The Interwar Period
Explore the interwar period — the turbulent two decades between World War I and World War II marked by economic crisis and the rise of extremism.
The interwar period (1918–1939) was the turbulent era between the two world wars — a time of revolutionary change, economic catastrophe, cultural innovation, and the rise of totalitarian movements that would plunge the world into an even more destructive conflict.
The period began with hope. The League of Nations promised collective security. New democracies emerged from the ruins of fallen empires. The Roaring Twenties brought economic growth and cultural experimentation. But the foundations were fragile. The unresolved tensions of the Versailles settlement, the instability of new democracies, and the economic fragility exposed by the Great Depression created the conditions for extremism.
The 1930s saw the collapse of the interwar order. Fascism triumphed in Italy and Germany. Japan invaded Manchuria and China. Spain was consumed by civil war. The League of Nations proved impotent in the face of aggression. Appeasement failed. By September 1939, the world was at war again — a failure that haunts international relations to this day.
Lessons covering this topic
Browse all lessons →The Treaty of Versailles
The peace that planted the seeds of the next war.
The Roaring Twenties & the Great Depression
Boom, bust, and global economic crisis.
The Rise of Fascism
Mussolini, Hitler, and the assault on democracy.
The Road to World War II
Appeasement, expansion, and the failure of peace.
Art & Culture Between the Wars
Modernism, jazz, surrealism, and the avant-garde.