Marshall Plan: what it was, summary and objectives

We explain what the Marshall Plan was and how it was implemented, as well as its consequences.

The Marshall Plan was part of the doctrine of containment of communism promoted by Harry Truman.

What was the Marshall Plan?

The Marshall Plan is the name by which the European Recovery Program announced by George Marshall, the then US Secretary of State, in a speech given at Harvard University on June 5, 1947.

The Marshall Plan had the objective of promoting the recovery of the European economyparticularly from Western European countries, following the destruction and economic problems caused by World War II. (1939-1945). The plan It was based on economic aid from the United States to countries that agreed to be part of the program.

The United States government sought to create conditions of economic stability that would allow European countries to pay for American imports. I was also looking for Strengthen political stability to consolidate democratic institutions, extend market freedom and stop the advance of communism.

The Marshall Plan was signed into law on April 3, 1948, under President Harry S. Truman, and It was applied to seventeen countries for four years, which contributed to the economic growth of Western EuropeThe largest recipients of funds were the United Kingdom, France and West Germany.

Marshall Plan economic aid was also offered to the Soviet Union and the countries under its influence in central and eastern Europe, but they rejected itThis fact marked the difference that characterized the Cold War between the Western bloc, under American hegemony, and the Eastern bloc, under Soviet hegemony.

The historical context

After World War II, much of Europe had been devastated due to human and material losses. The government of The United States feared that poverty and unemployment would encourage the spread of communism in Western Europe.In this context, on June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he proposed the creation of a program of economic aid to European governments.

Given the European crisis and the financial impossibility of buying American products, this aid plan required prior coordination between European countries for its application. For this purpose, a conference was held in Paris between June and July 1947 to which, after many doubts, the Soviet Union attended. The Soviet government soon declined the offer to participate in the Marshall Plan and forced its satellite countries to do the same. arguing that the plan was an instrument of US imperialism.

Despite the campaign of the European communist parties against the plan, sixteen countries accepted American aid and met at a conference in Paris in September 1947.

The conference had a threefold objective:

• prevent European insolvency that would have had negative consequences for the US economy (creditor of European countries and exporter of products and raw materials),
• prevent the spread of communism in Western Europe,
• create a stability that would favour the establishment and maintenance of democratic regimes.

The implementation of the Marshall Plan

The Prague coup of February 1948, carried out by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, increased fear of the advance of communism in Western countries and It precipitated the approval by the United States Congress of the Marshall Plan in April 1948. That same month the OEEC (European Organization for Economic Cooperation) was created to distribute and specify aid.

It is estimated that in total The Marshall Plan provided $13 billion in aid between 1948 and 1952The seventeen countries that were part of the plan They were: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and West Germany. The success of the plan was essential for economic recoveryindustrial development and the consolidation of democratic regimes in Western Europe.

The implementation of the Marshall Plan also contributed to marking a separation between the countries of the Western blocwhich remained under the hegemony of the United States, and the eastern bloc countrieswhich remained under the supervision of the Soviet Union.

Francisco Franco’s Spain, which did not meet any democratic requirements, was excluded from the Marshall Planwhich slowed down the process of economic recovery in that country, which had not participated in World War II but had been affected by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Who was George Marshall?

George Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program during the presidency of Harry S. Truman.

George Marshall was an American general who served as Chief of Staff of the Army (1939–1945), Secretary of State (1947–1949), and Secretary of Defense (1950–1951).

As a professional military man, He was the head of American operations during World War II.Winston Churchill called him “the true organizer of victory.”

His appointment as Secretary of State in 1947 It was a reflection of the hardening of the American stance towards the Soviet Union. That year, President Harry S. Truman formulated the Truman Doctrine to contain communism.

In a speech at Harvard University in June Marshall himself announced the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan. This plan was successful and laid the foundations for European economic recovery after World War II and the formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

Marshall retired for health reasons in 1949 but was recalled as Secretary of Defense by Truman in 1950 to rebuild the US military due to the outbreak of the Korean War. He retired permanently in 1951 and, two years later, received the Nobel Peace Prize. in recognition of the economic aid plan for Europe.

Marshall Plan Speech, Harvard University

June 5, 1947

(…) I need hardly tell you, gentlemen, that the world situation is very serious (…). In considering what is required for the rehabilitation of Europe, the physical loss of life and the visible destruction of cities, factories, mines and railways were correctly estimated, but in recent months it has become evident that this visible destruction was probably less serious than the dislocation of the whole fabric of the European economy (…).

The truth of the matter is that Europe’s needs for the next three or four years for food and other essential products from abroad, mainly from the United States, are so greater than its current ability to pay that it must receive substantial additional aid. or face very serious economic, social and political deterioration.

The remedy is to break the vicious circle and restore the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole. The manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide areas must be able and willing to exchange their products for currencies whose continued value is not in doubt.

Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the potential for disorder as a result of the desperation of the people affected, the consequences for the United States economy should be obvious to all. It is logical that the United States should do all it can to help restore the world to normal economic health, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its aim must be to restore a functioning world economy in a way that will permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. I am convinced that such aid should not be given in dribs and drabs as the various crises develop. Any help this Government can give in the future must provide a cure rather than a mere palliative.

Any government willing to help in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure, from…