Contextualizing the Greek Crisis of the 1930s: A Greek Default Lost in the Aftermath of the 1929 Stock-Market Crash

This paper will reflect on the economic crises of Greek national debt in 1929 – 32 from a historical perspective to shed light on some of the similarities and differences seen in the crises in 1843 and 1893. It will conclude with a discussion of the Metaxas dictatorship to explore the manner in which the Greek economy reacted to the growing tensions in Europe. Ultimately, the years leading up to the Great Depression were similar to those of earlier crises in the nineteenth century, but differed in outcome as the 1929-32 crisis forced a dramatic change in economic policy that was maintained throughout the 1930s, but was overshadowed by the political tensions leading to the Second World War.