History of Greece (1924–1941)
History of Greece between the World Wars / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The interwar period in Greece was a turbulent political period characterised by the alternation of monarchy and republic, successive military coups in favour of different political options, and the country's continuing economic weakness. Strictly, the country did not emerge from World War I[1] until its defeat by the new Turkish republic in the 1919-1922 war and did not enter World War II until the Italian attack in October 1940.
Despite having parliamentary governments for most of the interwar period and only short periods of dictatorship (until Metaxas from 1936 onwards), the state of siege, which allowed governments to infringe civil rights, was common.[2] The main feature of Greek politics at the time was not, however, the continuity of the parliamentary system, but the perpetuation of the ‘National Schism’ between supporters of Eleftherios Venizelos and those of successive monarchs, which had begun in 1915.[2][3] The abolition of the monarchy and Venizelos' subsequent temporary withdrawal from politics in 1924 favoured the military's involvement in politics.[2][4] The model of the state, contested between republicans and monarchists, was one of the main causes of the continuing political crisis.[4][5] The military, also divided between republicans and monarchists, staged successive coups d'état (1925, 1926, 1933 and 1935) in favour of the republic until, in 1936, after the restoration of the monarchy, republican officers were expelled from the armed forces.[6]
In economic terms, the interwar period was one of the most dynamic periods in the country's history, marked by industrial growth, economic development and the redistribution of wealth.[1] Growth, however, was insufficient for the Greek peasantry and proletariat to achieve a good standard of living.[7] Like other Balkan countries at the time, rapid population growth, low agricultural productivity, insufficient industrial growth to absorb the overpopulation of the countryside and a weak internal market kept them poor.[7]