political influence. Germany’s assistance did legitimately help the Eastern European economies out of the crisis brought by the opening of the price scissors, and public sentiment was therefore swayed in favor of the Reich. Here was Germany’s ulterior motive: as David Kaiser puts it, “the Foreign Office was determined to extend German influence in Southeastern Europe with or without any clear economic rationale”. German economic activities in Eastern (particularly Southeastern) Europe served as cover for the entry of Nazi infiltrators who spread propaganda and consolidated German political influence throughout the region. The onset of the price scissors in Eastern Europe, which began as a mere fluke of the international economic system, had played a heavy role in the disintegration and realignment of the Eastern European nations. The economic hardship brought about by the deterioration of the agricultural states’ terms of trade had paved the way for increasingly radical right-wing governments, shaken their faith in the commitment of the Western powers, and shaped the entire region into a cog in the Nazi war machine. See also Scissors Crisis Notes References Aldcroft, Derek and Morewood, Steven. Economic Change in Eastern Europe Since 1918. Aldershot, England. Edward Elgar Publishing Company: 1995. Crampton, R. J. Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. New York. Routledge: 2003. Berend, Iván. Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe before World War II. Berkeley. University of California Press: 1998. Kaiser, David. Economic Diplomacy and the Origins of the Second World War. Princeton. Princeton University Press: 1980. Roberts, H.L. Rumania: Political Problems of an Agrarian State. New Haven: 1951. Rothschild, Joseph. East Central Europe between the Two World Wars. Seattle. University of Washington Press: 1974. International macroeconomics Macroeconomic problems Pricing