January 30, 1933. Adolf Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany by President von Hindenburg. The Chancellor of Germany is the head of the government of Germany. According to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, the Chancellor is appointed by the President and responsible to Parliament. The 44-year old Hitler has come to power as the government and economic systems in Germany are on the verge of complete collapse.

January, 1933. The Spanish government authorizes martial law as political violence causes almost 100 deaths in Spain.

February 28, 1933. A mysterious fire burns down the Reichstag, the building that houses the German Parliament. Hitler accuses the communists of starting the fire and persuades President von Hindenburg to suspend all freedom of speech and assembly in Germany.

March 4, 1933. The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a disagreement over procedure; Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss becomes a virtual dictator of Austria.

March 22, 1933. Portugal’s new constitution gives the government the right to suspend all individual civil liberties. Antonio Oliveira Salazar rules Portugal as a dictator.

April 7, 1933. Beer is legalized in the United States, eight months before the full repeal of Prohibition in December.

August, 1933. Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi is released from a prison hospital in Poona after a five-day hunger strike.

October 17,1933. Albert Einstein arrives in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany; he accepts a position at Princeton University.

October, 1933. More than 9000 Arabs riot in protest against Jewish emigration to Palestine.

December, 1933. Happy days are here again! The end of Prohibition in the United States, as the 21st amendment is ratified by the final state to ratify, Utah.