December 1, 1931: Soviet Union institutes new six-day week policy, allowing workers and children one day off (marked in blue) for every five days workedHattie Caraway sworn into office as United States Senator for Arkansas, only the second woman to hold office in the U.S. SenateDecember 5, 1931: Soviet government tears down Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior to make way for planned Palace of the Soviets, never constructed
Adolf Hitler gave an interview to British and American press at the Hotel Kaiserhof in Berlin.[5][6] "It will not be necessary for me to seize power through a coup d'état", Hitler said. "It will be mine within a short time, anyway, since every election brings my party closer to an absolute majority."[7]
The Mahatma Gandhi left England to head back to India. "I return with a clear conscience", Gandhi said. "I have explored and exhausted every approach to peace."[8] That evening in Paris, Gandhi gave a speech at the Magic-City dance hall and took questions from the audience of 2,000 people.[9]
The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow was demolished. The Palace of the Soviets was intended to be built in its place but never completed. At the end of the 20th century, after the fall of Communism, the cathedral would be rebuilt in the same spot and with the same architectural plans, and opened in 2000.[10][11]
The resignation of Giovanni Giuriati as Secretary of the National Fascist Party was announced in Italy; Achille Starace was appointed to replace him.[13]
German President Paul von Hindenburg signed Chancellor Heinrich Brüning's enormous 46-page emergency decree into law, slashing prices, wages and rents across the board in an effort to reverse inflation.[15]
Hattie Caraway of Arkansas was sworn in as a United States senator, filling the vacancy left by her late husband Thaddeus. This made Caraway the second woman in history to serve in the U.S. Senate, after Rebecca Latimer Felton in 1922, although Felton's service had consisted of only a single day and was largely symbolic.[16][17] In 1932, while serving out the remainder of her late husband's term, she became the first woman to be elected as a U.S. Senator.
Herbert Hoover delivered the annual State of the Union message to Congress. The message reviewed the worldwide depression and laid out the measures the government was taking to alleviate the crisis, but made no mention of Prohibition.[18]
InClarksburg, West Virginia, Harry Powers was convicted of first degree murder, which automatically carried a sentence of the death penalty.[21] He would be hanged on March 18.
Born:Rita Moreno (stage name for Rosa Alverio), Puerto Rican film, stage and TV actress and singer, winner of the Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards; in Humacao, Puerto Rico
Winston Churchill was hit by a car driven by Edward F. Cantasano while crossing Fifth Avenue in New York City. Churchill went to the hospital with some bruises and cuts but was discharged the following week. Cantasano was not charged because Churchill took full responsibility for the accident, having crossed against the light and forgotten which side of the road automobiles drive on in the United States.[27]
InBasel, the Young Plan advisory committee issued a report stating that Germany would be unable to meet its reparations payments when the Hoover Moratorium expired in July, and that the only solution was another revision to the plan.[33]
Knowlton Ames, 63, American football player and college football coach, later a financier, shot himself after financial reverses during the Great Depression.
Tyrone Power, Sr., 62, English stage and film actor, died of a heart attack.
Twenty people were injured in Paris when several hundred unemployed rioters invaded a Montmartre café and smashed tables and chairs, shouting for "work and bread".[34]
German President Paul von Hindenburg gave a New Year's address over the radio. "Germans deserve thanks and praise for the sacrifices they have made and the patience with which they have borne their sufferings and burdens", Hindenburg said. "The greatness of their sacrifice justifies Germany's demand that foreign countries should not seek to oppose Germany's restoration through imposition of impossible conditions." At one point during Hindenburg's address the broadcast was hijacked and an unknown voice called out, "Attention Germany! The Red fighters are here."[43]
In the Northwest Territories of Canada near Aklavik, four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police trekked to the cabin of a mysterious man by the name of Albert Johnson with a search warrant after Aboriginal trappers suspected him of interfering with their traps. When they knocked on Johnson's cabin door he responded with gunfire, seriously wounding one of the Mounties in the ensuing shootout. Johnson now faced the more serious charge of attempted murder of an RCMP officer.[44]
^"Coal Mine Blast Kills 5, Injures 14 in Transylvania". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 7, 1931. p. 15.
^Darrah, David (December 8, 1931). "Duce Makes War Hero Chief Aid in Fascist Party". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 8.
^Holston, Kim R. (2013). Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911–1973. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 73. ISBN978-0-7864-6062-5.
^Ghose, Sankar (1993). Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography. Bombay: Allied Publishers, Ltd. p. 71. ISBN978-81-7023-369-5.
^"Indians Storm Pier as Gandhi Returns Home". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 28, 1931. p. 3.
^"Los Angeles is Waist Deep in Flood Waters". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 29, 1931. p. 1.
^Suski, Markku (1993). Bringing in the People: A Comparison of Constitutional Forms and Practices of the Referendum. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 222–223. ISBN978-0-7923-2208-5.
