Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, and the alliance system increased political tensions across Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in 1914 sparked a regional war that soon became global, as imperialistic ties brought countries and colonies around the world into the conflict. Four years of stalemate and slaughter followed. Entire societies mobilized for total war, and government powers greatly increased. Women earned greater social equality, and labor unions grew. Many European countries adopted socialism as a realistic economic blueprint.

Horrible losses on the eastern front led to Russian tsar Nicholas II’s abdication in March 1917. A provisional government controlled by moderate social democrats replaced him but refused to withdraw Russia from the war. A second Russian revolution followed in November 1917, led by Lenin and his Communist Bolshevik Party. The Bolsheviks established a radical regime, smashed existing capitalist institutions, and posed an ongoing challenge to Europe and its colonial empires.

The “war to end war” brought only a fragile truce. Over American protests, France and Great Britain sought revenge on Germany. The Versailles treaty took away Germany’s colonies, limited its army and navy, and demanded admittance of war guilt and exorbitant war reparations. Separate treaties redrew the maps of Europe and the Middle East. Allied wartime solidarity faded, and Germany remained unrepentant, setting the stage for World War II. Globally, the European powers refused to extend self-determination to their colonies, instead creating a mandate system that sowed further discontent among colonized peoples.

World War I caused political and economic disruption across Europe. In the 1920s moderate political leaders sought to create an enduring peace and rebuild prewar prosperity through compromise. By decade’s end they seemed to have succeeded: Germany experienced an economic recovery, France rebuilt its war-torn regions, and Britain’s Labour Party expanded social services. Ultimately, however, these measures were short-lived.

The war’s horrors, particularly the industrialization of war that slaughtered millions, shattered Enlightenment ideals and caused widespread anxiety. In the interwar years philosophers, artists, and writers portrayed these anxieties in their work. Movies and the radio initially offered escape but soon became powerful tools of indoctrination and propaganda.