him he would have to shake all the gold medalists’ hands or none. The Führer opted for none. 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the US president, also snubbed the Black American Olympians, declining to invite them to the traditional White House ceremony along with their White counterparts.




Sources:

Los Angeles oak tree carries legacy of forgotten 1936 Olympic athlete- CBS Mornings

Athlete Bio: Cornelius Johnson- USATF

David D. Albritton- Ohio Statehouse