Editing History of modern Greece (section)

==Republic and Monarchy (1922–1940)==
{{Main|History of Greece (1923–1940)}}
{{see also|11 September 1922 Revolution|Second Hellenic Republic|4th of August Regime}}
[[File:Territorial Expansion of Greece from 1832–1947.gif|thumb|left|upright=1.35|Greek territorial changes between 1821 and 1947, showing territories awarded to Greece in 1919 and those lost in 1923.]]

The catastrophe deepened the political crisis, with the returning army rising up under Venizelist officers and forcing King Constantine to abdicate again, in September 1922, in favour of his firstborn son, [[George II of Greece|George II]]. The "Revolutionary Committee" headed by Colonels [[Stylianos Gonatas]] (soon to become prime minister) and [[Nikolaos Plastiras]] engaged in a witch-hunt against the royalists, culminating in the "[[Trial of the Six]]".{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|p=101}}

The [[Greek legislative election, 1923|Greek election of 1923]] was held to form a National Assembly with powers to draft a new constitution. Following a failed royalist [[Leonardopoulos-Gargalidis coup attempt]], the monarchist parties abstained, leading to a landslide for the Liberals and their allies. King George II was asked to leave the country, and on 25 March 1924, [[Alexandros Papanastasiou]] proclaimed the [[Second Hellenic Republic]], ratified by the [[Greek plebiscite, 1924|Greek plebiscite of 1924]] a month later.

However, the new Republic was built on unstable foundations. The National Schism lived on, as the monarchists, with the exception of [[Ioannis Metaxas]], did not acknowledge the Venizelist-sponsored Republican regime. The army, which had power and provided many of the leading proponents of both sides, became a factor to be reckoned with, prone to intervene in politics.

[[File:Demonstration for the declaration of the Greek Republic - 1924.jpg|thumb|Crowds celebrating in Athens the proclamation of the [[Second Hellenic Republic|Republic]], 1924, with placards of republican leaders [[Alexandros Papanastasiou|Papanastasiou]], [[Alexandros Hatzikyriakos|Hatzikyriakos]] and [[Georgios Kondylis|Kondylis]].]]
Greece was diplomatically isolated and vulnerable, as the [[Corfu incident]] of 1923 showed, and the economic foundations of the state were in ruins after a decade of war and the sudden increase of the country's population by a quarter.{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|p=102}} The refugees, however, also brought a new air into Greece. They were impoverished now, but before 1922 many had been entrepreneurs and well-educated. Staunch supporters of Venizelos and the Republic, many would radicalize and play a leading role in the nascent [[Communist Party of Greece]].

In June 1925, General [[Theodoros Pangalos (general)|Theodoros Pangalos]] launched a coup and ruled as a [[dictator]] for a year until a counter-coup by another General, [[Georgios Kondylis]], unseated him and restored the Republic.{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|pp=101–103}} In the meantime, Pangalos managed to embroil Greece in a short-lived war with Bulgaria precipitated by the [[Incident at Petrich]] and make unacceptable concessions in [[Thessaloniki]] and its hinterland to [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] in an effort to gain its support for his revanchist policies against Turkey.

In 1928, Venizelos returned from exile. After a landslide victory in the [[Greek legislative election, 1928|Greek election of 1928]], he formed a government. This was the only cabinet of the Second Republic to run its full four-year term, and the work it left behind was considerable. Alongside domestic reforms, Venizelos restored Greece's frayed international relations, even initiating a Greco-Turkish reconciliation with a visit to Ankara and the signing of a Friendship Agreement in 1930.

The [[Great Depression]] hit Greece, an already poor country dependent on agricultural exports, particularly hard. Matters were made worse by the closing off of emigration to the [[United States]], the traditional safety valve of rural poverty. High unemployment and consequent social unrest resulted, and the [[Communist Party of Greece]] made rapid advances. Venizelos was forced to default on Greece's national debt in 1932, and he fell from office after the [[Greek legislative election, 1932|Greek elections of 1932]]. He was succeeded by a monarchist coalition government led by [[Panagis Tsaldaris]] of the [[People's Party (Greece)|People's Party]].

Two failed Venizelist military coups followed in 1933 and 1935 in an effort to preserve the Republic, but they had the opposite effect. On 10 October 1935, a few months after he suppressed the [[1935 Greek coup d'état attempt]], [[Georgios Kondylis]], the former Venizelist stalwart, abolished the Republic in another coup, and declared the monarchy restored. The rigged [[Greek plebiscite, 1935|Greek plebiscite of 1935]] confirmed the regime change (with an unsurprising 97.88% of votes), and King George II returned.{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|p=103}}

[[File:Metaxas-regime-greek-fascism.png|thumb|right|The conservative regime of [[Ioannis Metaxas]] ([[4th of August Regime]]) adopted many of the ideas and symbolism of Italian Fascism. Here members of the [[National Organisation of Youth]] give the [[Roman salute]] to Metaxas.]]

King George II immediately dismissed Kondylis and appointed professor [[Konstantinos Demertzis]] as interim prime minister. Venizelos meanwhile, in exile, urged an end to the conflict over the monarchy in view of the threat to Greece from the rise of [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]]. His successors as Liberal leader, [[Themistoklis Sophoulis]] and [[Georgios Papandreou]], agreed, and the restoration of the monarchy was accepted. The [[Greek legislative election, 1936|Greek elections of 1936]] resulted in a [[hung parliament]], with the [[Communist Party of Greece|Communists]] holding the balance.{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|p=104}} As no government could be formed, Demertzis continued on. At the same time, a series of deaths left the Greek political scene in disarray: Kondylis died in February, Venizelos in March, Demertzis in April and Tsaldaris in May. The road was now clear for Ioannis Metaxas, who had succeeded Demertzis as interim prime minister.

Metaxas, a retired royalist general, believed that an authoritarian government was necessary to prevent social conflict and quell the rising power of the Communists. On 4 August 1936, with the King's support, he suspended parliament and established the [[4th of August Regime]]. The Communists were suppressed and the Liberal leaders went into internal exile. Patterning itself after [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Fascist Italy,{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|p=98}} Metaxas' regime promoted various concepts such as the "Third Hellenic Civilization", the [[Roman salute]], a [[National Organisation of Youth]], and introduced measures to gain popular support, such as the Greek [[Social Insurance Institute]] (IKA), still the biggest social security institution in Greece.

Despite these efforts, the regime lacked a broad popular base or a mass movement supporting it. The Greek people were generally apathetic, without actively opposing Metaxas. Metaxas also improved the country's defenses in preparation for the forthcoming European war, constructing, among other defensive measures, the "[[Metaxas Line]]". Despite his aping of Fascism, and the strong economic ties with resurgent [[Nazi Germany]], Metaxas followed a policy of neutrality, given Greece's traditionally strong ties to Britain, reinforced by King George II's personal anglophilia. In April 1939, the Italian threat suddenly loomed closer when Italy [[Italian invasion of Albania|annexed Albania]], whereupon Britain publicly guaranteed Greece's borders. Thus, when [[World War II]] broke out in September 1939, Greece remained neutral.{{Sfn|Koliopoulos|Veremis|2009|p=109}}