What problems from World War I helped contribute to the outbreak of World War II? The interwar period was a time of violence, chaos, and instability. The first world war had fostered a sense of extreme nationalism that inhibited normal peacetime relations between countries. Before the war a devastating economic event, The Great Depression, hit in 1929, which weakened the people's faith in their existing governments, allowing extremists to take power. General instability was present across the world and several revolutions were the consequence of various power struggles. Men like Mussolini, Stalin, and Hitler used this instability to overthrow the governments and institute their aggressive regimes. Also, the peace treaty had