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Period: to
Inter-war years
During the period between the First World War and the Second World War (1918-1939), the economies of European countries and of the United States went through various phases. -
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Post-war crisis
During the post-war period, between 1918 and 1923, Europe experienced a significant economic crisis which was characterised by:
High level of debts.
A shortage of products. -
Recovery in the 1920s
The United States and Japan were the first countries to recover from the crisis, because their industries had not been devastated by war. -
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The roaring twenties
Consumerism grew again and sales of consumer goods such as cars and household
appliances increased. -
Italian Fascism
Fascism was the system of authoritarian government established by Benito Mussolini in
Italy when he became head of the government in 1922.
Although the monarchy was maintained, with Victor Emmanuel III as head of state,
Mussolini, transformed the democratic state into a dictatorship. -
Stalinism (Lenin's death)
Stalinism was the system of totalitarian government which was established in the USSR
when, after Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin eliminated all possible political rivals
and took control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). -
Germany's economy began to recover
It was able to pay reparations to
the victorious European countries, which in turn, were able to pay back their loans. -
The Wall Street crash
In 1929, the Wall Street stock market in New York collapsed. This was the beginning of
a major economic crisis, leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
The Great Depression of the 1930s began with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and
continued for a decade. This economic crisis led to a fall in prices (deflation) and put an
end to the prosperity of the roaring twenties.
The crisissoon spread to Europe and other parts of the world because the United States
stopped investing and asked other countries to repay the loans they had received after
the war. It was a really global depression. -
New Deal
In the United States, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt introduced his New Deal in 1933. This was a set of government programmes
which focused on the three Rs: relief for the poor, recovery of the economy (more public
work) and reform of the banking system. -
Nazi Germany
Nazism was the system of dictatorship established by Adolf Hitler in Germany after
winning the elections in 1933. He was known as Führer (leader). It was a totalitarian
regime which replaced the Weimar Democratic Republic.