Post-war Economic Support, January 1945–January 1947

Abstract

The economic problems of Greece were as significant in its post-war development as those of political stability and law and order. The country had been in a state of actual famine since 1941, relieved only partially by the food shipments of the Red Cross. There had been massive physical destruction of houses, olive groves, vineyards, machinery and ships, the main sources of Greek income and subsistence. The shortages of food and every other commodity, coupled with a failure of successive governments to balance the budget, had brought about spiraling inflation until the only standard of value was the gold sovereign.