Interwar period: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1918–1939 period between the World Wars}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}

[[File:Post WWI Conflict Map In New-York Tribune November 9 1919 Page 26.jpg|thumb|alt=Map of Europe with numbered locations|400px|

The ''[[New-York Tribune]]'' printed this map on 9 November 1919, of the armed conflicts in Central and Eastern Europe in 1919, one year after World War I had ended:<ref>{{cite news |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-11-09/ed-1/seq-26/ |newspaper=New-York Tribune |first=Frank H. |last=Simonds |title=A Year After the Armistice—The Unsettled Disputes |date=9 November 1919 |page=26 |access-date=10 November 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109153518/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-11-09/ed-1/seq-26/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

}}]]

[[File:BlankMap-World-1921.png|alt=|thumb|296x296px|Boundaries in 1920]]

 

 

 

 

 

== Turmoil in Europe ==

 

Most independent countries enacted [[women's suffrage]] in the interwar era, including [[Women's suffrage in Canada|Canada]] in 1917 (though [[Quebec]] held out longer), [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|Britain]] in 1918, and the [[Women's suffrage in the United States|United States]] in 1920. There were a few major countries that held out until after the Second World War (such as France, Switzerland, and Portugal).<ref>{{cite book|author1=Garrick Bailey|author2=James Peoples|title=Essentials of Cultural Anthropology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VcWAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA208|year=2013|publisher=Cengage Learning|page=208|isbn=978-1285415550|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219181638/https://books.google.com/books?id=7VcWAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA208|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Leslie Hume]] argues:

 

In Europe, according to Derek Aldcroft and Steven Morewood, "Nearly all countries registered some economic progress in the 1920s and most of them managed to regain or surpass their pre-war income and production levels by the end of the decade." The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Greece did especially well, while Eastern Europe did poorly, due to the First World War and [[Russian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Derek Howard Aldcroft|author2=Steven Morewood|title=The European Economy Since 1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3tlP_6nKCcC&pg=PA44|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|pages=44, 46|isbn=9780415438896|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219175316/https://books.google.com/books?id=s3tlP_6nKCcC&pg=PA44|url-status=live}}</ref> In advanced economies the prosperity reached [[middle class]] households and many in the [[working class]] with [[radio]], [[Car|automobiles]], [[telephone]]s, and [[electric light]]ing and [[Home appliance|appliances]]. There was unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and significant changes in lifestyle and culture. The media began to focus on celebrities, especially sports heroes and movie stars. Major cities built large sports stadiums for the fans, in addition to palatial cinemas. The [[Mechanised agriculture|mechanisation of agriculture]] continued apace, producing an expansion of output that lowered prices, and made many farm workers redundant. Often they moved to nearby industrial towns and cities.

 

[[Italian fascism|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.<ref>{{cite book |first=Stanley G. |last=Payne |title=A History of Fascism, 1914–1945 |location=Madison |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1995 |isbn=0-299-14870-X }}</ref> Fascist parties sprang up, attuned to local right-wing traditions, but also possessing common features that typically included 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 power meant that liberalism and human rights were discarded, and individual pursuits and values were subordinated to what the party decided was best.<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Soucy |chapter=Fascism |chapter-url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/fascism/Common-characteristics-of-fascist-movements |title=Encyclopaedia Britannica |year=2015 |access-date=2 December 2017 |archive-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025142743/https://www.britannica.com/topic/fascism/Common-characteristics-of-fascist-movements |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

=== Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) ===

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 politics|far-left]] volunteers. The civil war did not escalate into a larger conflict, but did become a worldwide ideological battleground that pitted all the [[Communism|Communists]] and many [[Socialism|socialists]] and [[Liberalism|liberals]] against [[Catholic Church|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.<ref>{{cite book |first=E. H. |last=Carr |title=The Comintern and the Spanish Civil War |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |year=1984 |isbn=0-394-53550-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Robert H. |last=Whealey |title=Hitler and Spain: The Nazi Role in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 |year=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-9139-4 }}</ref>

 

