Music recorded in 1933
The year 1933 was a turning point, as the severity of the Great Depression shook the politics and societies of countries around the world. States simultaneously tightened control under the pretext of a "state of emergency," while large-scale intervention measures were implemented to address unemployment and financial instability. International cooperation was at a standstill in the areas of currency, trade, and security, and signs of a world tipping toward division began to take shape.
In Europe, Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was appointed Chancellor on January 30, 1933. Using the February 27 Reichstag fire as an excuse, the following day, the 28th, he issued the "Decree for the Protection of People and the Reich" (the so-called "Reichstag Fire Decree"), which suspended fundamental rights. On March 22nd, a concentration camp was established in Dachau to incarcerate political opponents. On March 23rd, the "Empowering Act" (Ermächtigungsgesetz; Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich) concentrated legislative power in the cabinet, rapidly hollowing out the parliamentary system. Cultural control was also blatant, with the book burnings of May 10th becoming a symbol of the state's discrimination against "desirable ideas." Furthermore, on October 14, Germany announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference, putting the post-World War I framework itself into disarmament.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) was inaugurated as president on March 4, and after bank closures and financial restructuring, he quickly put out the fire institutionally with the Emergency Banking Act of 1933 on March 9. To combat unemployment, legislation was enacted on March 31 and Executive Order 6101 on April 5 put the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) into action, and Executive Order 6102 on the same day prompted a shift in currency and monetary policy by restricting gold holdings. This was followed by a rapid succession of government policies to boost demand and employment, including the Agricultural Adjustment Act on May 12, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act on May 18, and the National Industrial Recovery Act on June 16. Internationally, the London Monetary and Economic Conference of 1933, held from June 12 to July 27, failed to produce results in areas such as currency stabilization, revealing the reality that a domestic-first attitude made international cooperation difficult. At the end of the year, on December 5, the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, ending Prohibition, and efforts were made to explore an "exit to peacetime" that included tax revenue and industrial restructuring.
In East Asia, Japan announced its intention to withdraw from the League of Nations on March 27, 1933, solidifying a trend toward distancing itself from the collective security framework. Diplomatic realignment also progressed, with the United States recognizing the Soviet Union on November 16 and establishing diplomatic relations. Through negotiations with Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), the United States embarked on a pragmatic approach to building relations. Around the same time, the Holodomor, a severe famine, occurred in Ukraine and elsewhere from 1932–1933. Some research and educational materials link this famine to the policies of Joseph Stalin (1878–1953) and characterize it as an "artificial famine." This dark side of the power of the state to mobilize society also became etched in world history.
In the fields of science, technology, and popular culture, 1933 also paved the way for a "new normal." The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) and Paul A.M. Dirac (1902–1984), and quantum theory became established as the foundational language of the 20th century. In materials science, Reginald O. Gibson (1900–1979) and Eric W. Fawcett (1899–1963) of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) discovered the synthesis of polyethylene through high-pressure experiments in 1933, which later became the foundation of materials for mass consumption society, including packaging and electrical insulation. In terms of cities and entertainment, the "A Century of Progress International Exposition (1933–1934)" opened in Chicago on May 27, presenting a vision of the future of science and industry to the public. Disasters also transformed society, and the Long Beach earthquake of March 10 accelerated discussions on earthquake-resistant design and regulations through damage to fragile masonry buildings. At the nexus of film and automobile culture, the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey on June 6, marking the emergence of "suburban mass entertainment" that combined mobility and film appreciation. The fact that political radicalization, expanding state intervention, unrest in the international order, and the renewal of science, technology, and entertainment all occurred in the same year speaks to the unrest and creativity of the 1930s.
