1920s

Primarily known for the economic boom that occurred in the Western World following the end of World War I (1914–1918), the decade is frequently referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age" in America and Western Europe, and the "Golden Twenties" in Germany, while French speakers refer to the period as the "Années folles" ('crazy years') to emphasize the decade's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

[1] The devastating Wall Street crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe.

Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive domestic and foreign policy, leading to the nigh-eradication of the Sicilian Mafia and the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya respectively.

These trends, made possible by sustained economic prosperity, were most visible in major cities like New York, Chicago, Paris, Berlin, and London.

"Normalcy" returned to politics in the wake of hyper-emotional patriotism during World War I, jazz blossomed, and Art Deco peaked.

[2] The era saw the large-scale adoption of automobiles, telephones, motion pictures, radio, and household electricity, as well as unprecedented industrial growth, accelerated consumer demand and aspirations, and significant changes in lifestyle and culture, mostly in the urbanized areas of the Western World.

Academics such as Arthur Marwick have argued that this occurred because countries wanted to reward the role women played on the home front.

[3] However, some scholars like Ellen Dubois have argued that this perspective is incorrect, pointing out some belligerent countries like Italy did not grant suffrage.

It was the decade in which women first abandoned the more restricting fashions of past years and began to wear more comfortable clothes (such as short skirts or trousers).