An authentic newspaper is a great gift idea for someone who is interested in history, or to commemorate this year in history. The 1930s were almost over, and it hadn’t been the easiest decade for Britain or the world. Britain was in the grips of an economic crisis which had lasted the whole decade. This was the year World War Two would start, resulting in one of the most destructive, bloody and heart-breaking wars that the world has ever seen. Find out what it felt like to live during this tense year in history through first hand accounts from people who lived it.

The world in 1939 didn’t feel like the most safe place. Germany’s attack on France marked the beginning of WWII, commencing the 6 year war that would devastate and destroy the lives of millions of people. 1939 headlines includes coverage of the IRA bombing of Coventry which killed 5 people, the declaration of war on Germany by the allied forces, and Adolf Hitler’s narrow escape of an assassination attempt in Munich.

1939 was a fascinating year in history, filled with events that would forever change the course of history. Read about how the war began step by step, with reports covering the beginning of it all. The best way to understand our world today is to gain an insight into the past and the people and events, good and bad, that have shaped society and the world today. A 1939 newspaper can give perspective on all of these things.

Also, take a look at a full breakdown of the year 1939 in our 1939 timeline.

1st January 1939
The Hewlett-Packard Company is founded and becomes the largest technology company in the world.

6th February 1939
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain officially declares that any German attack on France will also be considered an attack on Great Britain.

2nd March 1939
Pope Pius XII (Cardinal Pacelli) succeeds Pope Pius XI as the 260th Pope.

28th March 1939
Dictator Francisco Franco assumes power in Madrid.

1st April 1939
The Spanish Civil War comes to an end when the last of the Republican forces surrender.

14th April 1939
John Steinbeck’s classic novel “The Grapes of Wrath” is published for the first time.

17th June 1939
Murderer Eugen Weidmann is decapitated by the guillotine in the last public guillotining to take place in France.

24th June 1939
The government of Siam changes its name to Thailand, which means ‘Free Land’.

25th August 1939
An IRA bomb explodes in the centre of Coventry, killing five people.

1st September 1939
Nazi Germany invades Poland, thus beginning the Second World War in Europe.

3rd September 1939
The United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany.

8th November 1939
Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in Munich by Georg Elser, while celebrating the sixteenth anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.

16th November 1939
Al Capone is released from Alcatraz prison.

27th December 1939
The 1939 Erzincan earthquake kills 30,000 people in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. The earthquake features seven powerful tremors and one of these tremors is measured at 8.2 on the Richter scale of magnitude.

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