George Orwell: The Making of a Tory Anarchist

“Orwell’s ascertaining of certain political facts was not the occasion for a change of heart, nor for a crisis of the soul.  What he learned from his experience in Spain of course pained him very much, and it led him to change his course of conduct.” – Homage to Catalonia

Fascism caught fire in the aftermath of World War I by filling the vacuum of political instability left in its wake.