1931
The British pound collapses and the consequent financial crisis splits the Labour administration. To secure strong government, King George V persuades Ramsay MacDonald and some of his Cabinet to remain in office and join with Conservative and Liberal ministers in the formation of a national coalition government.
1931
The first trial of the Scottsboro Nine in Alabama results in a battle between the NAACP and the International Labor Defense, a Communist-controlled group, for the right to represent the young defendants who are charged with rape. The case, which becomes a worldwide cause celebre and important propaganda weapon for Communists, drags on for 20 years despite the recanting of a charge by one of the two plaintiffs and medical testimony that rape was not committed.
1931
Montagu Collet Norman, Bank of England Governor and former
Brown Brothers partner, whose grandfather had been boss of Brown Brothers during
the Civil War, becomes known within the British aristocracy as one of Hitler's
most avid supporters. Some historians suggest it was Montagu Norman who
essentially managed the so-called "Hitler Project," an alleged
Anglo-American plan to finance Hitler's rise to power as a foil against the
Soviets.
1931
Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels enthusiastically reviews a book
proposing a Hollow Earth Theory. The founder of the Hollow Earth doctrine was
Cyrus R. Teed (1839-1908) who claimed to have undergone a spiritual illumination
in 1870, when he received by revelation the tenets of this doctrine, which he
called Koreshianity (Koresh is Hebrew for Cyrus). In 1903 he established a
community at Estero, Florida. The doctrine was brought to Germany by Peter
Bender who read the sect periodical, The Flaming Spear, while a prisoner
of war in France. (Roots)
1931
Spain is declared a republic and King Alfonso XIII abdicates.
1931
The Empire State Building in New York becomes the world's
tallest building.
1931
In the third edition of his textbook (with E. Baur and E.
Fischer), professor Fritz Lenz writes: "We must of course deplore the
one-sided 'anti-Semitism' of National Socialism. Unfortunately, it seems that
the masses need such 'anti' feelings... we cannot doubt that National Socialism
is honestly striving for a healthier race. The question of the quality of our
hereditary endowment is a hundred times more important than the dispute over
capitalism or socialism, and a thousand times more important than that over the
black-white-red or black-red-gold banners." (The banner of the Weimar
Republic, which had replaced that of Imperial Germany, black-white-red.) (Science)
1931
The Star-Spangled Banner becomes the national anthem of the United States.
1931 January
Hjalmar Schacht meets with Hitler and is impressed by Hitler's eloquence and absolute conviction. Before long, Schacht begins telephoning politicians, urging that the National Socialists be incorporated
into a coalition government. (Children)
1931 January
The general student committee of the University of Erlangen, dominated by the National Socialists, makes a request to the Ministry of Culture for the creation of a chair of race-investigation, race-science, race-hygiene, and genetics. (Science)
1931 January 1
The impressive National Socialist Brown House (Nazi Headquarters) is opened in Munich. The source of its funding is still under question.
1931 January 1
W.A. Harriman & Co. merges with Brown Brothers.Prescott Bush, father of future President George Bush, becomes the managing partner of the new firm: Brown Brothers Harriman, ultimately the largest and
most politically important private banking house in America. The London branch of the Brown family firm continued to operate under the name -- Brown, Shipley.
1931 February 12
The eight Catholic bishops of Bavaria, organized in
the Bavarian (Freising) Bishops Conference under the chairmanship of Cardinal
Faulhaber, the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, strictly forbids all Catholic
priests from taking part whatsoever in the National Socialist movement. Nazi
party formations with flagsare also prohibited from attending services "since
such parades in churches would make the people think that the Church had come to
terms with National Socialism."
1931 March 3
"The Star-Spangled Banner," originally a poem by Francis Scott Key, is adopted as the national anthem of the United States.
1931 March 5
The six bishops of Cologne compare the errors of
National Socialism to those of Action Francaise, already condemned by Pope Pius
XII.
1931 March 10
Membership in the Nazi party is ruled impermissable by
the three bishops of Paderborn province.
1931 April
Johann Warthari Wölfl, Lanz von Liebenfels'
long-time follower, begins publishing Ostara-Rundschau (Panarische Revue) based
on the concept of "Pan-Aryan" cooperation between the right-wing
radical groups of the world. It included the addresses of the "Völkischer
Beobachter" in Munich, as well as racist and patriotic associations in
Italy, France, Great Britain and the United States. (Roots)
1931 April 22
Averell Harriman meets in Berlin with both Friedrich
Flick and Wilhelm Cuno, chief executive of the Hamburg-Amerika Line and a close
Warburg associate.
1931 May
Credit-Anstalt, Austria's principal bank, fails due to
French financial pressure. The collapse is seen by many as an attempt to prevent
an anschluss (union) between Germany and Austria.
1931 June
Otto Rahn visits the castle of Montsegur in France,
spending three months carefully exploring the local caves and grottos in search
of the Holy Grail.
1931 June 4
Himmler is first introduced to Reinhard Heydrich at
Waldtrudering, where Himmler is recovering from a recent illness. After a brief
written examination outlining plans for a new SS intelligence unit, Himmler
offers Heydrich a position on his headquarters staff. Himmler is greatly
impressed by Heydrich's Nordic appearance. (Secrets)
1931 June 23
Aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from New York on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine airplane.
1931 July
The Darmstadter-National Bank in Germany fails.
1931 August 3
The Fulda Bishop's Conference, attended by all the
Prussian bishops, the bishops of the Upper Rhenish province, as well as the
Archbishop of Munich, fails to adopt a clear position on Nazi party membership.
1931 September 12
On the eve of the Jewish New Year, Nazi gangs in
Berlin attack Jews returning from synagogue.(Atlas)
