Year

1938

6 sourced events from this year.

Events

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1938

Military 20th Century Europe

German Troops Enter Austria Beginning the Anschluss

By the late 1930s, Nazi Germany pursued expansion under the banner of unifying German-speaking peoples. Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg faced mounting internal pressure from Nazis and external ultimatums from Hitler. After Schuschnigg announced a referendum on independence, German forces crossed the border unopposed on March 12, 1938. Austrian troops stood down on orders, and many civilians greeted the invaders with enthusiasm in what became known as the Blumenkrieg or Flower War. Hitler arrived the following day, and Austria was formally annexed into the Reich on March 13, with a controlled plebiscite later showing overwhelming approval.

Event Detail US Military Atlas

1938

Disaster 20th Century North America

Great New England Hurricane Devastates Region

In September 1938, a powerful hurricane formed off the coast of Africa and raced northward along the U.S. East Coast with little warning, as forecasting technology and communication were limited during the Great Depression era. The storm, later known as the Long Island Express, intensified rapidly and made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Long Island, New York, on September 21, with sustained winds exceeding 115 mph and a forward speed that amplified its destructive power. It then struck Connecticut and swept through southern New England, generating massive storm surges, flooding, and winds that toppled trees, destroyed homes, and sank ships. Approximately 600 to 700 people perished, thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed, and property losses reached hundreds...

Event Detail Disaster Kit Pro

1938

Politics 20th Century Europe

Munich Agreement Allows German Annexation of Sudetenland

In September 1938, Nazi Germany threatened to invade Czechoslovakia over the Sudetenland, a region with a large ethnic German population. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Premier Édouard Daladier sought to avert war through diplomacy. On September 29–30, 1938, they met with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich. The resulting agreement, signed early on September 30, permitted Germany to annex the Sudetenland immediately, with Czechoslovakia excluded from the talks and forced to comply. Chamberlain returned to Britain claiming “peace for our time.” The pact dismantled Czechoslovakia’s defenses and emboldened Hitler.

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1938

Culture 20th Century North America

Orson Welles Broadcasts War of the Worlds

In the late 1930s, radio was a dominant source of news and entertainment in the United States amid growing international tensions. Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air adapted H.G. Wells' novel into a realistic news-bulletin format for their Halloween episode. The program aired on CBS on October 30, 1938, simulating reports of a Martian invasion beginning in New Jersey. Some listeners who tuned in late mistook the dramatization for actual events, leading to scattered reports of panic, phone calls to authorities, and minor disruptions. Welles later apologized, and the incident became a landmark in broadcasting history.

Event Detail America 250 Atlas

1938

Civil Rights 20th Century Europe

Kristallnacht: Nazi Pogrom Against German Jews

Tensions escalated after the November 7 assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by Jewish teenager Herschel Grynszpan in Paris. Nazi leaders seized the opportunity to unleash coordinated violence against Jews across Germany and Austria. On the night of November 9–10, 1938, SA stormtroopers and civilians attacked synagogues, smashed shop windows, looted businesses, and assaulted Jewish individuals, resulting in at least 91 deaths and the arrest of approximately 30,000 Jewish men sent to concentration camps. The regime blamed Jews for the destruction and imposed collective fines while accelerating discriminatory policies. International condemnation followed, though it did little to halt escalating persecution.

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1938

Science 20th Century Sub-Saharan Africa

Living Coelacanth Found Off South Africa

By the 1930s, paleontologists considered the coelacanth extinct for roughly 70 million years based on fossil records from the Devonian period onward. On December 22, 1938, a trawler captain near the Chalumna River mouth in South Africa hauled up an unusual five-foot fish with distinctive lobed fins, blue scales, and other features unlike modern fish. Museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer received the specimen at the East London Museum and recognized its significance, preserving it despite holiday timing. She contacted ichthyologist J.L.B. Smith, who confirmed it as a living coelacanth, later named Latimeria chalumnae. The discovery stunned the scientific community and prompted further searches that revealed populations in the Indian Ocean.

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