Salvador Dalí gave a lecture at the London International Surrealist Exhibition titled "Authentic Paranoiac Fantasies". He brought two Russian wolfhounds on leashes and wore a deep-sea diving suit to symbolize descending to the depths of the subconscious, but found it impossible to breathe inside the diving helmet. Dalí nearly suffocated before his companions realized something was wrong and freed him, which the audience enjoyed immensely in the belief that it was all part of the act.[1][2]
The 1000th anniversary of the death of King Henry I was observed in Germany with a ceremony in Quedlinburg Abbey. Speeches made at the event depicted Hitler as the rightful successor to Henry's legacy.[3]
Slovak Jewish journalist Stefan Lux committed suicide in the General Assembly of the League of Nations by shooting himself in the chest. He left behind a note explaining that his act was carried out to draw attention to the plight of Jews in Germany.[4]
15,000 members of the French far-right opposed to the government of Léon Blum rioted along the Champs-Élysées. About 60 civilians and 31 police were injured in the clashes.[12]
A court-martial in Tokyo sentenced 17 leaders of the February 26 Incident to death. 49 others were given prison sentences ranging from 18 months to life.[15]
The British government announced that German airships would no longer be allowed to fly over Britain except in cases of emergency due to weather. The decision was made after the Hindenburg chose a course over England during a recent flight to the United States and back, drawing concerns that German officers aboard could be studying military bases and learning government secrets.[17]
Britain announced it was reducing its naval presence in the Mediterranean to normal proportions, reversing the buildup it embarked upon last September when tensions were rising due to the impending war in Ethiopia.[20]
The HMY Britannia, the favorite yacht of the late George V, was scuttled near the Isle of Wight. The king had requested shortly before his death that the yacht follow him to the grave.
Austria and Germany signed an agreement in which Germany pledged to respect Austrian sovereignty in exchange for Austria favouring Germany in its policies.[8]
Fifteen leaders of the February 26 Incident were executed by firing squad in Tokyo. No explanation was given for why two others condemned to death were not shot.[24]
Viscount Cranborne responded to a question in the House of Commons by saying he understood that Heligoland was being refortified by Germany (in violation of Article 115 of the Treaty of Versailles).[25][26] Germany issued an official statement that same day denying "rumors that Heligoland will be made a forbidden area for military reasons and that bathing establishments will be closed."[27]
The British government announced plans to mass-produce gas masks with the goal of one for every citizen. The masks would be stockpiled in centers around the country and then issued free of charge when the government deemed it necessary.[29]
An apparent attempt to assassinate Edward VIII was foiled on Constitution Hill. As the king's horse passed the crowd while returning to Buckingham Palace from a colours ceremony in Hyde Park, a man raised a revolver. A woman grabbed the man's arm and shouted, alerting a constable who knocked the weapon from his hand. The man, identified as George Andrew McMahon, told police he had no intention of harming the king and was only making a protest.[31]
Adolf Hitler sent Edward a telegram offering his "heartiest congratulations" on his escape.[31]
Italy lifted its wartime restrictions on meat and nightlife curfews.[32]
Father Charles Coughlin aligned himself with Francis Townsend and denounced President Roosevelt as a "great betrayer and liar", saying, "He who promised to drive the money changers from the temple has built up the greatest public debt in the nation's history. Is that driving the money changers from the temple?"[33]
The Free City of Danzig suspended its constitution. Senate President Arthur Greiser ordered the move to crush opposition to the Nazi-controlled government.[38]
At the Montreux Convention, the signatories of the Treaty of Lausanne agreed to grant Turkey the right to remilitarize the Dardanelles. The Russian navy was granted the right to free passage through the straits during peacetime, but during wartime all belligerents would be prohibited from using the straits unless acting for the League of Nations or under a regional pact signed with Turkey.[39]
Santiago Casares Quiroga resigned as Prime Minister of Spain. President Manuel Azaña appointed Diego Martínez Barrio to replace him, but Barrio resigned after only 7 hours when his attempt to negotiate a compromise with the rebels was rebuffed. José Giral became the new Prime Minister and decreed the formation of a militia to defend the Republic.[34][37][40]
Dolores Ibárruri made a radio speech calling on Spaniards to fight against the military uprising. Her speech concluded with the famous words, ¡No pasarán! (They shall not pass!), which became the rallying cry of the Republicans throughout the Civil War.[41]
The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading because of a heavy slump caused by rumors that the stock exchanges would be placed under government control.[47]
50,000 Turkish troops began moving into the Dardanelles.[48]
British authorities warned Spanish warships that if shells continued to fall on Gibraltar, British artillery would return fire.[49]
Charles Lindbergh and wife Anne arrived in Berlin. Although ostensibly a goodwill visit, the American Embassy had invited Lindbergh in the hope that the German Air Ministry would try to impress him by inviting him to inspect their planes and air bases. That way, Lindbergh could take notes on the Luftwaffe's capabilities and report back to the U.S. government. As it turned out, that is exactly what happened.[50][51]
