Sub-Fonds - Financial Reconstruction of Austria (Office of the Commissioner General at Vienna)

Identity area

Reference code

Title

Financial Reconstruction of Austria (Office of the Commissioner General at Vienna)

Date(s)

  • 1922-1937 (Creation)

Level of description

Sub-Fonds

Extent and medium

105 boxes

Context area

Name of creator

Administrative history

After its foundation in 1919, the Republic of Austria was unable to overcome serious economic and financial difficulties. Therefore the Republic of Austria appealed to international solidarity and addressed, in 1922, the League of Nations to request assistance.

Apart from a mission of the Financial Committee in Vienna in 1921, the League of Nations did not officially deal with the economic and financial situation of Austria before the end of 1922, when the Austrian Government requested the Allied Powers' help. This request was referred to the Council of the League of Nations.

The Council of the League of Nations and its advisory body, the Financial Committee were, indeed, concerned with analysing Europe's post-war financial disorder, as well as studying and carrying out plans for financial recovery. The Financial Committee, which was belonging to the Economic and Financial Section, was founded at the Brussels International Financial Conference of 1920 organized to solve the problem of the world financial crisis.

Financial assistance and control were organized for Austria through the Geneva Protocols (signed on 4 October 1922 and ratified by Austria on 2 December). A new temporary delegation of the Financial Committee representing the League of Nations in Vienna was appointed from 17 October to 16 December 1922 and later on a General Commissioner was also appointed. Both of them ceased their action on 30 June 1926 with the exception of the Loan Control Committee (reconstruction loan: Loan Trustee Service), which did not disappeared at the same time.

A detailed programme was worked out to balance the Austrian budget within approximately two years, and the country was given a loan of 26 million pounds sterling. In 1924, under the control of the League of Nations, the internal economy and the public financial system were reformed, and the budget was balanced. In 1926, the League of Nations' control was withdrawn.

This success, which was financial rather than economic, has naturally been compromised by the world depression, which began in 1929.

Archival history

The fonds of the "Financial reconstruction of Austria" only consists of files from the second delegation of the Financial Committee, which prepared the work for the General Commissioner and the implementation of the Geneva Protocols.

This fonds mainly consists of files from the Office of the Commissioner General, as well as files from the delegation of the Financial Committee and the Loan Control Committee (Loan Trustees).

The files of the Commissioner General were transferred to Geneva in 1926 and were followed by those of the Loan Control Committee (Loan Trustees) in 1928 only.

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Public

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      Note

      Protection period to: 1997-12-31

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Scope ID

      2491

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      Status

      Completed

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      Dates of creation revision deletion

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          Archivist's note

          Protection period duration: 0

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          Permission: No permission necessary.

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          Physical usability: Without limits

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          Term of protection: Accessible (0)

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