The Marshall Plan Flashcards
Truman believed that communism succeeded when people faced _______ and ________.
Poverty
Hardship
Why did Truman send the new US Secretary of State, General George Marshall to europe?
To access to the economic state of Europe.
What did George Marshall find when he went to Europe? And what did Churchill describe it as?
He found a ruined economy m. Churchill described Europe as a rubble heap, a breeding ground of hate —> communism.
How much did Marshall suggest Europe needed to rebuild it’s prosperity?
$17 Billion
What did Marshall say the policy stood for?
It is directed against hunger,poverty,desperation and chaos
What were many Americans concerned about? And when did their attitudes change?
Truman’s involvement in foreign affairs. Their attitudes changed when the communists took over the government of Czechoslovakia in 1948.
What was the Marshall plan?
The Marshall Plan was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $17 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II.
What were conditions for receiving the aid? What effect did these consequence have on Eastern Europe?
To provide economic records and open up their economy to US capitalist interests.
This would mean that it was impossible for communist states to do so without fundamental change to their system.
What did the Soviet Union view Marshall aid?
Nothing more than an attack on communism.
What did Molotov think of the Marshall Plan?
He condemned it as foreign interference in the states of Europe and labeled the plan as dollar imperialism.
Why did the countries of Eastern Europe decline the offer of financial aid?
Because of Soviet pressure
What was the USSR response to the Marshall plan?
They effectively declared war on the Marshall plan by tightening their hold over Eastern Europe through the setting up of Cominform and Comecon.
What is Comecon/Cominform?
An organization that provided economic assistance to the countries of Eastern Europe.
The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid resulted in a Soviet response that and the division of Europe more ______.
Entrenched
_______ Western European states set up the organization for European Co-operation (______) to put the plan into action.
Sixteen
OEEC
By 1953 what had the USA done for Western European states?
Provided them with $17 Billion to help them rebuild their economies and raise their standard of living.
Why did Stalin withdraw the USSR from discussions with the USA?
He did not trust them and he did not want to show how weak the USSR really was.
Which countries did Stalin prevent from getting Marshall aid?
Czechoslovakia and Poland
What did Stalin think the USA were using the plan for?
For their own selfish interests- to dominate Europe and help the American Economy.
