1932

1932 was a year marked by the continuing global impact of the Great Depression, with widespread unemployment and deflation affecting economies around the world. International trade declined, and governments pursued relief policies and credit programs to stabilize finances and social welfare.

In the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in November, defeating Herbert Hoover and signaling a shift toward New Deal policies. Earlier, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established to provide emergency credit, and the controversial Bonus Army march of 1932 highlighted demands for veteran benefits and federal relief.

Across Europe, the Nazi Party gained ground in Germany, becoming the largest party in elections during 1932, though Adolf Hitler did not yet hold office as chancellor. In Asia, Japan continued its expansion in Manchuria, prompting international condemnation from the League of Nations; the United States issued the Stimson Doctrine to discourage territorial aggression.

In science, James Chadwick announced the discovery of the neutron in 1932, a breakthrough in atomic physics. The same year, the kidnapping of the infant son of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh drew global attention and led to one of the era’s most famous criminal cases. The 1932 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, with the Winter Games following in Lake Placid.

The Soviet Union continued industrialization under the first Five-Year Plan, while the 1932–33 famine affected parts of Ukraine and the Volga region, highlighting the human cost of rapid collectivization. In the United States and elsewhere, drought and agricultural distress contributed to the hardships of the period.