World history

Germany invaded Poland.
Outbreak of the Second World War.
Germany and the USSR signed a Non-Aggression Pact.

Swiss history

Switzerland, completely surrounded, imported more from Germany than from the Allies. Germany demanded credit in exchange for its iron and coal, and wanted to sell its gold against currency. Great Britain considered Switzerland to be too submissive with regard to Germany, and threatened a blockade. Switzerland set out to achieve self-sufficiency and increase farm production through the Wahlen Plan.

Art and Culture

Sigmund Freud died of cancer in London, aged 83.
Victor Fleming’s film Gone with the Wind was screened for the first time in Atlanta.
The American novelist John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath.