Between the World Wars and the Second World War
History20th Century & TodayAges 14–15
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in 20th Century & Today
An interactive world map with a timeline from 1918 to 1945 showing the Versailles–Washington order, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism and the course of the Second World War. Students drag the timeline marker to see Axis-occupied territory expand and then shrink, and click event dots to read short descriptions. A second mode, the step map 1919–1939, follows the collapse of empires into successor states and mandates, the revisionist claims, and each step of Japanese, Italian and German expansion with the League of Nations and British–French responses. A third mode, front lines 1939–1945, maps the fronts in Europe, North Africa and the Asia–Pacific at key dates, with the turning points, the island-hopping campaign, the end of the war and wartime aircraft production.
Lesson: Russia and the Soviet Union; Europe and the United States from 1918 to 1945; the Second World War (1939–1945)
What it shows
The peace treaties after the First World War left deep resentment, and the Great Depression of 1929–1933 pushed Germany, Italy and Japan towards fascism, militarism and expansion, while the United States answered with the New Deal. The overview map follows these events to 1945. The step map 1919–1939 shows the new borders, the claims against the treaties and each act of aggression with the response of the League, Britain and France. The front-line map 1939–1945 shows key dates in Europe, North Africa and the Asia–Pacific, from the invasion of Poland to Japan's surrender, with the turning points and wartime aircraft production.
How to use
In the overview, drag Year shown on the timeline. Click Step map 1919–1939 and use Previous and Next. Click Front lines 1939–1945, choose Europe & North Africa, Asia–Pacific or War production, then drag Month or press Play; stars mark turning points. Click a coloured area to see who controlled it, and compare the maps before and after Stalingrad or Midway.
Parameters you can change
- Year shown on the timeline 1918–1945 year
- Filter by group All, Soviet Union, Capitalist countries, Fascism, Second World War
- Timeline speed 1–10 years/second
- Show event name labels on the map
- Map mode Overview 1918–1945, Step map 1919–1939, Front lines 1939–1945
- Step shown on the step map 1–13
- Month shown on the front-line map (1 = Sep 1939, 73 = Sep 1945) 1–73 month
- Theatre on the front-line map Europe & North Africa, Asia–Pacific, War production
Questions to explore
- How did the Great Depression help the Nazis come to power in Germany?
- Which events on the map mark the turning of the war against the Axis powers?
- How did the United States respond to the economic crisis differently from Germany, Italy and Japan?
