1938 was full of significant events - both in our country and abroad. It was a difficult and stressful time in the USSR, many important events also took place in the world that influenced the course of all subsequent history.
Soviet airship disaster
1938 began with a tragedy involving a Soviet aircraft. The airship "USSR-B6", which belonged to "Osoaviakhim", crashed on February 6.
The tragedy occurred in preparation for the flight from Moscow to Novosibirsk. Just at that time, it became known that the ice floe on which Papanin's expedition was drifting had broken up, and urgent evacuation was needed.
The airship took off from Moscow to rescue the Papanins on the evening of February 5th. The next day, around noon, he flew over Petrozavodsk, and in the evening approached Kandalaksha.
The weather conditions were very difficult, with snowfall, low clouds and poor visibility at an altitude of about 200 meters. As a result, the metal structures of the aircraft were iced over. 150 meters from the top of Neblo Mountain, which was not marked inflight chart of the crew, the airship collided with the ground.
Instantly a fire broke out, 13 of the 19 crew members died, three escaped with minor injuries, and three more people were not injured at all.
Oil in Saudi Arabia
A landmark event in 1938 took place in Saudi Arabia. In March, colossal oil reserves were discovered here, which played a decisive role in the development of the country for many decades.
True, it was not possible to immediately start developing deposits. Due to the Second World War, production on an industrial scale began only in 1946, after three years the oil industry was well established in the country. This resource has become the main source of we alth and prosperity of the state, which is still used in Saudi Arabia.
Beginning of the Anschluss
In 1938, little was said about World War II, but there was a keen sense of tension in the air. On the night of March 13, German troops crossed the border with Austria, the result of such actions was the Anschluss - the inclusion of Austrian territory into Germany.
This became the embodiment of one of the goals that Hitler defined in foreign policy, agents of the Nazi regime were actively infiltrated into all state structures of Austria, although they experienced resistance.
Austria's independence was restored only in 1945, when the country was occupied by the allied forces.
Conflict at Lake Hassan
One of the main events of 1938 in the USSR was a series of clashes between Japan and the Red Army over territories near the Tumannaya River and Lake Khasan.
In fact, the conflict began with the fact that Japan put forward a territorial claim to the Soviet Union. But in reality, according to historians, it was the support that the USSR provided to China after the signing of the non-aggression pact a year earlier. The Soviet leadership tried in every possible way to prevent the capitulation of China, providing it with military assistance, political and diplomatic support.
On the part of the Red Army, about 15 thousand people participated in the conflict, armed with more than 200 artillery pieces, as well as tanks, machine guns and aircraft. From the Japanese side, at least 20 thousand people were involved, who had three armored trains and about two hundred guns.
This important world event in 1938 had a significant impact on foreign policy.
Beginning of military events
On July 29, 150 Japanese soldiers attacked 11 Soviet border guards, taking advantage of poor visibility due to heavy fog. The attackers lost about 40 people, but still took the height. True, by the evening the Soviet troops managed to beat her back when reinforcements arrived.
Events in 1938 on Lake Khasan developed rapidly. On the part of the Soviet troops, 865 people were killed, 95 were listed as missing, more than two and a half thousand were wounded. The Red Army lost 5 tanks and 4 planes.
Among the Japanese, there were 526 killed, data on the number of wounded vary greatly- from 900 to 2500 thousand people.
August 10, the Japanese offered to start peace talks, the next day the fighting was stopped.
The outcome of the armed conflict on Lake Khasan was recognized as a success by the Soviet government. The troops of the Red Army succeeded in completing the task of defending the state border and defeating the main enemy forces. A key role in these events was played by the commander of the Far Eastern Front, Blucher, whose actions were considered unsatisfactory. He was retired. In November, he died right during interrogation.
Lena execution
Many events in 1938 in Russia were connected with political repressions. The machine of punitive organs carefully singled out and eliminated all those who disagreed, those who opposed the existing regime.
The famous Lena execution took place in 1912. Then, at the gold mines, which were located in the area of the city of Bodaibo, there were spontaneous strikes of workers dissatisfied with their position. Government troops brutally suppressed the uprising. According to various sources, from 150 to 270 people died.
