CHAPTER 13 : THE RISE AND FALL OF DICTATORSHIPS IN EUROPE

13.0 Introduction

World War I brought almost all the monarchies in Europe to an end. There emerged a popular demand for representative assemblies, democratic electorates, universal suffrage and responsible governments. Republics began to be established all over Europe. The decade from 1919-1929 also witnessed the efforts of the League of Nations and of the world powers, to maintain world peace. Attempts were made towards collective security, through the Washington Conference in 1921-1922, the Dawes Plan in 1924, and the Locarno Treaty of 1925.

Though peace spread throughout the world during the decade after World War I, it was followed in the next decade (1929-1959), by the rise of dictatorships in different forms in European countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal. The life of the citizen was totally controlled by the dictators; they were the ones who decided how a citizen should vote and even what he should read and do. Dictatorships even threatened their neighboring countries by refusing to work with the League of Nations except on their own terms. The dictators adhered to the supreme motto: ’Everything for the state everything within the state, and nothing outside the state.’

[next page]

Index

13.0 - Introduction
13.1 Causes of the Growth of Dictatorships in Europe
13.2 The Rise and Fall of Dictatorship in Italy
13.3 The Rise and Fall of Dictatorship in Germany
13.4 The Rise and Fall of Dictatorship in Spain
13.5 The Rise and Fall of Dictatorship in Portugal
13.6 Significance and Impact of Dictatorships in Europe
13.7 Dates & Events
13.8 Points to Remember

Chapter14