S01E01 The Lap of the Gods, 1919-1921
After the horrific carnage of World War I, a new age of prosperity was expected, but it wouldn’t be that simple. Societies needed years to recover.
Impossible Peace
Overview
Two world wars tore the heart out of the twentieth century. Between these two tragedies was an age that nostalgia views enthusiastically – a time of jazz, prohibition, the talkies, radio and the motor car. A time that was in reality an age of anxiety. Twenty years of peace that produced war. A peace that failed. Impossible Peace.
Episodes
S01E02 Just Like the Arabian Nights, 1922-1925
Following World War I, treaties were designed to punish the aggressors. But the balance of power was tilted too drastically in favor of the victors.
S01E03 Mussolini Is Always Right, 1925-1929
After the war, cars and other technological advances were as influential as exchange rates and floundering economies in the new world order.
S01E04 Dancing On A Volcano, 1929-1931
As 1929 dawned on Paris, it seemed the party would go on forever. And few saw that the masses were hiding from a looming and devastating future.
S01E05 I'm Alright, 1932-1933
In the 1920s, there seemed to be good candidates for leadership in Europe, but where were they when the Great Depression descended?
S01E06 Everyone Trusts Him, 1933-1936
As the Depression’s effect on the US became clear, Japanese business interests set their focus on East Asia, where the empire was expanding.
S01E07 History Stopped, 1936-1938
Would early action have stopped Hitler’s aggression? No one knows, but inaction certainly didn’t work. Why did the great powers decline to act?
S01E08 Peace For Our Time, 1938-1939
Some believed appeasement of Hitler would preserve the peace. They either didn’t see, or ignored, the Nazi leader’s obvious territorial ambitions.
