The Interwar Years are the period from 1918 to 1939, between the end of World War I and the start of World War II, when economic crisis, fascism, extreme nationalism, and the failure of appeasement destabilized Europe and led to a second world war (AP Euro Topic 8.7).
The Interwar Years are the roughly two decades between the armistice ending World War I (1918) and the German invasion of Poland that started World War II (1939). On the AP Euro exam, this isn't just a date range. It's a cause-and-effect story. The CED frames it directly in KC-4.1.III: fascism, extreme nationalism, racist ideologies, and the failure of appeasement during this period resulted in the catastrophe of World War II.
Think of the Interwar Years as the fuse between the two world wars. The Treaty of Versailles left Germany humiliated and economically strained. The Great Depression wrecked confidence in democracy and capitalism. Fascist leaders like Mussolini and Hitler exploited that chaos. Meanwhile, French and British fears of another war, American isolationism, and deep distrust between the Western democracies and the communist Soviet Union meant nobody stopped fascist states from rearming and expanding (KC-4.1.III.A). Key moments you should know include the remilitarization of the Rhineland, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, and the annexation of Austria.
The Interwar Years anchor Topic 8.7 (Europe During the Interwar Period) in Unit 8: 20th-Century Global Conflicts, and they set up everything in Topic 8.8 (World War II). The period directly supports learning objective AP Euro 8.7.A, which asks you to explain how and why political and ideological factors resulted in the catastrophe of World War II. That word 'explain' matters. The exam doesn't want you to just list events from 1918-1939. It wants you to show how Versailles resentment, economic collapse, fascist ideology, and Western inaction fit together as causes of WWII. If you can narrate that chain, you've mastered one of the most-tested causation arguments in the whole course.
Treaty of Versailles (Unit 8)
The Interwar Years begin with Versailles, and the treaty haunts the entire period. German resentment over war guilt and reparations gave Hitler his best recruiting pitch, so the treaty meant to end one war helped cause the next.
Great Depression (Unit 8)
The Depression hit Europe in the early 1930s and made democracy look like a failure. Economic desperation is what turned fringe fascist movements into governing parties, especially in Germany.
Fascism (Unit 8)
Fascism is the defining ideology of the Interwar Years. Mussolini took power in Italy in the 1920s and Hitler in Germany in 1933, and the CED names fascist expansion as a direct cause of WWII (KC-4.1.III).
Appeasement (Unit 8)
Appeasement is the Western response that defines the late interwar period. Britain and France, terrified of another war, let Hitler remilitarize the Rhineland and annex Austria. The CED calls this 'the failure of appeasement' for a reason.
You'll see the Interwar Years tested mostly through causation. Multiple-choice questions often give you a source from the 1920s or 1930s (a fascist speech, a Depression-era political cartoon, an excerpt about appeasement) and ask what conditions produced it or what it led to. No released FRQ uses the phrase 'Interwar Years' verbatim, but the period is prime LEQ and DBQ territory because it's a textbook causation argument. A strong essay connects specific evidence (Versailles terms, the Depression, the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the invasion of Ethiopia, the annexation of Austria) to the outbreak of WWII. The move that earns points is explaining the chain, not just listing the events.
The Interwar Years run from 1918 to 1939, from the end of World War I to the start of World War II.
The CED's core claim (KC-4.1.III) is that fascism, extreme nationalism, racist ideologies, and the failure of appeasement during this period caused World War II.
Fascist states were able to rearm and expand because of French and British fear of another war, American isolationism, and Western distrust of the Soviet Union (KC-4.1.III.A).
Key expansion events the exam expects you to know include the remilitarization of the Rhineland, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, and the annexation of Austria.
The Great Depression matters in this period because economic collapse undermined faith in democracy and helped fascist leaders like Hitler and Mussolini gain power.
On the exam, treat the Interwar Years as a causation argument connecting WWI's aftermath to WWII's outbreak, not just a list of dates.
The Interwar Years are the period from 1918 to 1939, between World War I and World War II. AP Euro covers them in Topic 8.7, focusing on how fascism, the Great Depression, and failed appeasement led to a second world war.
Not really, and that's the point. While there was no continent-wide war, the period saw the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the remilitarization of the Rhineland, and the annexation of Austria. Fascist states expanded by force while Western democracies stood by.
The CED gives three reasons (KC-4.1.III.A): French and British fears of fighting another devastating war, American isolationism, and deep distrust between the Western democracies and the communist Soviet Union. Together these allowed fascist states to rearm and expand unchecked.
The Interwar Years are the whole 1918-1939 era, while appeasement is one specific policy within it. Appeasement was Britain and France's strategy of giving in to Hitler's demands in the late 1930s, and its failure is one of the causes of WWII the CED names.
Know the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the Great Depression, Hitler and Mussolini's rises to power, the remilitarization of the Rhineland, Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, and the annexation of Austria. More importantly, be able to explain how each one contributed to the outbreak of WWII in 1939.