In 1933, the American economy was in the tank. Realizing they needed to do something to boost morale, prohibition was repealed on December 5th, and the country experienced the greatest collective day of drinking in history.
But while America was getting blackout drunk, Germany's nationalist party was radicalizing Europe to a concerning degree.
Here are 23 photos of what life looked like in 1933.
1
Pittsburgh Police
A motorcycle cop in 1933.
2
Otto Wels
Speaking against Hitler's Enabling Act of 1933, which would eventually give Hitler the power to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. March of 1933.
3
Building the Golden Gate Bridge
Looking North, 1933.
4
FDR Visits a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp
The CCC in 1933.
5
The Texaco Doodlebug
Getting gas in 1933.
6
December 5, 1933
The day when the nationwide alcohol ban was repealed.
7
A Boy and His Owl
Friends in 1933.
8
German Students Publicly Burn “Non-German” Writings and Books
The central boulevard “Unter den Linden” in Berlin on May 11, 1933.
9
A Mailman
Delivering Christmas packages, 1933.
10
The "Great Manta”
Captured by Captain A.L. Kahn on August 26, 1933.
11
Men Celebrating the End of Prohibition
December 5, 1933.
12
A Dejected Farmer
In a cornfield he planted that was destroyed by locusts, 1933.
13
Einstein Under Guard in England
After German extremists put a price on his head. 1933.
14
Former President Gerald Ford
1933 at the University of Michigan.
15
A Group of Young Women
At the bar on board the luxury liner SS Manhattan.
16
Selling Beer
The end of Prohibition. Cleveland, Ohio, December, 1933.
17
Charles De Gaulle With His Daughter, Anne De Gaulle
France, 1933.
18
Bund Deutscher Madel (BDM) Girls and Hitler Youth
Together in 1933.
19
London's Double-Decker Bus Testing
Proving they were not a tipping hazard, 1933.
20
Airborne Aircraft Carrier USS Macon
Inside her home port, the eight-acre Hangar One, 1933.
21
Newly Appointed Chancellor Adolf Hitler
Greeting President von Hindenburg at a memorial service. Berlin, 1933.
22
The Night Prohibition Ended
A well hydrated man in 1933.
23
Hitler
With a group of brown shirts in Berlin, 1933.