Alf Landon formally accepted the Republican nomination for president before a crowd of 80,000 in Topeka, Kansas. "If I am elected chief executive of this nation, I propose to restore our government to an efficient as well as constitutional basis", Landon declared.[52]
The Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War set up a government (Junta) in Burgos.[5]
White Terror: The Nationalists took over Granada and began killing anyone suspected of Republican leanings.[5]
The French government decided to aid the Spanish Republic in the Civil War.[53]
Three MPs were ejected from the House of Commons during an incident of grave disorder in the 27th hour of a marathon session. On the topic of the government's unemployment assistance program, Home Secretary John Simon spoke of the responsibility of children to support their parents when John McGovern broke in with, "Why does the king not support his mother? He must be a despicable individual." (The latter line was stricken from Hansard.) George Buchanan then accused Simon of lying and refused to withdraw the charge. His colleague Campbell Stephen then stood and called the government "robbers and murderers of the working class" and Simon a "lying scoundrel" (this latter insult too was stricken from Hansard). Following a 15-minute recess, votes were taken and Buchanan, Stephen and McGovern were all suspended from the House.[54]
Eleanor Holm was suspended from the U.S. Olympic swimming team for attending drinking parties while aboard the SS Manhattan transporting the athletes to Germany.[55]
Eleanor Holm's teammates arranged a petition asking American Olympic Committee Chairman Avery Brundage to reinstate her. German officials told Brundage, "she has been punished enough and discipline is bound to prevail after this public warning."[55]
The French right-wing press led by L'Écho de Paris attacked France's policy of support for the Spanish Republic, arguing it would could lead France into open conflict with Germany and Italy.[53]
Germany became the first country to recognize Italian rule of Ethiopia by abolishing its legation in Addis Ababa and replacing it with a general consulate.[56]
Emilio Mola was formally designated commander of Nationalist operations in the north, and Francisco Franco the commander of the south.[57]
The French government announced it had decided not to sell aircraft to Spain at the moment.[53]
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial was unveiled in France. Edward VIII, making his first trip abroad since becoming king, spoke at the event in a speech broadcast around the world.[58]
Adolf Hitler agreed to support the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War by sending 26 transport planes and other equipment.[43]
The Burgos Junta declared total martial law in all Nationalist-held parts of Spain.[43]
The Spanish Republic confiscated all church property in Spain to consolidate its resources to fight the uprising.[8]
German aircraft arrived in Morocco to assist the Nationalist side.[59]
Francisco Franco granted an interview to Jay Allen of the Chicago Tribune in which he claimed that his government was neither monarchist nor fascist, but "Nationalist Spanish", and that he had launched the rebellion to save Spain from communism. When asked what form his government would take, Franco replied it would be a "military dictatorship" with a plebiscite later on "for the nation to decide what it wanted."[61]
The Berliner Tageblatt revealed that Germany had begun to refortify Heligoland, contradicting its denial of July 13. The matter came up again in the House of Commons where Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden expressed the government's feeling that "individual matters of this kind, though they cannot pass unobserved, should not be raised at a moment and in a manner which might react unfavourably" on negotiations underway for a new European peace settlement.[63][64]
Twelve Italian bomber planes, their markings and numbers painted over, took off from Sardinia heading for Spanish Morocco where they were to join the Nationalist side under the banner of the Spanish Legion. Nine completed the flight but one crashed at sea and two were forced down on the French side of the Moroccan border. Italian military markings still visible under the fresh paint, as well as documentation that French authorities found aboard the planes, exposed the Italian scheme. The next day, newspapers around the world published the revelation that Italy was providing military assistance to the rebels.[53]
^Martin, Lawrence; Reed, John (2007). The Treaties of Peace, 1919–1923, Volume 1. Clark, New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. p. xiv. ISBN978-1-58477-708-3.
^"Briton Charges Reich Arming Of Helgoland". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 13, 1936. p. 1.
^Taylor, Edmond (July 15, 1936). "Riot in Franve Mars Fete for Bastille's Fall". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^"Britain Will Make New Gas Masks for Entire Population". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 15, 1936. p. 15.
^ ab"Germans Ask U. S. to Forgive Eleanor Holm". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 25, 1936. p. 1.
^"Italian Rule of Ethiopia is Given Nazi Recognition". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 26, 1936. p. 17.
^ abCortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 500. ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^"100,000 See King Edward Unveil War Memorial". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 27, 1936. p. 5.
^Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931–1940. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 70. ISBN0-520-07908-6.
^Cymet, David (2010). History vs. Apologetics: The Holocaust, the Third Reich, and the Catholic Church. Plymouth: Lexington Books. pp. 85–86. ISBN978-0-7391-3295-1.
^"The Broadway Parade". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk, Inc. July 27, 1936. p. 2.
^"Tokio Is Awarded 1940 Olympic Meet on Bid of $485,000". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 31, 1936. p. 1.
