It was supposed to be the war to end all wars but immediately after the signing of the Paris Agreement between Germany and the Allies, the impact of the excessive economic arrangements demanded by France (reparations and the return of Alsace Lorraine) as well as the disarmament of Germany, caused raging inflation and the rise of Communist and far-right protest movements in Germany, the selection of a fascist, Benito Mussolini, to run Italy and the agitation for independence from the failing Ottoman Empire by many peoples. In addition, the war didn't actually end in 1918 because the Allies realized that the Bolsheviks could secure abandoned munitions throughout Russia if they were not protected, thus the British, American, Canadian and Japanese forces joined what had become a civil war between the so-called "White Russians" and the Bolsheviks. The allies fought losing battles alongside Russian troops and leaders who had mixed agendas such as restoring the monarchy, restoring the Duma system and creating strong-man governments in the Caucuses, Black Sea areas, the far north at Archangel on the Baltic Sea and the far west in Siberia.
Life in Britain, America and Western Europe was rapidly industrializing and the rise of labor unions and political parties seeking to repair the inequalities of economic life brought strikes, new consumer goods, agitation for woman's suffrage, and a wave of new immigration from Colonials into Britain and Jews, Italians and Central European peoples into America up to the mid-1920s when Eugenics laws made entry into the country very difficult. Meanwhile, racist organizations developed against newcomers as well as African Americans which saw an increase in violence in Northern cities as well as the Southern states.
In 1932, the bottom fells out of economies worldwide and what is called the Great Depression descended.
What Happened in 1925
- On January 3, 1925, Benito Mussolini gave a pivotal speech in the Italian Chamber of Deputies that began his dictatorship of Italy.
- From January 27th to February 1st, the famous dog-sled run across Alaska to Nome, Alaska relayed much-needed diphtheria antitoxin to combat an epidemic. The legend of Balto was born.
- The first issue of New Yorker magazine was published.
- Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President of the United States and was the first inauguration broadcast on the radio.
- March 9th through May 1st, the British Royal Air Force bombarded the mountain strongholds of Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan in what is now called "Pink's War."
- On March 18th, the Tri-State Tornado occurred. It was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, killing 695 people and injuring an additional 2,027.
- In Germany, the Bauhaus School closes in Weimar and re-opens in Dessau in buildings designed by its founder, Walter Gropius.
- Art Deco is defined during The Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby.
- Approximately 150 people are killed during the Bulgarian Communist assault on the St. Nedelya Church in Sofia.
- Britain returns to the gold standard.
- The world's largest trade union, The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, is founded in Guangzhou, the Republic of China.
- Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signs the Butler Act prohibiting the teaching of Evolution in Tennessee public schools.
- The Snopes "Monkey" Trial begins after teacher John T Snopes is arrested for teaching evolution.
- The National Forensic League is founded.
- The Chrysler Corporation is founded.
- Adolf Hitler publishes Volume I of his book, Mein Kampf.
- TASS, the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, is founded.
- The KKK holds a parade in Washington, D.C. consisting of between 30,000 to 35,000 marchers, proving it was the largest fraternal organization in the United States.
- The French complete its evacuation of the Ruhr region of Germany.
- Margaret Mead arrives in American Samoa to perform the field work that will lead to her seminal book published in 1928, Coming of Age In Samoa.
- The Alves dos Reis money forgery and fraud scheme is exposed in Portugal.
- The Locarno Treaties are negotiated in London, England.
- Secret Agent Sidney Reilly is executed by the OGPU secret police in the Soviet Union.
- The Schutzstaffle (SS) are founded to protect Adolf Hitler in Germany.
- Grand Ole Opry radio program begins broadcasting on WSM radio in Nashville, TN.
- Reza Shah becomes Shah of Persia.
- IG Farben is formed by the merger of six chemical companies in Germany.
- New York City becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from London.
Famous Events Between the World Wars