{{Main|Interwar Britain}}

[[File:British Empire 1921.png|thumb|upright=1.8|The Second British Empire at its territorial peak in 1921]]

[[File:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|[[George V]] with the British and Dominion prime ministers at the [[1926 Imperial Conference]]]]

 

 

Egypt had been under [[History of Egypt under the British|''de facto'' British control]] since the 1880s, despite its nominal ownership by the [[Ottoman Empire]]. In 1922, the [[Kingdom of Egypt]] was granted [[Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence|formal independence]], though it continued to be a [[client state]] following British guidance. Egypt joined the League of Nations. Egypt's [[Fuad I of Egypt|King Fuad]] and his son [[Farouk of Egypt|King Farouk]] and their conservative allies stayed in power with lavish lifestyles thanks to an informal alliance with Britain who would protect them from both secular and Muslim radicalism.<ref>{{cite book |first=Hugh |last=McLeave |title=The Last Pharaoh: Farouk of Egypt |location=New York |publisher=McCall |year=1970 |isbn=0-8415-0020-7 }}</ref> [[Mandatory Iraq]], a British [[League of Nations mandate|mandate]] since 1920, gained official independence as the [[Kingdom of Iraq]] in 1932 when [[Faisal I of Iraq|King Faisal]] agreed to British terms of a military alliance and an assured flow of oil.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gerald |last=De Gaury |title=Three Kings in Baghdad, 1921–1958 |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1961 |oclc=399044 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bulliet |first1=Richard |others=et al. |title=The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Vol. 2: Since 1500 |year=2010 |publisher=Cengage Learning |edition=5th ed Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1439084755}} excerpt pp. 774–845</ref>

In [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]], Britain was presented with the problem of mediating between the [[Palestinians|Palestinian Arabs]] and increasing numbers of [[Yishuv|Jewish settlers]]. The [[Balfour Declaration]], which had been incorporated into the terms of the mandate, stated that a national home for the [[Jews|Jewish people]] would be established in Palestine, and Jewish immigration allowed up to a limit that would be determined by the mandatory power. This led to increasing conflict with the Arab population, who openly [[1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine|revolted in 1936]]. As the threat of war with Germany increased during the 1930s, Britain judged the support of Arabs as more important than the establishment of a Jewish homeland, and shifted to a pro-Arab stance, limiting Jewish immigration and in turn triggering a [[Jewish insurgency in Palestine|Jewish insurgency]].<ref name="Mowat 12" />{{rp|269–96}}

 

 

== French Empire ==

{{Main|Interwar France|French colonial empire}}

 

Hitler came to power in January 1933, and inaugurated an aggressive power designed to give Germany economic and political domination across central Europe. He did not attempt to recover the lost colonies. Until August 1939, the Nazis denounced Communists and the Soviet Union as the greatest enemy, along with the Jews.<ref>Richard J. Evans, ''The Coming of the Third Reich'' (2005) and Evans, ''The Third Reich in Power'' (2006).</ref>

 

 

Hitler's diplomatic strategy in the 1930s was to make seemingly reasonable demands, threatening war if they were not met. When opponents tried to appease him, he accepted the gains that were offered, then went to the next target. That aggressive strategy worked as Germany pulled out of the [[League of Nations]], rejected the [[Versailles Treaty]], and began to rearm. Retaking the [[Territory of the Saar Basin]] in the aftermath of a [[1935 Saar status referendum|plebiscite]] that favoured returning to Germany, [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|Hitler's Germany remilitarised the Rhineland]], formed the [[Pact of Steel]] alliance with Mussolini's Italy, and sent massive military aid to Franco in the Spanish Civil War. [[Anschluss|Germany seized Austria]], considered to be a German state, in 1938, and [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|took over Czechoslovakia]] after the [[Munich Agreement]] with Britain and France. Forming a [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|non-aggression pact]] with the Soviet Union in August 1939, [[Invasion of Poland|Germany invaded Poland]] after Poland's refusal to cede the [[Free City of Danzig]] in September 1939. Britain and France declared war and [[World War II]] began&nbsp;– somewhat sooner than the Nazis expected or were ready for.<ref>Gerhard L. Weinberg, ''Hitler's foreign policy 1933–1939: The road to World War II.'' (2013), Originally published in two volumes.</ref>

 

After establishing the "[[Axis powers|Rome-Berlin Axis]]" with [[Benito Mussolini]], and signing the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] with Japan&nbsp;– which was joined by Italy a year later in 1937&nbsp;– Hitler felt able to take the offensive in foreign policy. On 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Austria, where an [[July Putsch|attempted Nazi coup]] had been unsuccessful in 1934. When Austrian-born Hitler entered [[Vienna]], he was greeted by loud cheers. Four weeks later, 99% of Austrians voted in favour of the annexation ([[Anschluss]]) of their country Austria to the [[German Reich (1933-1945)|German Reich]]. After Austria, Hitler turned to [[Czechoslovakia]], where the 3.5&nbsp;million-strong [[Sudeten Germans|Sudeten German]] minority was demanding equal rights and self-government.<ref name="Donald Cameron Watt 1989">Donald Cameron Watt, ''How war came: the immediate origins of the Second World War, 1938–1939'' (1989).</ref><ref name="R.J. Overy, 2014">R.J. Overy, ''The Origins of the Second World War'' (2014).</ref>

 

== Italy ==

{{Main|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}}

[[File:Impero italiano.svg|thumb|right|Maximum extent of imperial Italy {{legend|#ff0000|Pre-Second World War}}{{legend|#ff00ff|Captured during the Second World War}}]]

 

In the [[Balkans]], the Fascist regime claimed [[Dalmatia]] and held ambitions over [[Albania]], [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], and [[Greece]] based on the precedent of previous Roman dominance in these regions.<ref name="Robert Bideleux 1998. Pp. 467">{{cite book |first1=Robert |last1=Bideleux |first2=Ian |last2=Jeffries |title=A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |page=467 |isbn=0-415-16111-8 }}</ref> Dalmatia and Slovenia were to be directly annexed into Italy while the remainder of the Balkans was to be transformed into Italian client states.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Allan R. |last1=Millett |first2=Williamson |last2=Murray |title=Military Effectiveness |volume=2 |edition=New |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |page=184 }}</ref> The regime also sought to establish protective patron-client relationships with [[Austria]], [[Hungary]], [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], and [[Bulgaria]].<ref name="Robert Bideleux 1998. Pp. 467"/>

 

 

Italy's stance towards Spain shifted between the 1920s and the 1930s. The Fascist regime in the 1920s held deep antagonism towards Spain due to [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]]'s pro-French foreign policy. In 1926, Mussolini began aiding the [[Catalan separatism|Catalan separatist movement]], which was led by [[Francesc Macià]], against the Spanish government.<ref name="Robert H. Whealey 2005. P. 11">{{cite book |first=Robert H. |last=Whealey |title=Hitler And Spain: The Nazi Role In The Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939 |edition=Paperback |location=Lexington |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2005 |page=11 |isbn=0-8131-9139-4 }}</ref> With the rise of the left-wing Republican government replacing the [[Monarchy of Spain|Spanish monarchy]], Spanish monarchists and fascists repeatedly approached Italy for aid in overthrowing the Republican government, in which Italy agreed to support them to establish a pro-Italian government in Spain.<ref name="Robert H. Whealey 2005. P. 11"/> In July 1936, [[Francisco Franco]] of the Nationalist faction in the [[Spanish Civil War]] requested Italian support against the ruling Republican faction, and guaranteed that, if Italy supported the Nationalists, "future relations would be more than friendly" and that Italian support "would have permitted the influence of Rome to prevail over that of Berlin in the future politics of Spain".<ref>{{cite book |first1=Sebastian |last1=Balfour |first2=Paul |last2=Preston |title=Spain and the Great Powers in the Twentieth Century |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |page=152 |isbn=0-415-18078-3 }}</ref> Italy intervened in the civil war with the intention of occupying the [[Balearic Islands]] and creating a [[client state]] in Spain.<ref>{{cite book |first=R. J. B. |last=Bosworth |title=The Oxford Handbook of Fascism |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |page=246 }}</ref> Italy sought the control of the Balearic Islands due to its strategic position—Italy could use the islands as a base to disrupt the lines of communication between France and its [[French North Africa|North African colonies]] and between [[Gibraltar|British Gibraltar]] and [[Crown Colony of Malta|Malta]].<ref>{{cite book |first=John J. |last=Mearsheimer |title=The Tragedy of Great Power Politics |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=2003 |isbn=0-393-32396-X }}</ref> After the victory by Franco and the Nationalists in the war, Allied intelligence was informed that Italy was pressuring Spain to permit an Italian occupation of the [[Balearic Islands]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Road to Oran: Anglo-Franch Naval Relations, September 1939 – July 1940 |page=24 }}</ref>

