Music recorded in 1937
The year 1937 saw the international order's slide from "local conflicts" to a "global chain of events" simultaneously become visible in politics, military affairs, economics, technology, and the media. In East Asia, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident (July 7, 1937) triggered the escalation of armed conflict between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China. A large-scale battle, also known as the Second Shanghai Incident (known in English as the Battle of Shanghai, August 13, 1937–November 26, 1937), took place in Shanghai, resulting in protracted urban warfare. In Japan's domestic politics, the Konoe Fumimaro Cabinet (the First Konoe Cabinet) was established on June 4, 1937, and the expansion of the war front and diplomatic friction unfolded on the same timeline. Furthermore, the Panay Incident on December 12, 1937, in which the United States Navy gunboat USS Panay (PR-5) was attacked and sunk on the Yangtze River, demonstrated that the expansion of the battlefield could directly affect the interests of third countries.
In Europe, the Spanish Civil War continued, and the bombing of Guernica on April 26, 1937, is remembered as a symbol of modern warfare, with aerial bombings destroying civilians and urban life. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) created the painting "Guernica" that same year, imprinting the scene of destruction on visual culture. In foreign affairs, the Kingdom of Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact on November 6, 1937, furthering the formation of an international camp centered on anti-communism. In the USSR, the Great Terror reached its peak, and mass repression based on Order No. 00447 (signed July 30, 1937) of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) was implemented as "Operation" that began on August 5, 1937. This shows that the state's institutional acceleration of violence was becoming increasingly serious even outside the battlefield.
Policies of each country fluctuated between avoiding involvement and maintaining order. In the United States, the Neutrality Act of 1937 was enacted on May 1, 1937, establishing a system for distancing itself from international conflicts, including restrictions on arms exports and cash-and-carry payment. Meanwhile, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) raised the issue of the erosion of global security in his Quarantine Speech on October 5, 1937. Economically, the United States experienced a recession of 1937–1938, and the fragile recovery further destabilized politics and public opinion. In terms of institutional redesign, the Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann) came into effect in Ireland on December 29, 1937, updating the country's framework.
Technology and media simultaneously served to disseminate the atmosphere of the era and to preserve it as a record. On May 6, 1937, the rigid airship LZ 129 Hindenburg burst into flames in Lakehurst, New Jersey, decisively impacting the future of commercial airships. On May 12, 1937, the coronation of King George VI (1895–1952) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland took place, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) conducted an outside television broadcast of the procession, expanding the reach of visual media. As for infrastructure symbols, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco opened on May 27, 1937, and the first tunnel of the Lincoln Tunnel in New York opened on December 22, 1937. In aviation history, Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) disappeared mid-flight on July 2, 1937, marking an event that cemented her legacy of skill and adventure in the public memory.
Advances in science and technology also paved the way for the next era. Power Jets Ltd.'s turbojet, designed by Frank Whittle (1907–1996), achieved test operation on April 12, 1937, and the foundations of aviation began to change. At the forefront of information technology, Claude E. Shannon (1916–2001) published a paper in 1937 entitled "A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits," systematizing the correspondence between relay circuits and Boolean algebra. In medicine, Max Theiler (1899–1972) developed the yellow fever 17D vaccine in 1937, expanding the horizons of infectious disease prevention.
Culturally, the combination of sound and image reached a new level in popular productions. Walt Disney Productions' animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), premiered in Los Angeles on December 21, 1937, demonstrating that film could be distributed on a large scale as a narrative experience accompanied by music. In literature, J.R.R. Tolkien's (1892–1973) novel, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (1937), was published on September 21, 1937, establishing a world of imagination that would form the foundation for long-term popular culture. On stage, Marc Blitzstein's (1905–1964) musical The Cradle Will Rock (1937) premiered on June 16, 1937, demonstrating how social unrest also affected forms of expression. Paris hosted the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Modern Life (1937), highlighting the ways in which art and technology were intertwined with national self-presentation. While the world in 1937 was marked by the shadows of war and depression, it also marked a turning point in which broadcasting, film, publishing, and science produced a massive amount of contemporary information and emotion, preserving it as a record for future generations.
