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 9, 1956- Women's March Protesting Apartheid in South Africa

 

1956 Women’s March. Photographer unknown. https://artscomments.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/lillian-ngoyi-one-of-the-women-who-gave-us-womens-day/

For centuries the landmass that would become the nation of South Africa was home to a variety of indigenous African peoples. In the 1600s Dutch and British traders began to establish port communities to supply their ships. Many opted to stay after leaving employment with their trading houses rather than return to their homelands. As the British Empire grew, it came to dominate the region in its pursuit for gold and other valuable minerals. They fought several wars with African tribes, as well as Dutch-descended communities known as Boers. In the 20th century Boers and their descendants, Afrikaners, gained some independence as The Union of South Africa, a dominion of the British Empire. In 1931 it became fully independent.


In 1948 the National Party gained a political majority and began enacting the formal apartheid regime. This program was built on a foundation of long standing racial segregation and labor exploitation from the colonial era, but was designed to institutionalize these policies in a modern nation-state and control the movements and labor of Black, Indian, and mixed-race citizens and deny them any political power or cultural legitimacy within South Africa.


Resistance to such policies dated back to the colonial era but historically faced stiff resistance from White elites. As apartheid became entrenched, political and labor organizing intensified among communities of color and their allies. Black men seeking work in White communities had long been required to carry passbooks. Those who were caught without them were routinely jailed and fined. In the 1950s the government sought to extend the pass system to Black women as well, sparking more protest.


On August 9, 1956, a group of 20,000 dissident women marched to the capitol building in Pretoria to demonstrate against the laws and deliver their petitions directly to Prime Minister Johannes Strijdom. Strijdom was conveniently absent. While the march was a powerful demonstration of resistance and further legitimized the role of women in various political networks, pass laws were indeed imposed on women. It would take many decades of struggle before apartheid was dismantled in the 1990s.


August 9 is still celebrated as National Women’s Day in South Africa.

Sources:

South African Women Commemorate Historic 1956 March- CGTN Africa

The 1956 Women's March Pretoria 9 August-South African History Online

How did Apartheid Change South Africa?- Encyclopedia Britannica

Pass Law- Encyclopedia Britannica


Lillian Masediba Ngoyi- South African History Online

Helen Joseph- South African History Online

Rahima Moosa- South African History Online

Sophia Theresa Williams de Bruyn- South African History Online

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

Land and Body- the Politics of Safety

Allotment.

Dawes rolls.

Blood Quantum.

Graft.

Squatters’ rights.

Freedmen.

These words should be familiar to anyone who thinks they know American history.

In the podcast “This Land,” Rebecca Nagle tells the story of Native land theft in the US, primarily through the history of her own Cherokee Nation and the more recent uproar around McGirt v. Oklahoma, a case that the US Supreme Court ruled on in 2020. Oklahoma had long held that much of its eastern territory had ceased being Indian reservation land in the early 20th century, and was completely within state jurisdiction. The court ruled otherwise, but what does that mean? You’ll have to listen to find out more. Episode 5: “The Land Grab,” is a good place to start if you’re pressed for time. It touches on all the terms I listed above.

The Allotment Act, and Allotment in general, were initiatives on the part of the federal and state governments to convert reservation lands that were owned collectively by indigenous tribes, into parcels of property owned by individuals. The fine print was that this process created a great deal of “surplus” land after tribal members had been “allotted” theirs. This land could only be sold to the federal government, who in turn opened it up to homesteading or sold it outright. The profits from such sales was supposed to be held in trust accounts for the benefit of the tribes it was bought from, but corruption at all levels usually thwarted this provision.

Mental Illness Happy Hour logo, a blue station wagon with a giant pill bottle strapped to the roof.

Another podcast I highly recommend is “The Mental Illness Happy Hour.” Comedian Paul Gilmartin interviews artists, friends, and the occasional doctor about all things unwell- depression, anxiety, trauma, etc. It’s trauma that I think is worth thinking about with the controversy around Middle East conflicts, and history in general. The word has so saturated public discourse over the past 10 years that it sounds meaningless to many. Of course, it is anything but. Gilmartin delves into the ugly and excruciating reality of trauma and other afflictions with a level of humor and compassion that is truly astonishing. And there is no flinching. His interview with Meyli Chapin, an American survivor of a terrorist attack in Kenya, is a great introduction.

Sources:

This Land- Season 1, Episode 5: The Land Grab

The Mental Illness Happy Hour- w/ Meyli Chapin, author of Terrorist Attack Girl.