Friday, 21 February 1930

Bucharest:  

Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu consults with his military generals over the rumored Red Army buildup on the soviet side of the Bessarabian border.  British, French and Polish diplomats have reportedly assured Romania of their support in the event of a soviet attack on Romania. 

Chicago:  

Crying “Wages and work!”, 1,200 unemployed hold a demonstration at city hall that erupts into a riot.  Police charge the crowd, beating many, and arresting 12.  Trouble starts at a communist meeting where speakers circulate handbills calling on workers to “rally to the defense of their fatherland, the Soviet Union,” and inflame the crowd to hold a parade.  When the mob starts to file out, the police move in.  Still, some of the marchers make their way to city hall, where 150 police, some mounted, form a cordon around the building.  It is the third communist-led demonstration at city hall in 10 days.

Some of the handbills at the meeting speak of an “international demonstration against unemployment” day, scheduled for March 6.  Others read:  “Unemployment is increasing.  The crisis is sharpening.  Everywhere misery and suffering increases daily.  Heavy wage cuts go hand in hand with the increase in unemployment.”

Elsewhere:  

Weimar, Germany:  The nazi Minister of the Interior and Education of the state of Thuringia, Wilhelm Frick, announces he is preparing to order all schools in the state to pray daily for Germany’s liberation from the Treaty of Versailles. 

Minsk, Belorus (Belorussian S.S.R):  The Jewish leaders held by soviet authorities for alleged anti-government activities are allowed to receive visitors, who report that their execution now seems less likely.  Meanwhile in Moscow, the soviet government issues an official denial to a rumor that the rabbis had already been executed.  The government newspaper Izvestia says they have only been charged with counter-revolutionary activity, which reportedly stem from their appeal to Jews outside the Soviet Union for financial aid.