ABSTRACT
Europe between the two world wars consisted of a total of twenty-nine states. In 1920 all but three of these could be described as democracies in that they possessed a parliamentary system with elected governments, a range of political parties and at least some guarantees of individual rights. By the end of 1938, no fewer than sixteen of these had become dictatorships. Their leaders now had absolute power which was beyond the constraints of any constitution and which no longer depended upon elections. The dictators sought to perpetuate their authority by removing effective opposition, by restricting personal liberties and by applying heavy persuasion and force. Of the remaining twelve democracies, seven were torn apart between 1939 and 1940. Thus, by late 1940, only five democracies remained intact: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland (see Map 1).
