A plebiscite
was held in the territory on
13
January 1935. With Adolf
Hitler anxious for the propaganda advantages of the return of the Saar to
Germany, Joseph
Goebbels designed a concerted campaign to sway voters. The support of the
local Catholic authorities for a return also helped, as did concerns about Bolshevism,
against which Adolf
Hitler was seen as a bulwark. With a voter participation of 98%, the result
of the plebiscite was that the overwhelming majority, 90.8%, voted to return to
Germany, with only 8.8% wanting to retain the status quo, principally as they
did not wish to be ruled by National Socialists. A third option of joining France
received 0.4% of the vote.
Adolf
Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed on
26
February 1935, breaching the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, with
Hermann
Göring as its Commander-in-Chief. Walther Wever accepted the role of
the Chief of Air Staff and Erhard
Milch became the Secretary of State for Air. The autonomous branch started
off with 1,888 aircraft and 20,000 men.
Heinrich
Himmler on
16 March 1935 established
the SS-Verfügungstruppe.
Z9
Wolfgang Zenker Destroyer
Laid down 23 March 1935
Z10
Hans Lody Destroyer
Laid down 1 April 1935
The Stresa Front was
an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy, between
French foreign diplomatic minister Pierre Laval, British PM Ramsay MacDonald,
and Italian PM Benito Mussolini on
14
April 1935. Officially called the Final Declaration of the Stresa Conference,
its aim was to reaffirm the Locarno Treaties and to declare that the independence
of Austria would continue to inspire their common policy. The signatories also
agreed to resist any future attempt by the Germans to change the Treaty of Versailles.
First and foremost for Benito Mussolini, it was another opportunity to stage Fascist
propaganda as the Benito Mussolini was portrayed as an elder statesman and a keeper
of the peace after the failed Anschluss of 1934.
Scharnhorst
Battleship
Laid down 6 May 1935
Gneisenau
Battleship
Laid down 6 May 1935
The first flight of Willy
Messerschmitt's,
Messerschmitt
Bf 109 fighter aircraft happened on
28
May 1935. Powered by a 695 HP Rolls Royce Kestrel engine, the
Messerschmitt
Bf 109 fighter aircraft was the first all metal stressed skin monocoque single
seat fighter monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage
to enter service. The
Messerschmitt
Bf 109 fighter aircraft proved so successful that over 30,000 would finally
be assembled before the end of the Second World War.
The Anglo German
Naval Agreement of
10 June 1935
was a bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and Germany governing the
size of the Kriegsmarine in regard to the Royal Navy. The Anglo German Naval Agreement
fixed a ratio whereby the total tonnage of the Kriegsmarine was to be 35% of the
total tonnage of the Royal Navy on a permanent basis. It was registered in League
of Nations Treaty Series on
12 July
1935. The agreement was renounced by Adolf
Hitler on
28 April 1939.
On 4 July 1935 The Austrian
government reversed many of the anti-Hapsburg laws and reinstated part of the
imperial property. This action reflected increased support for a return of the
Hapsburg monarchy, a movement led by Prince Ernest Stahremberg and promoted by
Italian Premier Benito Mussolini. France and the Little Entente opposed this plan
and effectively derailed the movement.
Admiral
Hipper Heavy cruiser
Laid down 6 July 1935
Z6
Theodor Riedel Destroyer
Laid down 18 July 1935
Blücher
Heavy cruiser
Laid down 15 August 1935
United States of America Neutrality
Act of 1935 was signed on
31 August
1935, imposed a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with
all parties in a war. It also declared that American citizens travelling on warring
ships travelled at their own risk.
The
Junkers
Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber took
off for its maiden flight on
17
September 1935. The aircraft originally did not carry any registration, but
later was given the registration D-UBYR. The flight report, by Hauptmann Willy
Neuenhofen, stated the only problem was with the small radiator, which caused
the power plant to overheat.
The first three Panzer Divisions were established
on
15 October 1935, in the Wehrmacht.
The 1. Panzer-Division was placed under Maximilian von Weichs at Weimar, 2. Panzer-Division
under Heinz
Guderian at Würzburg and 3. Panzer-Division under Ernst Feßmann
at Berlin.
Nürnberg
Light cruiser
Commissioned 2 November 1935
Graf
Zeppelin Aircraft Carrier
Ordered 16 November 1935
Bismarck
Battleship
Ordered 16 November 1935
On
26
December 1935, Aviator Tito Minniti is killed. Badoglio receives permission
to use mustard gas to speed up the invasion. This was in direct violation of the
1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions, which outlawed the use of chemical weapons. The
alleged torture and mutilation of Minniti is claimed as justification.
For a complete
list of
sources 
