GreekEnglishFlemishDutch
  The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece

Theodoros Pangalos seized power by coup on 25 June 1925 and remained in power as prime minister and later as President of the Republic until 22 August 1926 - Ekdotike Athenon, Athens


HISTORY OF ATHENS

The Mid-War Period
Dictatorship of General Theodoros Pangalos
1925-1926

The promises of dictator Theodoros Pangalos for the honorable function of the state mechanism and especially the general weariness after a period of parliamentary instability contributed to his bloodless take-over but also to his being accepted in the Parliament by the Nation's representatives.

The initial period of tolerance in the semi-parliamentary governing of Theodoros Pangalos was followed by discontent due to his authoritative methods, but mainly due to his incapacity to manage the finance of the country. In reality, the accumulated problems of Greek economy and the incapacity to settle them in the narrow framework of the political conjuncture of 1925-26 wore the, often unpredictable in his acts, dictator.

The Greek-Bulgarian crisis of 1925 was a characteristic example of inter-frontier conflict in the inter-war period. The murder of a Greek captain and two soldiers induced the dictator Theodoros Pangalos to command invasion to Bulgarian territory. Undoubtedly, the relations between Greece and Bulgaria were particularly strained already from the beginning of the 20th century.

The impulsive Pangalos considered the incident as part of a wider plan of invasion, despite the limited military alertness of the neighbouring country. The intervention of the League of Nations suspended the escalation of the clash and the conflict ended smoothly.

Press censorship and the deportation of political leaders and simple citizen to islands were characteristic for this period. Obviously this policy caused the reaction of the political world but of the army as well. Georgios Kondylis, assisted by the praetorians of his old ally, overthrew him and seized power temporarily.

Photo of soldiers in the centre of Athens in June 1925 just before the Pangalos coup was imposedA first attempt to form an Ecumenical government failed and elections were proclaimed (7 November 1926), for the first time, under a system of proportional representation. The elections were characterized by wide collaborations and the formation of new party coalitions, which expressed a wide range of political and social forces. Negotiations for a viable government formed by a coalition of bourgeois parties was the distinctive trait of the new Parliament. The participation however in it of the People's Party, which had not recognized the new constitution- in combination with various other issues triggered successive crises, that finally resulted to its overthrow on 27 June 1928.

The increasing populations in Athens resulted in the introduction of “horizontal ownership” and through that, in the construction of apartment blocks with more than one level (polykaoikies). This development marked the urban image of Greece, and Athens in particular, especially in the years after the war.

The labor movement had already began to develop in the early 20th century but the influence of the left increased significantly in the capital during the 1930s as a result of the city’s industrial development and the growing working class as well as the international economic crisis of 1929. Timeline

In the same period the feminist movement also grew stronger, particularly in the capital. The so-called 30s generation, a group of writers and artists who found expression mostly through urban novels, had a strong presence in Greek literature, suggesting new ways of aesthetic expression and new ideological positions. Top

  

   HISTORY OF ATHENS
  ATHENS IN MODERN TIMES
  MID-WAR PERIOD
  PANGALOS DICTATORSHIP

Add to Favit Add to Digg Add to Del.icio.us Add to Simpy Add to StumbleUpon Add to Netscape Add to Furl Add to Yahoo Add to Google Add to Blogmarks Add to Ma.Gnolia Add to Netvouz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  www.athensinfoguide.com   © 2004-2009 - Athens Info Guide - All rights reserved - Disclaimer