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ABSTRACT
American-Hungarian relations were rarely closer on the personal level than in the interwar years. Although the United States followed the path of political and diplomatic isolation from Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, and its absence in the League of Nations was conspicuous, in the financial and economic realm it remained more active, and many Americans worked in the various reconstruction projects across Europe either in their private capacities or under the auspices of the League. Royall Tyler was one such person who spent the larger part of the 1920s and 1930s in Hungary. Since the start of the financial reconstruction of Hungary in 1924, Tyler was a constant participant in Hungarian financial life, a contact between the Hungarian government and the League of Nations, and a sharp observer of events throughout the years he spent in Hungary and Europe. This essay focuses on his activities concerning Hungary's financial and economic reconstruction and recovery.
KEYWORDS: Royall Tyler, Hungary, League of Nations, interwar years, financial reconstruction, depression years, Gyula Gömbös
In the early 1920s, in the wake of the post-World War I turmoil, following a revolution and a counterrevolution, impaired by the Trianon Peace Treaty and burdened by reparations, Hungary was in dire straits both financially and politically. The country's government, led by Prime Minister István Bethlen, wished to find a way out of the calamity and stabilize the Hungarian economy, which was key to political stabilization as well. The Austrian financial reconstruction was successfully launched in 1922-23 with the assistance of the League of Nations, and following their example, Hungary also approached the international organization for help and asked the League to orchestrate an international financial loan, provide its control as a guarantee, and offer Hungary expert advice. To carry this out, the League commissioned two Americans in 1924: Jeremiah Smith, Jr. as Commissioner-General, and his deputy, Royall Tyler. The latter became a regular feature in Hungarian financial life, having a considerable impact on the relationship between the successive Hungarian governments and the League of Nations for the next decade and a half. This essay focuses on Tyler's activities in Hungary during the interwar years, between 1924 and 1938.
Royall Tyler, World War I, and the League of Nations
World War I found...