1938

1938 was a year of intensified aggression and rising geopolitical tension as European powers attempted to manage rising Nazi power, while Asia saw ongoing conflict between Japan and China. The year is often viewed in retrospect as a prelude to the Second World War, characterized by a sequence of territorial demands, international diplomacy that favored appeasement, and escalating repression inside Nazi-ruled territories.

March, Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss, incorporating it into the Reich. The following months focused on Czechoslovakia, as German pressure over the Sudetenland increased. The crisis was resolved, at least temporarily, by the Munich Agreement of September 29–30, in which Britain, France, Italy, and Germany agreed to let Germany annex Sudetenland in exchange for concessions. The agreement effectively opened the way for German expansion in the region and increased pressure on Czechoslovakia. In November, Kristallnacht, a nationwide pogrom against Jews, marked a drastic escalation of Nazi persecution.

International migration remained limited despite rising persecution. The Evian Conference in July 1938 sought to address Jewish refugees with little policy change, as many countries maintained restrictive immigration quotas. Elsewhere, the Second Sino-Japanese War continued, with major battles and civilian suffering as Japanese forces pressed in China’s interior and along the coast.

Domestically, the United States and other economies continued efforts to recover from the Great Depression. In the United States, Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, establishing a federal minimum wage and overtime protections, along with other labor reforms. Evocations of peace and non-intervention dominated diplomacy, but the year left a legacy of expansionist aggression that would culminate in another major conflict a year later.