Editing History of Europe (section)

===Interwar===
{{See also|Aftermath of World War I|Interwar period|International relations (1919–1939)}}
In the [[Treaty of Versailles]] (1919) the winners recognised the new states ([[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], [[Czechoslovakia]], Hungary, Austria, [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) created in central Europe from the defunct German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, based on national (ethnic) self-determination. It was a peaceful era with a few small wars before 1922 such as the [[Ukrainian–Soviet War]] (1917–1921) and the [[Polish–Soviet War]] (1919–1921). Prosperity was widespread, and the major cities sponsored a youth culture called the "[[Roaring Twenties]]" or "[[Jazz Age]]".<ref>Raymond James Sontag, . ''A broken world, 1919–1939'' (1972) [https://archive.org/details/brokenworld1919100sont online free to borrow]; wide-ranging survey of European history.</ref>

The Allied victory in the First World War seemed to mark the triumph of [[History of Liberalism|liberalism]]. Historian Martin Blinkhorn argues that the liberal themes were ascendant in terms of "[[cultural pluralism]], religious and ethnic toleration, [[national self-determination]], [[Free market|free-market economics]], [[Representative democracy|representative]] and [[responsible government]], [[free trade]], [[Trade unions in Europe|unionism]], and the peaceful settlement of international disputes through a new body, the League of Nations."<ref>{{cite book|author1=Nicholas Atkin|author2=Michael Biddiss|title=Themes in Modern European History, 1890–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFN_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA244|year=2008|publisher=Routledge|pages=243–44|isbn=978-1-134-22257-5}}</ref> However, as early as 1917, the emerging liberal order was being challenged by the new [[Communist International|communist movement]]. Communist revolts were beaten back everywhere else, but succeeded in Russia.<ref>Gregory M. Luebbert, ''Liberalism, fascism, or social democracy: Social classes and the political origins of regimes in interwar Europe'' (Oxford UP, 1991).</ref>
Italy adopted an authoritarian dictatorship known as [[Fascism]] in 1922. Authoritarian regimes replaced democracy in the 1930s in [[Nazi Germany]], [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Portugal]], [[Austrofascism|Austria]], Poland, [[4th of August Regime|Greece]], the Baltic countries and [[Francoist Spain]]. By 1940, there were only four liberal democracies left on the European continent: [[French Third Republic|France]], Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.<ref>Martin Blinkhorn, ''The Fascist Challenge'' in Gordon Martel, ed. ''A Companion to Europe: 1900–1945'' (2011) p. 313</ref>

====Great Depression: 1929–39====
{{main|Great Depression}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-14439, Rede Adolf Hitlers zum Ermächtigungsgesetz.jpg|thumb|Adolf Hitler addressing the Reichstag on 23 March 1933]]
After the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]], most of the world sank into a Great Depression; prices and profits fell and unemployment soared. The worst hit sectors included heavy industry, export-oriented agriculture, mining and lumbering, and construction. World trade fell by two-thirds.<ref>Charles Kindleberger, ''The World in Depression, 1929–1939'' (2nd ed. 1986) provides a broad survey by an economist,</ref><ref>Piers Brendon, ''The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s'' (2000) 816pp covers far more details by a political historian.</ref>

In most of Europe, many nations turned to dictators and authoritarian regimes. The most momentous change of government came when [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power|Hitler took power in Germany]] in 1933.  The main institution that was meant to bring stability was the [[League of Nations]], created in 1919. However the League failed to resolve any major crises, undermined by the bellicosity of [[Nazi Germany]], [[Imperial Japan]], the Soviet Union, and [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini's]] Italy, and by the non-participation of the United States. By 1937 it was largely ignored.<ref>F.P. Walters, ''A History of the League of Nations'' (Oxford UP, 1965). [https://libraryresources.unog.ch/ld.php?content_id=31457235 online free] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521233942/https://libraryresources.unog.ch/ld.php?content_id=31457235 |date=21 May 2020 }}.</ref>

[[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italy conquered Ethiopia]] in 1931.<ref>David Clay Large, ''Between Two Fires: Europe's Path in the 1930s'' (1991)</ref> The [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939) was won by the rebels (the [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Nationalist faction]]), led by [[Francisco Franco]]. The civil war did not escalate into a larger conflict, but did become a worldwide ideological battleground that pitted the left, the communist movement and many liberals against Catholics, conservatives, and fascists. Britain, France and the US remained neutral. Worldwide there was a decline in pacifism and a growing sense that another world war was imminent.<ref>Stanley G. Payne, ''The Spanish Revolution'' (1970) pp. 262–76</ref>