This volume on the legacy of the Habsburg Monarchy in the successor states is published as a special volume in the series “The Habsburg Monarchy 1848–1918”. 30 authors focus on the 1920s, examining continuities from the period of the Dual Monarchy in the successor states as well as ruptures. Developed outside the concept of the twelve volumes presented in the series, the focus of the special volume is on opening up perspectives based on thematic diversity. This is done on the basis of six main areas: 1. end and new beginning: from empire to republic, 2. provision for war invalids and social policy, 3. legal continuity, citizenship and political participation, 4. administration and the military between the empire and the nation state, 5. economic consequences of the fall of the Habsburg Monarchy and 6. old elites and new ideologies – societal and social change. By exploring these different thematic areas, the volume aims to further contribute to a better understanding of those states that emerged from the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy and the legacy it left behind, while at the same time providing a basis for further research.