Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - Tamás Magyarics: The (Re) creation of the Relations between the US and the Successor States in Central Europe after the First World War

TAMÁS MAGYARICS THE /RE/CREATION OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE US AND THE SUCCESSOR STATES IN CENTRAL EUROPE AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR World War I and its consequences created an almost completely new situation in Central Europe and in the positions of the U.S.. In the place of the multinational Austro-Hungarian Monarchy there emerged a number of small states which were, without exception, in a poor economic situation. Moreover, during and immediately after the war, substantial war and relief debts were contracted by all the Central European countries with the exception of Hungary which, however, became burdened with reparation payments. With the exception of industrial Bohemia, Central European countries could be characterized as agrarian economies. In this situation they faced a dilemma: they could concentrate either on raising a backward agriculture to modern standards or on building an industry "from scratch." The American agriculture was in a constant crisis thoughout the 1920s because of overproduction and U.S. would not welcome the appearance of cheap Central European agricultural products at the world market On the other hand, the superiority of the American manufactured goods was unquestionable and was not endangered by the Central European competition. In reality, much of the American hopes did not materialize. The characteristic feature of the postwar European economy was the deterioration of foreign trade. With reference to the countries in Central Europe, 77