 

Albanian Prime Minister and President [[Zog I of Albania|Ahmet Zogu]], who had, in 1928, proclaimed himself [[King of Albania]], failed to create a stable state.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jason |last=Tomes |title=The Throne of Zog |journal=History Today |volume=51 |issue=9 |year=2001 |pages=45–51 }}</ref> Albanian society was deeply divided by religion and language, with a border dispute with Greece and an undeveloped, rural economy. In 1939, Italy [[Italian invasion of Albania|invaded and annexed Albania]] as a separate kingdom in [[personal union]] with the Italian crown. Italy had long built strong links with the Albanian leadership and considered it firmly within its sphere of influence. Mussolini wanted a spectacular success over a smaller neighbour to match Germany's [[Anschluss|annexation of Austria]] and [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]]. Italian King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] took the [[King of Albania|Albanian crown]], and a [[Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943)|fascist government]] under [[Shefqet Vërlaci]] was established.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bernd J. |last=Fischer |title=Albania at War, 1939–1945 |publisher=Purdue UP |year=1999 |isbn=1-55753-141-2 }}</ref>

 

== Regional patterns ==

{{Main|Republic of China (1912–1949)|Warlord Era|Nanjing decade|Chinese Civil War}}

{{Empty section|date=May 2022}}

 

=== Latin America ===

The contrary ideals of ''[[indigenismo]]'' and ''[[hispanismo]]'' held sway among intellectuals in [[Hispanic America|Spanish-speaking America]] during the interwar period. In Argentina the ''[[gaucho]]'' genre flourished. A rejection of "Western universalist" influences was in vogue across Latin America.<ref name=Goebels/> This last tendency was in part inspired by the translation into Spanish of the book ''[[Decline of the West]]'' in 1923.<ref name=Goebels/>

 

Sports became increasingly popular, drawing enthusiastic fans to large stadiums.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=David M. K. |editor-last=Sheinin |title=Sports Culture in Latin American History |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8229-6337-0 }}</ref> The [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) worked to encourage Olympic ideals and participation. Following the 1922 Latin American Games in Rio de Janeiro, the IOC helped to establish national Olympic committees and prepare for future competition. In Brazil, however, sporting and political rivalries slowed progress as opposing factions fought for control of [[international sport]]. The [[1924 Summer Olympics]] in Paris and the [[1928 Summer Olympics]] in Amsterdam had greatly increased participation from Latin American athletes.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Cesar R. |last=Torres |title=The Latin American 'Olympic Explosion' of the 1920s: causes and consequences |journal=International Journal of the History of Sport |volume=23 |issue=7 |year=2006 |pages=1088–111 |doi=10.1080/09523360600832320 |s2cid=144085742 }}</ref>

 

 

== End of an era ==

 

== See also ==

 

== Notes ==

 

== References ==

 

== Further reading ==

* Albrecht-Carrié, René. ''A Diplomatic History of Europe Since the Congress of Vienna'' (1958), 736pp; a basic introduction, 1815–1955 [https://archive.org/details/diplomatichistor0000albr_b4c1 online free to borrow]

* Berg-Schlosser, Dirk, and Jeremy Mitchell, eds. ''Authoritarianism and democracy in Europe, 1919–39: Comparative Analyses'' (Springer, 2002).

