19201933

1920–1933 denotes the period from 1920 to 1933, the early to mid interwar years. It followed World War I and preceded the later expansion of totalitarian regimes and aggressive nationalism that helped set the stage for the Second World War. The era saw significant diplomatic experimentation, economic upheaval, and social change across continents, with regional dynamics shaping global outcomes.

Diplomacy and political transformation occurred as European borders were redrawn and new states emerged in Central and Eastern Europe. Western Europe pursued a policy of reconciliation through treaties such as the Locarno Pact of 1925 and the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, which sought to prevent future wars. In Germany, the Weimar Republic faced hyperinflation in the early 1920s, political violence, and mounting extremism, culminating in the rise of the Nazi movement and Adolf Hitler’s accession to power in 1933. In the Soviet Union, the economy and society shifted from the New Economic Policy toward rapid industrialization under the first Five-Year Plan beginning in 1928, accompanied by forced collectivization in the early 1930s.

Economic developments included a brief postwar expansion followed by a severe downturn. The global economy contracted after the 1929 stock market crash, leading to widespread unemployment, deflation, and rising protectionism. Some economies recovered unevenly during the early 1930s, while others faced deepening crises and social unrest.

Regional highlights include Japan’s 1931 invasion of Manchuria, signaling a turn toward militarism in East Asia; in the United States, Prohibition lasted until 1933 and the early New Deal era began to address economic collapse; in China, the Kuomintang–Communist split intensified after the Northern Expedition ended in 1928.

The period ends in 1933 with a major realignment of European power and the consolidation of new economic and political models that would shape the decade that followed.