EUROPE OF THE DICTATORS 19
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Paris
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Naples
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ANDORRA
89%
60% 63%
61%
73%
After the end of the war in 1918 and the subsequent signing of
various peace treaties, most European states—excepting the newly
formed Communist state in Russia—were democracies. However,
one by one these democratic regimes gave way to dictatorships.
Italy was the first of these, when Mussolini took power in 1922,
followed by Spain in 1923 and Poland in 1926. Democracy collapsed
in the Baltic states between 1926 and 1934, while the Balkan states
become dictatorships after 1929. The rise of Nazi rule after 1933
in Germany, and later in Austria, completed the picture.
This transformation was exacerbated by the economic crisis that
swept across Europe after 1929. Rising unemployment and economic
collapse undermined democratic governments and gave rise to
right-wing and Fascist groups. These were often militaristic in
structure and populist in appeal, providing their members with
power that had not been available to them under democracy. By
1939, democratic rule existed only in Scandinavia, Britain and
Ireland, France, the Benelux nations, and Switzerland. The rest
of Europe was under dictatorial rule.
EUROPE OF
THE DICTATORS
The victors of World War I had been a coalition
of democracies, but in the uncertain decades that
followed, many European countries underwent major
political upheaval. Economic problems only served
to add to the instability of inter-war Europe.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
In October 1929, the long
boom on the New York Stock
Exchange came to a sudden end.
American creditors began to call
in foreign loans and the supply of
international credit dried up. In
response, the US government
introduced tariffs in 1930 that
restricted imports. Competitive
protection by other countries
followed, causing world trade to
fall by almost two-thirds between
1929 and 1932. Prices and profits
collapsed, output plummeted, and
millions were left unemployed
(right) and impoverished.
1934 Acting head of state
Konstantin Päts declares a state
of emergency, claiming that the
right-wing Vaps movement is
planning a coup.
1926 A coup d’état sets up
an authoritarian government
under Antanas Smetona.
1926 Dissatisfied with Poland’s
unstable democratic governments,
former military commander Josef
Pilsudski comes out of retirement
to stage a coup.
1938 King Carol II
takes dictatorial
powers.
1919 Admiral
Horthy forms
an authoritarian
regency in the
new kingdom.
1929 King Alexander appoints
a royal dictatorship to end
the fighting between Serbs
and Croats.
1936 King Boris III
establishes a royal
dictatorship.
1936 A right-wing
dictatorship under
General Metaxas
takes power.
1934 Three-time prime minister
Karlis Ulmanis establishes an
authoritarian dictatorship.
“The Spanish national will was never freely
expressed through the ballot box.”
FRANCISCO FRANCO, 1938
1 HUNGARY AND THE BALKANS 1919–
Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and
Ottoman empires at the end of World War I, new states
emerged in the Balkans. Their governments were typically
weak and were replaced by royal or military dictatorships;
the growing influence of Nazi Germany led to the formation
of far-right groups in the region. In Hungary, resentment
over the loss of territory under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon
led to closer ties with Nazi Germany.
Balkan countries
US_018-019_Europe_Dictators.indd 19 22/03/19 2:45 PM