The League of Nations' Committee of Eighteen met in Geneva to renew discussions on expanding sanctions against Italy to include an oil embargo. France was opposed to the idea, believing it would not work and would only result in Italy quitting the League. The meeting adjourned with another agreement to make a last diplomatic attempt to bring about peace.[2][3]
Adolf Hitler summoned the Reichstag for Saturday at noon. International speculation abounded as to what the purpose of the session might be, as all that was announced for the agenda was "acceptance of a declaration of the German government."[8][9]
Yugoslavian Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović survived an assassination attempt when a Macedonian deputy shot at him on the floor of the Chamber. Stojadinović was unhurt as another deputy struck the assailant's arm and caused the shots to go wild.[10]
In the Reichstag, Hitler announced the renunciation of the Locarno Treaties and then called for new elections on March 29 which he intended to prove that the German people were behind him.[11]
Spanish army officers including Emilio Mola and Francisco Franco held a secret meeting in Madrid to discuss launching a coup against the government.[13]
British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told the House of Commons that Germany's actions "have profoundly shaken confidence in any engagement into which the government of Germany may in future enter", but said there was "no reason to suppose that the present German action implies a threat of hostilities."[14]
France increased its military presence along the Maginot Line.[16]
In Granada, Spain, at least seven people were killed during rioting by leftists.[17] In Pamplona, a clash between peasants and soldiers killed four.[18]
5 nations agreed to support France in a protest to the League of Nations against Germany's remilitarization of the Rhineland.[19]
Italy announced that as long as Britain and France continued to apply sanctions, it would not co-operate with any measures they took against Germany.[19]
Britain, France, Belgium and Italy (the signatories of the Locarno Treaties besides Germany) formally protested the German government's renunciation of the Locarno Pact. The League of Nations also noted it as a violation of international law.[20]
Germany threatened to enter a state of "honourable isolation" and increase its military presence in the Rhineland if France and Belgium continued to mass troops on their eastern borders.[21]
The Falange was banned in Spain.[18] Police arrested 200 Fascists who were accused of using violence to stir up the recent outbreaks of rioting, including José Antonio Primo de Rivera.[22][25]
Hitler set two conditions before Germany would agree to send an envoy to a conference on the Rhineland dispute. First, Germany would have equal rights with those of the other powers present. Second, the powers would immediately enter negotiations for peace pacts with Germany. France was infuriated by the second condition and insisted that no such peace proposals could be discussed until German troops were withdrawn from the Rhineland.[26]
Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Maxim Litvinov told the League of Nations that it would become a "laughing stock" and could not be preserved "if it does not carry out its own decisions, but to the contrary accustoms the aggressor to ignore its recommendations, its admonitions and its warnings." Litvinov expressed skepticism of Hitler's proposals for peace, pointing out that the Locarno Treaties already represented just such a pact.[29]
The known death toll in the flooding across twelve U.S. states rose to 150.[33]
President Roosevelt appealed for donations to the American Red Cross to help flood victims.[34]
In London, the Council of the League of Nations formally condemned Germany as a breaker of treaties. Joachim von Ribbentrop had pleaded for the delegates to delay the vote and take more time to consider Germany's peace offer, to no avail.[35]
Italy and Albania signed a new series of economic agreements between the two countries.[20]
The Polish government backed down on its plan to outlaw kosher slaughtering of animals. An amendment to the bill was passed allowing religious communities to slaughter animals according to their practice.[36]
The League of Nations Committee of Thirteen called upon the International Committee of the Red Cross to supply any information it could offer regarding accusations of Italian troops using poison gas in Ethiopia. The Red Cross denied the request, explaining that the "neutrality which the International Red Cross Committee is bound to observe makes it necessary for the Committee to exercise very great discretion."[42]
Died:Oscar Asche, 65, Australian actor, director and writer
Germany rejected a settlement plan offered by the other four Locarno signatories due to "inequalities". Hitler said he would offer counterproposals after Sunday's elections.[43]
The longest game in National Hockey League history was played in Game 1 of a best-of-five semifinal between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Maroons. After 176 minutes and 30 seconds of play, Detroit's Mud Bruneteau scored in the sixth period of overtime at 2:25 the next morning to win the game, 1-0.[44][45]
Britain, France and the United States signed the Second London Naval Treaty, limiting tonnage and gun size for each ship category. However, the restrictions were slight and the agreement had many loopholes.[20]
International Committee of the Red Cross President Max Huber went to Rome to discuss an investigation of the Italian bombing of Red Cross units. Italy set its conditions: the question of poison gas would be excluded from any investigation, no Ethiopians could participate and Italy could not appear to be standing trial. Huber left with a promise from Mussolini to respect the Red Cross flag, but nothing more.[48]
A plane crash in Mexico killed 14 people. Ten of the dead were European tourists, among them Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe and his wife. It was the worst crash in Mexican aviation history at the time.[49]
Born:Harry Kalas, sportscaster, in Naperville, Illinois (d. 2009); Maria Ines Ulloa de Navas, Queen of Navas dynasty (d. Natural causes 2018) (Bogota, Col)
Parliamentary elections were held in Germany. No opposition parties were allowed and the Nazis claimed almost 99% of the vote.[51] Polling booths were established in the air for the first time in history, as the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin cruised over the Saar and Rhineland all day long as passengers and crew voted.[52]
Two large squadrons of Italian bombers pounded Harar for two and a half hours, setting the city ablaze. Ethiopian Red Cross and Egyptian Red Crescent hospitals were also bombed despite being clearly marked and set off some distance from the city.[3]
Iran informed the U.S. State Department that it was closing its diplomatic and consular offices in the country due to treatment of Iranian subjects in the American press. The controversy stemmed from an incident the previous October when Iranian diplomat Ghaffer Djalal was arrested for speeding. Despite Djalal's claims that his diplomatic immunity was violated, comments in the American press said that even diplomats should obey speed laws.[53]
^Harris, Brice (1964). The United States and the Italo-Ethiopian Crisis. Stanford, California: Leland Stanford Junior University. pp. 132–133.
^ abcdPearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935–1941. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN978-1-63220-096-9.
^ abCortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 496. ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^ ab"7 Nations Promise to Aid France Against Germany". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 12, 1936. p. 2.
^"Roosevelt's Appeal For Red Cross Funds". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 19, 1936. p. 1.
^"League Council Brands Reich Pact Breaker". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 19, 1936. pp. 1, 7.
^"Polish Amendment Passed to Permit Kosher Meat". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 21, 1936. p. 8.
^"Adds 25 Million for Flood Aid in Stricken Areas". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 22, 1936. p. 4.
^"Ethiopian Town Laid Waste by Italian Bombs". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 23, 1936. p. 7.
^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. 835. ISBN0-520-07908-6.
^"Il Duce Seizes Big Industries, Sees War Near". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 23, 1936. p. 1.