World War II Timeline: 1938
Explore 17 documented milestones from 1938, across military theaters, diplomacy, society and technology.
Dated historical records
Entries below follow the dates recorded in the WWII CHRONOS archive. Each linked title opens the original historical entry, including its source reference.
- — Creation of SNCF — Unification of France's Main Railways — The state received 51% of the new company's capital.
- — Dammam No. 7 Strikes Oil in Commercial Quantities — The commercial discovery that launched Saudi Arabia's oil era.
- — Anschluss of Austria — Nazi Germany annexes Austria, accelerating the breakdown of the European security order.
- — Mexico Nationalises the Oil Industry — One of the most significant nationalisations of natural resources in the twentieth century.
- — Nestlé Launches Nescafé — Industrial instant-coffee technology reaches the mass market.
- — Discovery of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) — A new polymer with exceptional chemical resistance and very low friction.
- — Technical Design of the Uglich and Rybinsk Hydroelectric Complexes Approved — Uglich HPP design capacity: 110 MW with two generating units.
- — Foundation Stone Laid for Volkswagen's Main Plant — A project for one of the largest mass-production automobile factories of its time.
- — First Anti-Jewish Law in Hungary — The law restricted Jewish participation in economic life.
- — Mallard Sets the World Steam Locomotive Speed Record — Maximum speed: approximately 203 km/h.
- — Opening of the Évian Conference on Jewish Refugees — Representatives of states discussed the refugee crisis created by persecution in Nazi-controlled territories.
- — Battles at Lake Khasan — Fighting broke out between the Red Army and forces of the Japanese Empire along the Soviet-Korean border.
- — Munich Agreement — Germany, Italy, Britain and France agree to transfer the Sudetenland to Germany without Czechoslovakia taking part in the decisive negotiations.
- — Chester Carlson Produces the First Xerographic Image — The technological basis for future mass dry-copying of documents.
- — Orson Welles's 'The War of the Worlds' Radio Broadcast — The radio drama demonstrated both the power and the risks of realistic audio journalism.
- — Kristallnacht — Mass anti-Jewish pogroms across Germany and annexed Austria on 9–10 November.
- — First Kindertransport Arrives in Britain — Groups of child refugees from Nazi-controlled territories began arriving in Britain.
For wider context, explore the interactive historical timeline and compare events across theaters.