* Cambon, Jules, ed ''The Foreign Policy of the Powers'' (1935) Essays by experts that cover France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.130997 Online free]

* Clark, Linda Darus, ed. ''Interwar America: 1920–1940: Primary Sources in U.S. History'' (2001)

* Dailey, Andy, and David G. Williamson. (2012) ''Peacemaking, Peacekeeping: International Relations 1918–36'' (2012) 244 pp; textbook, heavily illustrated with diagrams and contemporary photographs and colour posters.

* Doumanis, Nicholas, ed. ''The Oxford Handbook of European History, 1914–1945'' (Oxford UP, 2016).

* Feinstein, Charles H., Peter Temin, and Gianni Toniolo. ''The World Economy Between the World Wars'' (Oxford UP, 2008), a standard scholarly survey.

* Freeman, Robert. ''The InterWar Years (1919–1939)'' (2014), brief survey

* Gathorne-Hardy, Geoffrey Malcolm. ''A Short History of International Affairs, 1920 to 1934'' (Oxford UP, 1952).

* {{Cite book |last1=Grenville |first1=J. A. S. |title=[[A History of the World in the 20th Century|A History of the World in the Twentieth Century]] |year=2000 |pages=77–254}} [https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%28J%20A%20S%20Grenville%29 Online free to borrow]

* {{cite book|last=Meltzer|first=Allan H.|author-link=Allan H. Meltzer|title=A History of the Federal Reserve – Volume 1: 1913–1951|year=2003|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|place=Chicago|pages=90–545|isbn=978-0226520001}}

* [[Mowat, C. L.]] ed. (1968). ''The New Cambridge Modern History, Vol. 12: The Shifting Balance of World Forces, 1898–1945'' (2nd ed.). – 25 chapters by experts; 845 pp; the first edition (1960) edited by David Thompson has the same title but numerous different chapters.

* Murray, Williamson and Allan R. Millett, eds. ''Military Innovation in the Interwar Period'' (1998)

* Newman, Sarah, and Matt Houlbrook, eds. ''The Press and Popular Culture in Interwar Europe'' (2015)

* Seton-Watson, Hugh. (1945) ''Eastern Europe Between The Wars 1918–1941'' (1945) [https://archive.org/download/in.ernet.dli.2015.183358/2015.183358.Estern-Europe-Between-The-Wars-1918-1941.pdf online]

* {{Cite book |last1=Somervell |first1=D.C. |title=The Reign of King George V |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.176466 |year=1936}} – 550 pp; wide-ranging political, social and economic coverage of Britain, 1910–35

* Steiner, Zara. ''The Lights that Failed: European International History 1919–1933''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

* Steiner, Zara. ''The Triumph of the Dark: European International History 1933–1939''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

* Toynbee, A. J. ''Survey of International Affairs 1920–1923'' (1924) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.15363 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs'' annual 1920–1937 [https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28affairs%29%20AND%20creator%3A%28toynbee%29 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1924'' (1925); ''Survey of International Affairs 1925'' (1926) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.179756 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1924'' (1925) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.15364 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1927'' (1928) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.15361 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1928'' (1929) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.15349 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1929'' (1930) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.15362 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1932'' (1933) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.16978 online]; ''Survey of International Affairs 1934'' (1935), focus on Europe, Middle East, Far East; ''Survey of International Affairs 1936'' (1937) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.17001 online]

* Wheeler-Bennett, John. ''Munich: Prologue To Tragedy,'' (1948) broad coverage of diplomacy of 1930s

* Zachmann, Urs Matthias. ''Asia after Versailles: Asian Perspectives on the Paris Peace Conference and the Interwar Order, 1919–33'' (2017)

=== Historiography ===

* Cornelissen, Christoph, and Arndt Weinrich, eds. ''Writing the Great War – The Historiography of World War I from 1918 to the Present'' (2020) free download; full coverage for major countries.

 

=== Primary sources ===

{{Financial bubbles}}

{{Financial crises}}

{{Authority control}}