L'Osservatore Romano stated that the Vatican had not been consulted by Austrian bishops prior to their reading of the March 27 pastoral letter supporting the Anschluss.[2]
U.S.-Mexican relations continued to worsen as the Roosevelt Administration ended its policy of buying Mexican silver at rates above world price.[3]
Music recordings by Jewish musicians and composers were banned in Germany.[4]
Joe Louis knocked out Harry Thomas in the fifth round at Chicago Stadium to retain the world heavyweight boxing title.[5]
An estimated 7,000 people attended a "Save Spain" rally in Hyde Park protesting the British government's policy on the Civil War.[15]Unity Mitford was spotted at the event wearing a swastika badge and was attacked by an angry mob.[7][16]
The French Senate voted 288-1 to give Prime Minister Daladier special powers until July 31 to govern by decree in order to address the currency devaluation crisis and end strikes.[3][18]
Britain and Italy concluded the Easter Accords, a pact to reduce tensions in the Mediterranean region. The British recognized the Italian conquest of Ethiopia while Italy promised to withdraw its troops from Spain at the end of the Civil War and refrain from spreading propaganda in the Middle East.[3]
Between 16 and 20 Arabs were killed in a battle with British troops at Jenin fought after three Jews were killed in an ambush at al-Bassa.[21]
Action Comics #1 published by Detective Comics, Inc. premiered on American newsstands bearing a cover date of June 1938.[23] The iconic cover marks the first appearance of Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and for that reason is considered the beginning of the superhero genre.
After holding out for all of spring training and missing Opening Day, Joe DiMaggio accepted a salary offer of $25,000 from the New York Yankees – a $10,000 raise over his 1937 salary.[28][29] DiMaggio had been holding out for $40,000 but Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert never budged from his first offer.[30]
Born:Peter Snow, radio and television presenter and historian, in Dublin, Ireland; Eszter Tamási, actress and television announcer, in Mezőtúr, Hungary (d. 1991)
Sudeten German leader Konrad Henlein presented a list of demands in a speech in Karlsbad. The principal demand was the creation of an autonomous German state within Czechoslovakia. Though left unsaid, it was readily inferred that this state could then vote to secede and join Germany.[33]
A decree from Hermann Göring was published stating that effective immediately, Austrian banknotes would no longer be valid currency. A deadline of December 31, 1938 was given to exchange them at the Reichsbank for Reichsmarks. Austrian coinage remained valid for the time being.[34][35]
On Budget Day in the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Simon introduced the biggest peacetime budget in the nation's history. Taxes on income, gasoline and tea were increased to help pay for the national rearmament program.[36]
Nazi Germany enacted the Order for the Disclosure of Jewish Assets, requiring Jews to report all property in excess of 5,000 Reichsmarks.[32]
Joe DiMaggio was booed in Washington, D.C. during his first game back after ending his salary dispute with the Yankees. Fans considered DiMaggio greedy for demanding such a big raise while ordinary people were struggling through the Great Depression, and they would continue to boo him throughout the season both on the road and at home in Yankee Stadium.[40][41]
The animated short film Porky's Hare Hunt was released, marking the first appearance of an unnamed rabbit character that would evolve over the course of later cartoons into Bugs Bunny.
Born:Larry Niven, science fiction writer, in Los Angeles
^Buffery, Helena; Marcer, Elisenda (2011). Historical Dictionary of the Catalans. Scarecrow Press. p. 311. ISBN978-0-8108-7514-2.
^ abCortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 511. ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931–1940. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 11. ISBN0-520-07908-6.