Interwar period

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The interwar period (1918-1939) is understood, within recent Western culture, to be the period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War. This is also called the period between the wars or interbellum.

This period was marked by turmoil in much of the world, as Europe struggled to recover from the devastation of the First World War. In North America especially the first half of this period was one of considerable prosperity (the Roaring Twenties), but this changed dramatically with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. It was at this time that the Weimar Republic in Germany gave way to two episodes of political and economic turmoil, the first culminated with the German hyperinflation of 1923 and the failed Beer Hall Putsch of that same year. The second convulsion, brought on by the worldwide depression, resulted in the rise of Nazism. In Asia, Japan became an ever more assertive power, especially with regards to China.

The interwar period was marked by a radical change in the international order, away from the balance of power that had dominated pre-World War I Europe. One main institution that was meant to bring stability was the League of Nations, which was created after the First World War with the intention of maintaining world security and peace and encouraging economic growth between member countries. The League was undermined by the bellicosity of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Soviet Russia, and Mussolini's Italy, and by the non-participation of the United States, leading many to question its effectiveness and legitimacy.

A series of international crises strained the League to its limits, the earliest being the invasion of Manchuria by Japan and the Abyssinian crisis of 1935/36 in which Italy invaded Abyssinia, one of the only free African nations at that time. The League tried to enforce economic sanctions upon Italy, but to no avail. The incident highlighted French and British weakness, exemplified by their reluctance to alienate Italy and lose her as their ally. The limited actions taken by the Western powers pushed Mussolini's Italy towards alliance with Hitler's Germany anyway. The Abyssinian war showed Hitler how weak the League was and encouraged the remilitarization of the Rhineland in flagrant disregard of the Treaty of Versailles. This was the first in a series of provocative acts culminating in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the beginning of the Second World War.

The following are some links to sample interwar period events or issues. The links are presented by country:

• History of Albania: Corfu incident and Invasion of Albania
• History of Austria: Anschluss
• History of Belgium: Occupation of the Ruhr
• History of Bolivia: Chaco War
• History of Bulgaria: Bulgarian coup d'état of 1923 and the incident at Petrich
• History of Canada: Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years
• History of the Republic of China: Warlord era, Northern Expedition, Manchukuo, Mukden incident, and Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
• History of Czechoslovakia: Polish-Czechoslovak border conflicts, Munich Agreement, and German occupation of Czechoslovakia
• History of Ethiopia: Second Italo-Abyssinian War
• History of France: Treaty of Versailles, Occupation of the Ruhr, French Colonial Empire, Rif War (1920), Battle of Maysalun, and Popular Front
• History of Germany: Treaty of Versailles, Spartacist uprising, Freikorps, Weimar Republic, National Socialist German Workers Party, Beer Hall Putsch, Silesian Uprisings, Polish Corridor, Enabling Act of 1933 (Ermächtigungsgesetz), Gleichschaltung, Lebensraum, Occupation of the Ruhr, Re-unification of the Saar, German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact, Reichstag fire, Remilitarization of the Rhineland, Night of the Long Knives, Anschluss, Munich Agreement, German occupation of Czechoslovakia, 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania, and the beginnings of Nazi Germany
• History of Greece: Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), the Corfu incident, the incident at Petrich, and Balkan Pact
• History of Hungary: Treaty of Trianon, Hungarian Soviet Republic, Greater Hungary, Vienna Awards, Arrow Cross, and Slovak-Hungarian War
• History of India: Indian independence movement and Jallianwala Bagh massacre
• History of Iraq: British Mandate of Mesopotamia, Iraqi revolt against the British, and Simele massacre
• History of Ireland: Irish War of Independence
• History of Italy: National Fascist Party, March on Rome, Italian Empire, Corfu incident, Second Italo-Abyssinian War, Lateran Treaty, and Invasion of Albania
• History of Japan: Empire of Japan, Korea under Japanese rule, Mukden incident, February 26 Incident (1936), Battle of Lake Khasan, Battle of Khalkhin Gol, and Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
• History of Korea: Korea under Japanese rule
• History of Latvia: Latvian War of Independence
• History of Lebanon: French Mandate of Lebanon Greater Syria
• History of Lithuania: Republic of Central Lithuania, Lithuanian Wars of Independence, 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania, and Independent interwar Lithuania (1918-1940)
• History of Morocco: Rif War (1920)
• History of Ottoman Empire (see Turkey): Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
• History of Paraguay: Chaco War
• History of Poland (1918–1939): Second Polish Republic, Polish-Lithuanian War, Polish-Soviet War, Polish-Czechoslovak border conflicts, German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact, and Free City of Danzig
• History of Romania: Greater Romania, Iron Guard, Balkan Pact
• History of Slovakia: Slovak-Hungarian War
• History of the Soviet Union: Russian Civil War, Polish-Soviet War, Ukrainian War of Independence, Battle of Lake Khasan, Battle of Khalkhin Gol, the Great Purge, and History of the Soviet Union (1927-1953)
• History of Spain: Rif War (1920) and Second Spanish Republic and Spanish Civil War
• History of Syria: French Mandate of Syria and Franco-Syrian War
• History of Turkey: Turkish War of Independence (Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), Turkish–Armenian War, Franco-Turkish War) and Balkan Pact
• History of the United Kingdom: Treaty of Versailles, Irish War of Independence, British Colonial Empire, British Mandate of Palestine, British Mandate of Mesopotamia, Tanganyika, British Somaliland and the Mad Mullah, Indian independence movement, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, British Union of Fascists, and Blueshirts
• History of the United States: History of the United States (1918-1945), Industrial Workers of the World, Great Depression, London Economic Conference, Commonwealth of the Philippines, and German American Bund
• History of Yugoslavia: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1919-1929), Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929-1941), Balkan Pact

Preceded by World War I

World History 1918–1939

Succeeded by World War II

• European Civil War
• League of Nations
• Causes of World War II
• Events preceding World War II in Europe
• Antebellum
• Postwar
• List of Treaties

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