The policy of the the big lie in operation around the globe

The Japanese attempt to conquer China got fully under way with a serious of amphibious landings at Liuhe aimed at taking the major commercial city of Shanghai. It was the start of the most intensive and bloodiest part of the conventional land war. The Japanese Foreign Minister was unwise enough to conduct a press conference in Tokyo to present Japan’s goals. The true Japanese motives could not, of course, be communicated honestly, so he launched into a rambling and incoherent exposition devoid of any real meaning. The Times correspond was reduced to quoting it verbatim as it defied paraphrase. Hirota was to be the only Japanese civilian executed for major war crimes.

The British destroyer HMS Havock was damaged by a torpedo from the Italian submarine Inde as it patrolled the Spanish coast to enforce the policy of non-intervention in the conflict promoted by Britain and France. The attack did not prompt Britain to any substantial action against Italy and its feebly outraged denial of any involvement was allowed to pass largely unchallenged. The only British response was to send more ships to the Mediterranean.

The contribution of national political leaders to the congress of the Auslandsorganisation (foreign organization) of the German Nazi party went well beyond supportive platitude. The AO was a major tool in co-opting Germans living abroad into the purposes of the Nazi regime. Goering was especially aggressive in setting out the support that they could expect from the mother country, expressing enormous pride at the vision of Germany’s new warships visiting foreign ports in an implicit threat to the governments of those countries should they show the least inclination to maltreat the local German population. He also warned imaginary Jewish representatives of German firms abroad from supporting a Jewish boycott of German goods which he threatened would cause reprisals in Germany.