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The period from 1930 to 1961 spans major global transformations. It starts with the depths of the Great Depression, passes through World War II, and ends as the early Cold War order consolidates, space travel begins, and decolonization accelerates. It illustrates how economic crisis, total war, and geopolitical realignment reshaped the modern world.

Economic and social change. The 1930s were defined by the Great Depression and widespread unemployment; recovery varied, with New Deal-type measures in several countries. World War II mobilized economies and populations. After 1945, reconstruction and growth followed Bretton Woods institutions, migration, urbanization, and the emergence of consumer societies in the West, alongside lingering hardship elsewhere.

Political and military developments. The war ended with new international structures, notably the United Nations. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as rival superpowers, giving rise to the Cold War, NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955). Decolonization accelerated in Asia and Africa after 1945, with independence movements and conflicts, including Korea (1950–53) and various crises in the 1950s and early 1960s. The Berlin Wall began to go up in 1961, symbolizing division.

Science and technology. The era saw nuclear advances, the transistor, early computers, and significant medical progress. The space age began with the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the first human flight by Yuri Gagarin in 1961, signaling new frontiers in exploration and science.

Legacy. The period laid the groundwork for postwar international order, accelerated decolonization, and set the stage for social and technological revolutions that defined the 1960s and beyond.