The 1930s (pronounced “nineteen-thirties” and commonly abbreviated as “the 30s”) was a decade that began on January 1, 1930, and ended on December 31, 1939.
The decade was defined by a global economic and political crisis that culminated in the Second World War. It saw the collapse of the international financial system, beginning with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the largest stock market crash in American history. The subsequent economic downfall, called the Great Depression, had traumatic social effects worldwide, leading to widespread poverty and unemployment, especially in the economic superpower of the United States and in Germany, which was already struggling with the payment of reparations for the First World War. The Dust Bowl in the United States (which led to the nickname the “Dirty Thirties”) further emphasised the scarcity of wealth. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected in 1933, introduced a program of broad-scale social reforms and stimulus plans called the New Deal in response to the crisis.
In the wake of the Depression, the decade also saw the rapid retreat of liberal democracy as authoritarian regimes emerged in countries across Europe and South America, including Italy, Spain, and in particular Nazi Germany. With the rise of Adolf Hitler, Germany undertook a series of annexations and aggressions against neighboring territories in Central Europe, and imposed a series of laws which discriminated against Jews and other ethnic minorities. Weaker states such as Ethiopia, China, and Poland were invaded by expansionist world powers, with the last of these attacks leading to the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939, despite calls from the League of Nations for worldwide peace. World War II helped end the Great Depression when governments spent money for the war effort. The 1930s also saw many important developments in science and a proliferation of new technologies, especially in the fields of intercontinental aviation, radio, and film. (Wikipedia)
Passengers playing shuffleboard on the “Monte Rosa”, 1935.George Washington Bridge under construction, 1930Capitol Wine & Spirits, Buffalo, NY, 1930sSlot machine selling warm frankfurter on a railway station in Germany, 1931.Swimming class for girls, 1930sF Street, Washington D.C., 1935.First official air mail from New Zealand to Australia, Murawai, 1934Times Square in the 1930sRabbits race on Venice beach, California, 1935.A boy drawing on a busy traffic street, San Francisco, 1938The Eiffel Tower at twilight, 1932A family on a motorcycle with a sidecar on the beach in Morocco, 1936.Baseball on the street in San Francisco, 1934Ice cream salesman in Lisbon, 1930s.Woman walking on the street in a rainy day, Amsterdam, 1930s.Recording an episode of “Gang Busters”, true crime radio show, New York, 1930s.Girl looking at city from Fairview Park, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1939.The intersection of Beach Blvd. and Imperial Hwy. in La Habra, California, 1938.Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1930.Woman and her three kids walking on a Boston street, 1930s.Man with his kid cycling on Copenhagen streets, 1935.Girls in snow storm, 1935.Times Square, New York City, 1938Marlene Dietrich in a publicity photo for ‘Garden of Allah’, 1936.Children looking at an elephant at the National Zoo, Washington, DC, 1930.George Washington Bridge, 1933.Early morning on the River Thames, London, 1930s.Miami Beach, Florida, 1930.August 1930: A water cart man turns the water main on a group of boys to help them cool off in a street in Westminster, London during a heatwave.Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, 1934.Two couples in bathing outfits, 1934.Man on streets in Joshua Forest, Arizona, 1939.People walking in a winter snow storm, Boston, 1930s.Charing Cross Road, London, 1937.Hazel Lee posing with a biplane, 1930s.Shell, England, 1935.Workers lay bricks to pave 28th Street in Manhattan, 1930.Norma Jeane Baker (later known as Marilyn Monroe) at age 12 in 1938.Two women wearing skirts in the snow, Pennsylvania, 1937.Netherlands, 1931.Cliff and Ferry Street, Manhattan, NYC, 1935.‘Watch the Lights’, NYC, 1938.Fun in the barrel boat, Martinsdale, Montana, 1930s.Carlinville Gloves, State Champions, Illinois, 1937.Montana motorcycle club in the 1930s.Pennsylvania Station, NYC, 1936.Acrobats perform a delicate balancing act on a ledge of the Empire State Building in New York City, 1934.Downtown terminals at Sands Street station, NYC, 1936.The German Zeppelin Hindenburg flies over Manhattan, NYC, 1937.Cool girl in fashion style at beach, 1930s.
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