It is important that no conclusions were drawn after this tragedy, the situation of the workers remained the same catastrophic, a similar situation persisted after the October Revolution. As it became known, after the collapse of the USSR, protests by disgruntled workers during the Soviet era continued and were just as brutally suppressed.
Only in 1996 it became known about the event in 1938 in Russia. In Irkutsk managed to find the case in the archivesspecial services, according to which, according to the verdict of the Troika, 948 workers of the Lena mines were shot in 1938.
Rainy Day
Telling about what events took place in 1938, it is necessary to mention the so-called Black Day, which happened in Yamal on September 18th. This inexplicable onset of darkness during the day. Until now, it has not been possible to reliably establish the nature of this unique phenomenon.
According to hypotheses, it is associated with forest fires or local movement of dust particles in the atmosphere. Religious fanatics blame supernatural forces for everything. There is still no reliable explanation of what happened in Yamal.
Zbonshinsky expulsion
This is the name of a large-scale action for the forcible resettlement of Jews from Germany, which began on October 28th. The reason for its official start was the adoption in Poland of the law "On deprivation of citizenship".
In two days, the German authorities arrested about 17 thousand Polish Jews living in the country, they were promptly deported across the German-Polish border. The murder of the German diplomat vom Rath in Paris, as well as the Jewish pogroms that began throughout Germany, became a direct consequence of the Zbonshchinsky expulsion.
In just 2 days, about 17 thousand people were deported, raids and arrests were carried out in all major German cities. Now you know what happened in 1938.
Occupation of Czechoslovakia
Listing what events of 1938 had an important impact on subsequent history, you needIt should be noted that the matter was not limited to the Anschluss of Austria. In October, Hitler's government began the occupation of Czechoslovakia.
Within a month, German troops established control over the territory of the Sudetenland, in the same month Poland occupied the Teszyn region of Czechoslovakia.
The borders of states, established after the end of the First World War, began to constantly change, which caused discontent throughout the civilized world. Obviously, these were the first prerequisites that ultimately led to an open conflict, the start of World War II by Germany in order to establish dominance in the key states of the planet.
Kristallnacht
In the history of the Jewish people in 1938 one of the most terrible and well-known tragedies occurred. Kristallnacht is also known as the Night of Broken Glass. It was a series of coordinated Jewish pogroms that took place throughout Nazi Germany, as well as the Sudetenland and part of Austria on November 9 and 10. It was carried out by civilians, who were actually led by paramilitary assault squads.
The police at the same time withdrew from what was happening, did not interfere in the events. As a result, many streets were covered with fragments of shop windows, synagogues and Jewish-owned buildings.
The formal reason for the pogroms was Goebbels' statement about the impending attack by the international Jewish community on Germany and the Fuhrer. After Kristallnacht, economic and political pressure on the Jews onlyintensified, they began to openly be perceived as enemies of Nazi Germany, statements began to appear about the need for a final solution to the Jewish question.
As a result of the pogroms, several dozen people were killed. According to official figures, 91. At the same time, a third of the victims fell on the city of Nuremberg. About 30 thousand people were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Independent sources spoke of 400 dead, and some of two and a half thousand victims.
In memory of this tragedy, the International Day Against Fascism, Racism and Anti-Semitism is celebrated annually on November 9.
Tiger beam
In 1938, the famous reserve "Tigrovaya Balka" was opened on the territory of Tajikistan. It is located at the confluence of the Pyanj and Vakhsh rivers. A significant part of its territory is occupied by tugai forests, which have been relatively little affected by human impact throughout the history of the development of these lands.
To this day, the reserve managed to preserve especially valuable and rare species of animals for these places. For example, the Bukhara deer. Until the middle of the last century, there was a Turanian tiger, which then finally became extinct.
People who lived in these places have long believed that tigers do not pose a particular threat to humans, so these dangerous predators have always lived near settlements. The move of Russian settlers to these places played a big role on the population of the Turanian tigers. The Russian administration almost immediately began to make great efforts to destroypredators, which eventually succeeded.
Back in the 19th century, raids on tigers were regularly organized, which were initiated by the military. Often, requests for the destruction of animals were made by local residents, who were afraid of their large numbers and proximity. Even regular troops participated in the extermination.
The decisive role in the extinction of this species was played by human development of floodplain lands, which deprived the Turanian tigers of their food supply.
