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MARSHALL PLAN
by Konkova Irene
National University Of Food Technologies
After World War II, much of Europe was suffering from dire economic
conditions. Millions of people had been killed or wounded. Industrial and
residential centers in England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium and
elsewhere lay in ruins. Much of Europe was on the brink of famine as agricultural
production had been disrupted by war. Transportation infrastructure was in
shambles. The only major power in the world that was not significantly damaged
was the United States.
From 1945 through 1947, the United States was already assisting European
economic recovery with direct financial aid. Military assistance to Greece and
Turkey was being given. The newly formed United Nations was providing
humanitarian assistance. In March 1947, President Truman announced the Truman
Doctrine, which promised U.S. support to any country refusing to submit to an
authoritarian regime. This change in U.S. foreign policy (which had previously
been somewhat isolationist) resulted from the Greek civil war against the
Communist Party, the Communist faction of which had been supported by the
Soviet government.
Writing in his diary on January 8, 1947, Truman said, Marshall is the
greatest man of World War II. He managed to get along with Roosevelt, the
Congress, Churchill, the Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and he made a grand
record in China. When I asked him to [be] my special envoy to China, he merely
said, Yes, Mr. President I'll go. No argument only patriotic action. And if any
man was entitled to balk and ask for a rest, he was. We'll have a real State
Department now.
In June 1947, during the commencement address at Harvard University,
Secretary of State George C. Marshall revealed a European aid strategy that would
help the European economy recover -- this was known as the Marshall Plan.
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Congress passed an Economic Cooperation Act that authorized the plan in 1948.
The Soviet Union was asked to join the program, but the Soviets refused because
they would have had to reveal their economic and industrial assets. Being the sole
agent of the Marshall Plan (it was officially called the European Recovery Plan)
gave the United States an advantage in its efforts to stop the spread of Communism
in Europe.
Increased American exports to Western Europe benefited U.S. industries, and
America became the world's most important economic power. The Soviet Union
battled the Marshall Plan with its own propaganda, distributed through the
Communist Information Bureau (Cominform), and created the Molotov Plan of
relief grants to Eastern Bloc countries. Historians claim these conflicting programs
probably increased Cold War tensions. Sixteen nations, including Germany,
became part of the program and shaped the assistance they required, state by state,
with administrative and technical assistance provided through the Economic
Cooperation Administration (ECA) of the United States. European nations
received nearly $13 billion in aid, which initially resulted in shipments of food,
staples, fuel and machinery from the United States and later resulted in investment
in industrial capacity in Europe. Marshall Plan funding ended in 1951: Western
Europe's economy had recovered. The postwar cooperation between nations
created conditions that eventually gave rise to the European Union (EU).
Marshall Plan nations were assisted greatly in their economic recovery. From
1948 through 1952 European economies grew at an unprecedented rate. Trade
relations led to the formation of the North Atlantic alliance. Economic prosperity
led by coal and steel industries helped to shape what we know now as the
European Union.
At another Harvard commencement in 1972, German Chancellor Willy
Brandt announced the creation of the German Marshall Fund. It is a transatlantic
non-profit organization that honors the legacy of the Marshall Plan by making
grants to foster international cooperation and convening meetings of policymakers.

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REFERENCES
1. Charles L. Menthe Marshall Plan. New York: Simon & Schuster. -2011.-p. 99.
2. Erik Reinert. The Marshall Plan: The General's Successful War. -2009.-p.304
3. John Agnew, J. Nicholas Entrikin. The Marshall Plan today: model and metaphor.-
2012.- p.110
4. Michael J. Hogan. The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of
Western Europe, 1947-1952. Cambridge University.-2010.-p.34
5. Mills, Nicolaus. Winning the peace: the Marshall Plan and America's coming of
age as a superpower. Wiley. - 2008.-p. 195.