WHAT ALL HAPPENED FEBRUARY TO AUGUST 1939
Find out what all happened February to August 1939

World War II: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations. (23. August 1939)

Holocaust: the last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed. (6. July 1939)

Generalísimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th "Caudillo de España", or Leader of Spain. (5. February 1939)

In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest at the autocratic rule in India. (3. March 1939)

The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of Slovak air force in the city of Spišská Nová Ves, kills 13 people and began the Slovak–Hungarian War. (23. March 1939)

A Lockheed P-38 Lightning flies from California to New York in 7 hours 2 minutes. (11. February 1939)

Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII. (2. March 1939)

The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day. (23. May 1939)

The Albanian fascist leader Tefik Mborja is appointed as member of the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations. (29. May 1939)

The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power. (25. August 1939)

A Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94. (1. March 1939)

Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announces his retirement from major league baseball. (4. July 1939)

Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender. (1. April 1939)

World War II: German troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist. (15. March 1939)

Marriage of Princess Fawzia of Egypt to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran. (16. March 1939)

The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York. (12. June 1939)

Faisal II becomes King of Iraq. (4. April 1939)

The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745km/h). (30. March 1939)

Billie Holiday records the first civil rights song "Strange Fruit". (20. April 1939)

Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall. (9. April 1939)