Period between the wars

In the context of the history of the 20th century, the interwar period was the period between the end of the First World War in November 1918 and the beginning of the Second World War in September 1939.

Despite the relatively short period of time, this period represented an era of significant changes worldwide. Petroleum and automobile production leading to the Roaring Twenties (and the Golden Twenties), a period of economic prosperity and growth for the middle class in North America, Europe, and many other parts of the world. The indulgences of this era subsequently led to the Great Depression, a worldwide economic downturn which severely damaged many of the world's largest economies. Politically this era saw the rise of communism, starting in the Russia at the end of World War I, and ultimately the rise of fascism, particularly in Germany. The Empires of Britain, France, and others faced challenges as imperialism was increasingly viewed negatively in Europe and independence movements in India, Ireland, and other regions gained momentum.

Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I, the years 1919–24 were marked by turmoil as Europe struggled to recover from the devastation of the First World War and the destabilising effects of the loss of four large historic empires: the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. There were numerous new nations in Eastern Europe, most of them small in size. The United States gained dominance in world finance. Thus, when Germany could no longer afford war reparations to Britain, France and other Allies, the Americans came up with the Dawes Plan and Wall Street invested heavily in Germany, which repaid its reparations to nations that, in turn, used the dollars to pay off their war debts to Washington. By the middle of the decade, prosperity was widespread, with the second half of the decade known, especially in Germany, as the "Golden Twenties".

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