This programme of study includes personal research into the Historical Archives of the National Bank of Greece (NBG) in Athens and the Bank of England in London. This part of the NBG’s archives offers a unique opportunity for any researcher to be the first to examine evidence about bank policy during the era of the refugee crisis (1917-28) in Greece. There is plenty of material that refers to loans given by the NBG to Greek refugees during this period, which hitherto has not been examined. The archive of the Bank of England contains information about the conditions and terms of the two large external loans for refugee resettlement made in 1924 and 1928. They also include private and confidential documents among Greek and British politicians and bankers of this period. After 1922, approximately 1,200,000 refugees came to Greece from Asia Minor. This refugee influx is well-known in the Greek historiography, as the political, social and settlement features of the Asia Minor Catastrophe have been extensively analysed by historians. The economic features though, remain unexamined. Unexamined is also, the inception of the refugee crisis in Greece in 1918, when refugees from Bulgaria and Romania who had already settled in the Greek state, started to sign loans with the National Bank of Greece. These two first refugee groups describe the earlier settlement policy and the reactions of the Greek state and the National Bank of Greece at the beginning of the refugee crisis, relating to smaller numbers. The comparison of the different economic and social conditions before and after 1922 will enable a clear understanding of the Greek refugee crisis during the period covered by the dissertation. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse and understand the economic, political, and social factors during the refugee crisis (1917-1928). This study links the political actions with the economic and social policy. As political decisions influenced Greek 11 economy, the society had to accept and settle millions of refugees. This research is a portrait, in particular, of the importance of the National Bank of Greece, Bank of England and Hambros Bank, in the formation of Modern Greek politics and social policy.
The National Bank of Greece and the international dimension of the Greek refugee crisis : 1917-1928
Rizou, M. (Author). 1 Nov 2018
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy