the USA's involvement in Europe -> The launch of the Marshall Plan, June 1947

Question 1

when was the Marshall Plan launched?

Answer 1

5 June 1947

Question 2

outline the main events of the Marshall Plan:

Answer 2

• May 1947
  -> Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Clayton returned from a fact-finding tour of Europe
  -> concludes that European economies need to be revived to prevent damage of US economy
  -> Kennan’s Policy Planning Staff (PPS) group states US should focus on rebuilding Europe rather than combatting communism
• 5 June 1947
  -> George Marshall reveals Marshall Plan aka European Recovery Program (ERP)
• September 1947
  -> Cominform is established

Question 3

what did the PPS group think of the state of Europe?

Answer 3

• Economic, political and social structure of Europe more affected by WWII than communist activities
• US should focus on restoring Europe’s economic strength, rather than combating communism

Question 4

who was George Marshall?

Answer 4

US Secretary of State from 1947-1949

Question 5

what was the Marshall Plan?

Answer 5

• The Marshall Plan was a loan package intended to kickstart the economies of Europe
• by bringing out about economic recovery, the USA hoped to lessen the appeal of communism in Western Europe and promote European unity

Question 6

what was a condition of receiving Marshall Aid?

Answer 6

A condition of receiving the aid was that recipients had to spend a proportion of it on American goods, allowing American companies access to its markets, and allow an international body to access economic information

Question 7

How much money did the US provide as part of the Marshall Plan?

Answer 7

$13.5 billion to 16 different countries
-> Japan given $500 million to keep its economy going
-> 1946-54: Americans give the French $46 billion to fight the Vietnamese communists

Question 8

Give an example that contributed to the US’ concern of political and economic stability in Europe

Answer 8

In 1947, French Communist Party had 1.7 million members

Question 9

when was the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 9

July-October 1946

Question 10

what was the aim of the Paris Peace Conference?

Answer 10

• To draw up settlements for the defeated European powers (Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy and Romania)
• treaties included territorial adjustments, reparations and anti-fascist requirements for the post war governments
• settlements were not reached over Germany or Austria

Question 11

how did Stalin view himself?

Answer 11

• the Pope of communism and its sole interpreter
• as a decider of shifts
• the ‘life-giving force of socialism, and the father of the people’s’

Question 12

how did Stalin view Tito (Yugoslavian leader)?

Answer 12

‘the fascist intriguer and running dog of the imperialists
- ultimately, an agent of Western imperialism
- those communists who objected to developments were vilified as his supporters

Question 13

Outline the events of the Prague (Czechoslovakia) coup:

Answer 13

• Soviet troops left Czechoslovakia in 1946
• Communists gained popular support (won 36% of the vote in the elections that year so played a leading role in the country’s coalition government.
• after the Czech government’s willingness to embrace Marshall Aid, Stalin instructed Klement Gottwald to secure a government freed of non-communist forces
• on 25th February, the President, Edvard Benes gave way, forming a cabinet dominated by communists and their allies
• merely required a farcical election on 30th May to complete Czechoslovakia’s ‘delayed revolution’

Question 14

what was Stalin’s main goal during the Prague Coup?

Answer 14

To stamp out the idea that there could be different ‘roads to socialism’ depending on local conditions in each nation
- this meant that communist leaders who believed they could follow their own socialist policy, independent from the Soviet model, were removed from office (Wladislaw Gomulka, Imre Nagy)

Question 15

what did Stalin do when the Czech government announced an interest in the Marshall Plan in 1948?

Answer 15

• Stalin orders Klement Gottwald, a Czech communist and President after the coup of Feb 1948 to impose the Stalinist Soviet model of government on the country
• frames Laszlo Rajik as a Titoist who is executed for Titoism in October 1949

Question 16

what did Molotov, the Foreign Minister criticise the Marshall Plan as being?

Answer 16

• Molotov, the Foreign Minister, criticised the Marshall Plan as ‘dollar imperialism’
• he believed that this US influence might start to spread into Eastern Europe and thereby undermine their sphere of influence and security

Question 17

Which countries under partial communist control wanted Marshall aid?

Answer 17

Czechoslovakia and Hungary

Question 18

How did Stalin respond to Eastern European states wanting Marshall aid?

Answer 18

• He believed it would result in the states committing themselves to a restoration of market economies and a degree of integration of their economies with those of Western European states
• so he ordered them to reverse their decision to receive Marshall Aid

Question 19

why is the Soviet decision to reject the Marshall Plan a turning point

Answer 19

because Stalin and the Soviet leadership were initially enthusiastic about Marshall Aid as they wanted access to a source of funds to undertake post-war reconstruction and economic modernisation

Question 20

when was the Paris Conference?

Answer 20

June-July 1947

Question 21

what did the Soviets realise at the Paris Conference?

Answer 21

the Marshall Plan was effectively an anti-Soviet device

Question 22

What did Molotov do during the Paris Conference on the 2nd July 1947?

Answer 22

On 2nd July 1947, Molotov left the conference and publicly rejected the offer of Marshall Aid

Question 23

What were the Soviets angry about in regard to the Marshall Plan?

Answer 23

The Soviets were angry that the USA as assigning a central role to Western Germany in the reconstruction of Europe, and disliked the idea that a central organisation, controlled by the USA would have the power to intervene in and regulate the economies of the Communist bloc

Question 24

what did the Soviet’s refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan signal?

Answer 24

• The Soviet’s refusal to participate in the Marshall Plan - and its refusal to allow its satellite states to do so - effectively signalled an end to the policy of co-operating with the USA
• it also signalled a deep-seated fear of not being able to contain US influence - and marked the start of attempts to both exert even greater control over the satellite states and bring the western powers back to the negotiating table

Question 25

what was the overall effect of the Marshall Plan?

Answer 25

The Marshall Plan simply accelerated the division of Europe and further undermined the possibility of international relations being based on some degree of cooperation and consensus between the superpowers