Europe in the 1920s

After the First World War the major European powers - except Russia and Germany - set up the League of Nations. Its purpose was to keep the peace in the world and so prevent another war like that of 1914-18. The nations of the world would work together through the League to settle disputes between nations peacefully.

The Treaty of Versailles was forced on Germany to make sure she would never again be powerful enough to threaten the balance of power in Europe. Germany was excluded from the League, and the United States and Russia did not join.