The Marshall Plan (from its enactment,
officially the European Recovery Program [ERP])
was the primary plan of the United States for
rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation
for the allied countries of Europe, and
repelling communism after World War II. The
initiative was named for Secretary of State
George Marshall and was largely the creation of
State Department officials, especially William
L. Clayton and George F. Kennan.
The reconstruction plan developed at a meeting
of the participating European states on July
12, 1947. The Marshall Plan offered the same
aid to the Soviet Union and its allies, if they
would make political reforms and accept certain
outside controls. However the Soviet Union
rejected this proposal with Vyacheslav Molotov
describing the plan as dollar imperialism.
The plan was in operation for four years
beginning in July 1947. During that period some
US$ 13 billion in economic and technical
assistance were given to help the recovery of
the European countries that had joined in the
Organization for European Economic
Co-operation.[1]
By the time the plan had come to completion,
the economy of every participant state, with
the exception of Germany, had grown well past
pre-war levels. Over the next two decades, many
regions of Western Europe would enjoy
unprecedented growth and prosperity. The
Marshall Plan has also long been seen as one of
the first elements of European integration, as
it erased tariff trade barriers and set up
institutions to coordinate the economy on a
continental level. An intended consequence was
the systematic adoption of American managerial
techniques.
In recent years historians have questioned both
the underlying motivation and the overall
effectiveness of the Marshall Plan. Some
historians contend that the benefits of the
Marshall Plan actually resulted from new
laissez-faire policies that allowed markets to
stabilize through economic growth. It is now
acknowledged that the United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration, which helped
millions of refugees from 1944 to 1947, also
laid the foundation for European postwar
recovery.
Source:
Wikipedia
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The coppr plate of the Marschall Plan