Modern Era
Berlin Olympics (1936): Jesse Owens and Nazi Propaganda
Germany topped the medal table and won a propaganda success, while Jesse Owens' four gold medals became the Games' most famous story.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939): Republicans Against Franco
Nationalist victory; the Second Spanish Republic was destroyed and Francisco Franco ruled Spain as dictator until his death in 1975.
Modern Era
Turing's 'On Computable Numbers' (1936): The Universal Machine
Turing defined computability, showed that Hilbert's decision problem has no general solution and introduced the universal machine underlying stored-program computers.
Modern Era
Nanjing Massacre (1937): Japanese Atrocities in China's Capital
Japanese troops killed tens of thousands to over 200,000 prisoners and civilians and committed mass rape; the event became a defining symbol of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Modern Era
Bombing of Guernica (1937): The Air Raid That Inspired Picasso
Most of the town centre was destroyed and an estimated 150 to 300 people were killed; Nationalist troops occupied the ruins three days later.
Modern Era
Hindenburg Disaster (1937): The End of the Airship Age
The hydrogen-filled airship burned in about half a minute; 36 people died and passenger airship travel effectively ended.
Modern Era
Anschluss (1938): Nazi Germany's Annexation of Austria
Austria was annexed to Nazi Germany without military resistance and ceased to exist as a state until 1945; persecution of Jews and opponents began immediately.
Modern Era
Munich Agreement (1938): Chamberlain, Appeasement and Hitler
Britain, France and Italy agreed that Germany could annex the Sudetenland; Czechoslovakia, which was not present, was forced to comply, and war was postponed by less than a year.
Modern Era
Kristallnacht (1938): The Night of Broken Glass in Nazi Germany
Synagogues, Jewish homes and businesses were destroyed, at least 91 Jews were killed and about 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps; persecution sharply escalated.
Modern Era
Discovery of Nuclear Fission (1938): Hahn, Meitner, Strassmann
Uranium nuclei were shown to split into lighter elements, releasing large amounts of energy and neutrons and opening the way to nuclear reactors and atomic weapons.
Modern Era
1938 New England Hurricane: The Long Island Express
The fast-moving hurricane killed roughly 680-800 people, destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of buildings and changed New England's coastline and forests.
Modern Era
Oskar Schindler (1939–1945): How 1,200 Jews Were Saved
About 1,200 Jewish men and women employed by Schindler survived the Holocaust; he was later honoured as Righteous Among the Nations.