Britain introduced a "national register" for war service.[1]
Two more "victims" of the Halifax Slasher confessed to faking the attacks on themselves. The panic soon wound down as doubts arose as to whether the slasher really existed.[2]
Nazi Germany had a nationwide "day of solidarity" collecting street donations for the Winterhilfswerk fund. Jews were ordered to stay off the streets between noon and 8 p.m. because, according to the order issued by Heinrich Himmler, they had "no share in the solidarity of the German nation."[5]
Heinrich Himmler ordered all driver's licenses of Jews invalidated.[6]
Anti-Italian riots broke out in Tunis over Italy's recent demand that France hand over Tunisia. Windows of an Italian tourist office, newspaper and bookstore were smashed, but police reinforcements prevented any such attack on the Italian consulate. 15 arrests were made.[7]
Decrees from the Reich Economic Ministry forbade Jews from buying real estate or selling securities such as stocks and bonds or jewelry. All securities were to be placed in a special foreign exchange bank which could only be accessed with government permission.[8]
Foreign Ministers Joachim von Ribbentrop and Georges Bonnet signed a treaty in Paris by which Germany and France guaranteed the inviolability of one another's borders and agreed to engage in mutual consultation to resolve all disputes peacefully.[1][9]
Italians marched in the streets of Rome, Genoa and Turin shouting "Tunisia and Corsica for Italy".[10]
British Secretary of State for the Colonies Malcolm MacDonald told the House of Commons that the question of restoring colonies to Germany was not under discussion and "not now an issue in practical politics." A motion calling for the creation of an international pool of colonies under a general mandate was voted upon, but it was defeated 253-127.[11]
Died:Anna Marie Hahn, 32, German-born American serial killer (executed by electric chair)
Another day of violence occurred in Tunis as Italians, French and Arabs rioted during competing demonstrations. 16 were arrested.[12]
Heinrich Himmler issued the first Nazi decree aimed at the Romani people, ordering all Roma over the age of six to be registered with the police.[13][14]
A new foreign currency law in Nazi Germany restricted the possessions emigrants could take out of the country (including money and valuables) to only include items of personal use.[17]
Comedian George Burns pleaded guilty in a New York federal courtroom to charges of smuggling jewelry. Sentencing was deferred until January, but Burns faced a maximum of 18 years in prison and fines up to $45,000.[18][19]
The Daily Express reported that Lloyd's of London was quoting 32 to 1 odds against Britain being involved in a war before December 31, 1939.[20]
Neville Chamberlain spoke to 600 journalists and diplomats at the Foreign Press Association jubilee dinner in London, saying there would be no letup in British rearmament even though he was convinced that the wish of the British and German people remained "still what it was recorded to me in the Munich Agreement – namely, never to go to war with one another again, and to settle any difference that might arise between us by the method of consultation." There were a number of empty seats at the function because the Germans boycotted after seeing an advance copy of the speech, which included a passage criticizing the German press for its tone and for rarely showing "any sign of a desire to understand our point of view."[21]
Clark Gable announced he was seeking a divorce from his estranged second wife Rhea. Friends of the actor disclosed that he planned to marry the actress Carole Lombard when the divorce was finalized.[22]
Italy sent a diplomatic note to France indicating that the Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935 was invalid because ratifications had never been exchanged.[1]
Wilhelm Keitel issued a secret directive on behalf of Hitler stating that preparations for the "liquidation of the rump Czech state" were to be carried out "on the assumption that no appreciable resistance is to be expected. Outwardly it must be quite clear that it is only a peaceful action and not a warlike undertaking."[28]
Herschel Grynszpan appeared before a magistrate in Paris and explained why he shot Ernst vom Rath. Grynszpan said he did not intend to kill vom Rath but only wanted to shoot him as a protest against the Nazi treatment of Jews.[31]
New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia was attacked from behind on the steps of City Hall and knocked down by a discharged WPA worker. La Guardia suffered a welt to his right cheekbone but was not seriously hurt. The assailant gave mostly incoherent responses to questioning by authorities and maintained that La Guardia knew the reason for the attack, even though the mayor said he'd never seen him before.[32]
Sir John Anderson outlined a government plan in the House of Commons to construct steel air-raid shelters around Britain. The cost was set at £20 million for 20 million persons.[34]
Nazi Germany banned Jews from serving as midwives.[24]
Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye gave a speech in which he proclaimed a New Order of East Asia, encompassing Japan, Manchukuo and China.[35]
A strange fish was found on a fishing trawler in East London, South Africa. It was later identified as a coelacanth, previously thought to be extinct.[27]
21 countries of the Americas met in Lima, Peru and adopted the Lima Declaration, affirming the sovereignty of Latin American states and the determination to resist foreign intervention.[36]
American opera singer Grace Moore gave the Duchess of Windsor a deep curtsey during a concert in France and started a new controversy over whether or not the duchess counted as royalty and was entitled to receive such an honor.[38]
The Soviet Union issued a new decree aimed at slackers and frequently absent workers. The new law threatened executives with removal or arrest if they failed to deal harshly with "disorganizers of production". Maternity leave was reduced and workers were to get no vacations until they had been on the job for at least one year.[39]
Died:Florence Lawrence, 48 or 52, Canadian-American stage performer and film actress (suicide by poison)
A scandal hit the French film industry when the bankrupt Pathé studio obtained warrants charging Bernard Natan and three other former associates of the company with fraud and conspiracy. The alleged embezzlement was estimated to total at least 140 million francs.[40]
Iran broke off diplomatic relations with France over an article in a Paris newspaper about a cat show. Rezā Shāh was insulted by a picture of a cat that carried the caption "His Majesty the cat" (the French word for cat is chat, pronounced the same as shah).[42]
^"Germany Needs a Larger living Space; Goebbels". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 16, 1938. p. 5.
^ abCortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 512. ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^ abc"1938". MusicAndHistory. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^Faber, David (2008). Munich, 1938: Appeasement and World War II. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 437. ISBN978-1-4391-4992-8.
^Lorman, Thomas (2019). The Making of the Slovak People's Party: Religion, Nationalism and the Culture War in Early 20th-Century Europe. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 216. ISBN978-1-350-10938-4.
^"Mussolini Opens Coal Mining Town on Island of Sardinia". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 19, 1938. p. 5.
^"Jew Who Slew Nazi Diplomat Tells His Story". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 20, 1938. p. 10.
^"Crank Knocks Mayor Down". Brooklyn Eagle. December 20, 1938. p. 1.
^"Iconoscope". Engineering and Technology History Wiki. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^Hoyt, Edwin Palmer (2001). Warlord: Tojo Against the World. Cooper Square Press. p. 114. ISBN978-0-8154-1171-0.
^Tucker, Spencer C. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 1872. ISBN978-1-85109-672-5.
^"2 Christmas Trains Crash in Rumania; 80 Killed, 150 Injured". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 26, 1938. p. 1.
^"Grace Moore's Bow to Wally Rekindles Feud". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 29, 1938. p. 9.
^"Soviet Clamps Down New Rules in Effort to Speed Up Industry". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 29, 1938. p. 9.