19191923

1919–1923 denotes the historical span immediately after World War I, a period of political realignment, territorial redefinition, and the early development of international institutions. It saw decisive peace settlements, the emergence of new states, and social and economic upheavals that helped shape the interwar era.

In Europe, the Paris Peace Conference produced the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which redrew borders, imposed military restrictions on Germany, and laid the groundwork for the League of Nations, founded in 1920. Germany established the Weimar Republic in 1919 after the upheavals of the war, while the period culminated in 1923 with severe economic distress, known as hyperinflation, and the occupation of the Ruhr by foreign troops, highlighting the fragility of the postwar settlement.

Russia and the Soviet Union underwent a decisive transition as the Russian Civil War concluded and the Soviet Union was formed in 1922, accompanied by the New Economic Policy beginning in 1921 to stabilize the economy.

In Asia, the May Fourth Movement of 1919 in China fostered nationalist and reformist currents, and the Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921. Japan continued industrial and imperial expansion, while the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake caused extensive devastation in the Tokyo–Yokohama area.

The Middle East and the broader colonial world saw the implementation of League of Nations mandates over former Ottoman territories, with Britain and France assuming governance in areas such as Palestine and Mesopotamia. Ireland moved toward independence, with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 establishing the Irish Free State in 1922 and the subsequent Irish Civil War beginning in 1922.