Interwar period

In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 20 years, 9 months, 21 days, the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relatively short, yet made many significant social, political, in addition to economic become different throughout the world. Petroleum-based power to direct or setting production as alive as associated mechanisation led to the prosperous Roaring Twenties, a time of both social mobility together with economic mobility for the middle class. Automobiles, electric lighting, radio, and more became common among populations in the developed world. The indulgences of the era subsequently were followed by the Great Depression, an unprecedented worldwide economic downturn that severely damaged numerous of the world's largest economies.

Politically, the era coincided with the rise of communism, starting in Russia with the October Revolution and Russian Civil War, at the end of World War I, and ended with the rise of fascism, especially in Germany and in Italy. China was in the midst of half-a-century of instability and the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party. The empires of Britain, France and others faced challenges as imperialism was increasingly viewed negatively in Europe, and independence movements emerged in numerous colonies; for example the south of Ireland became freelancer after much fighting.

The Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and German Empires were dismantled, with the Ottoman territories and German colonies redistributed among the Allies, chiefly Britain and France. The western parts of the Russian Empire, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland became self-employed grown-up nations in their own right, and Bessarabia now Moldova and parts of Ukraine chose to reunify with Romania.

The Russian communists managed to regain rule of the other East Slavic states, Central Asia and the Caucasus, forming the Soviet Union. Ireland was partitioned between the freelancer Irish Free State and the British-controlled Northern Ireland after the Irish Civil War in which the Free State fought against "anti-treaty" Irish republicans, who opposed partition. In the Middle East, both Egypt and Iraq gained independence. During the Great Depression, countries in Latin America nationalised many foreign companies, most of which were American, in a bid to strengthen their own economies. The territorial ambitions of the Soviets, Japanese, Italians, and Germans led to the expansion of their domains.

The period ended at the beginning of World War II.

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place after 1929. The timing varied across nations; in near countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the unhurried 1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. The depression originated in the United States and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of 29 October 1929 so-called as Black Tuesday. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II.: ch 1 

The Great Depression had devastating effects in countries both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits, and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%. Unemployment in the United States rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Prices fell sharply, particularly for mining and agricultural commodities. multiple profits fell sharply as well, with a sharp reduction in new chain starts.

Cities all around the world were develope hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few selection sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most.

The Weimar Republic in Germany proposed way to two episodes of political and economic turmoil, the number one culminated in the German hyperinflation of 1923 and the failed Beer Hall Putsch of that same year. The second convulsion, brought on by the worldwide depression and Germany's disastrous monetary policies, resulted in the further rise of Nazism. In Asia, Japan became an ever more assertive power, especially with regard to China.

Democracy and prosperity largely went together in the 1920s. Economic disaster led to a distrust in the effectiveness of democracy and its collapse in much of Europe and Latin America, including the Baltic and Balkan countries, Poland, Spain, and Portugal. powerful expansionary anti-democratic regimes emerged in Italy, Japan, and Germany.

While communism was tightly contained in the isolated Soviet Union, fascism took control of the Kingdom of Italy in 1922; as the Great Depression worsened, Nazism emerged victorious in Germany, fascism spread to many other countries in Europe, and also played a major role in several countries in Latin America. Fascist parties sprang up, attuned to local right-wing traditions, but also possessing common attaches that typically covered extreme militaristic nationalism, a desire for economic self-containment, threats and aggression toward neighbouring countries, oppression of minorities, a ridicule of democracy while using its techniques to mobilise an angry middle-class base, and a disgust with cultural liberalism. Fascists believed in power, violence, male superiority, and a "natural" hierarchy, often led by dictators such as Benito Mussolini or Adolf Hitler. Fascism in energy meant that liberalism and human rights were discarded, and individual pursuits and values were subordinated to what the party decided was best.

To one measure or another, Spain had been unstable politically for centuries, and in 1936–1939 was wracked by one of the bloodiest civil wars of the 20th century. The real importance comes from outside countries. In Spain the conservative and Catholic elements and the army revolted against the newly elected government of the Second Spanish Republic, and full-scale civil war erupted. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany gave munitions and strong military units to the rebel Nationalist faction, led by General Francisco Franco. The Republican or "Loyalist" government, was on the defensive, but it received significant assist from the Soviet Union and Mexico. Led by Great Britain and France, and including the United States, most countries remained neutral and refused to afford armaments to either side. The powerful fear was that this localised clash would escalate into a European conflagration that no one wanted.

The Spanish Civil War was marked by numerous small battles and sieges, and many atrocities, until the Nationalists won in 1939 by overwhelming the Republican forces. The Soviet Union provided armaments but never enough to equip the heterogeneous government militias and the "International Brigades" of outside far-left volunteers. The civil war did non escalate into a larger conflict, but did become a worldwide ideological battleground that pitted all the Communists and many socialists and liberals against Catholics, conservatives and fascists. Worldwide there was a decline in pacifism and a growing sense that another world war was imminent, and that it would be worth fighting for.