1934

1934 was a year in the interwar period characterized by the continuation of the Great Depression, economic hardship, and growing political militarization in several countries. It saw a series of consolidations of power, especially in Germany, and notable events that would shape the prewar era.

In Germany, the regime intensified its transition to a totalitarian one-party state. The Law for the Reconstruction of the Reich, enacted on January 30, centralized authority and reduced the autonomy of the states. After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, Adolf Hitler merged the offices of chancellor and president, becoming Führer and solidifying his dictatorship. From June 30 to July 2, the Night of the Long Knives purged the leadership of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and reinforced the regime’s control.

In the Soviet Union, the assassination of Sergei Kirov on December 1, 1934, is commonly considered a turning point that contributed to the onset of the later Great Purge, as party and security officials intensified political repression in the following years.

China saw the Long March begin in October 1934, as the Communist Party’s Red Army retreated from Nationalist forces, a formative episode in Mao Zedong’s rise within the party leadership.

In the United States, the Dust Bowl worsened agrarian distress during the Great Depression, while the Securities Exchange Act, enacted on June 6, 1934, established the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate the stock market and curb abuses in securities trading.

These developments reflect a year of consolidation of power, social upheaval, and policy responses amid ongoing economic hardship.