Six years after the end of the war, it is still difficult for most parts of Europe to recover from the death and injury of millions of people. The war spread over most parts of the European continent, involving a much larger geographical area than the First World War. The continuous bombing has caused serious damage to most big cities, especially their industrial production. Many famous cities on the European continent, such as Warsaw and Berlin, have become ruins. Other cities such as London and Rotterdam also suffered serious damage. Most of the buildings related to economic production in these areas have turned into rubble, and millions of people are homeless. Although foreign aid eased the famine in Holland in 1944, the destruction of agriculture by war led to widespread famine in many parts of continental Europe, and the rare winter in 1946- 1947 further aggravated this famine. The most serious damage is the traffic facilities. During the war, railways, bridges and roads became the targets of the other side's air strikes, and merchant ships carrying out transportation were often sunk. Small and medium-sized towns and villages in western Europe were slightly damaged, but the damage of traffic almost cut off the economic ties between these areas and the outside world. Solving these problems requires a lot of financial resources, and at this time, the treasury of most countries has been exhausted during the war.

After World War I, the European economy also suffered great damage. The Great Recession lasted until 1920s, which also caused economic instability and global economic decline. At this time, although the United States is experiencing the awakening of isolationism, it is still trying to promote economic growth in Europe, especially through cooperation with several major American banks. When Germany was unable to repay their reparations, the United States intervened by substantially increasing their loan, which was not repaid until 194 1.

Therefore, most people in Washington believe that this period of history after World War I should not be repeated. Although Harry S. Truman and the State Council continue their pragmatic foreign policies and consider it necessary to provide assistance, Congress has little interest in it. At first, it was generally believed that Europe, especially Britain and France, could rely on its own colonies to quickly restore its economy without spending too much on reconstruction. However, by 1947, the economy of these areas is still not improving. The cold winter that lasted for several years made the situation worse. With the increasing unemployment rate, continuous strikes caused by food shortage and social unrest in some countries, economic growth in Europe is almost impossible. By 1947, the European economy is still hovering below the pre-war level, with almost no signs of growth. Agricultural production is 83% of the level of 1938, industrial production is 88%, and the total export is only 59%.

The Iron Curtain across the European continent blocked the grain import line of western Europe from eastern Europe, which aggravated the food shortage in western Europe after the war. Food shortage has become the most pressing problem. Before the war, the grain supply in western Europe depended largely on the surplus grain exported from eastern Europe, but this trade route was almost completely blocked by the iron curtain. The situation in Germany is particularly serious. The per capita calorie intake in 1.946-47 years is only 1.800 calories per day, which cannot support the long-term health of human body at all. William Clayton said in a report to Washington that "millions of people are slowly starving to death." Millions of people are slowly starving. As for the overall economy, the most deadly thing is the coal shortage, and the extremely cold winter in 1946- 1947 is even worse. During this period, many families in Germany did not have heating, and hundreds of people froze to death. Although the situation in Britain is not so serious, industrial production has to be stopped in order to meet the domestic demand for civil coal. Therefore, humanitarian considerations are also one of the important motives for putting forward this plan.

In the war, the only infrastructure that was not obviously damaged was the United States. It entered the war later than most European countries, and its losses at home were relatively limited. The official gold reserve of the United States, as a solid cornerstone of its agriculture and industry, is still intact and its economy is still full of vitality. During the war, American industry provided support for the war machine of the country and its allies, so the American economy experienced the fastest growth period since the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the war, these factories quickly turned to civilian production, and the shortage of materials during the war was quickly replaced by the explosive growth of consumer spending. However, the long-term healthy development of the economy depends on trade, and long-term prosperity also needs markets for exporting these commodities. A large part of the assistance provided by Marshall Plan was used by Europeans to import industrial products and raw materials from the United States.

For the United States, another important factor, which is also the biggest difference from the situation faced after World War I, is the beginning of the Cold War. Many people in the American government are increasingly suspicious of the actions of the Soviet Union. George Kennan, one of the advocates of Marshall Plan, had predicted the bipolar pattern of the future world. For him, Marshall Plan is the core of his new theory-the containment policy towards the Soviet Union. It should be emphasized that when the Marshall Plan was implemented, the wartime alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States had not ended and the Cold War had not really begun. For the drafters of the Marshall Plan, their fear of the Soviet Union is not as extreme as in the future, even to the point of overriding all other factors.

Nevertheless, the growth of the power and prestige of the production party in some western European countries is even more disturbing. In France and Italy, the widespread poverty after the war provided sufficient nourishment for the growth of the production party. The * * * production parties in these countries played an important role in the resistance struggle during their own wars, which made their reputation increase sharply. In the post-war elections in these countries, the * * * production party has achieved universal success. In France, the French Production Party even once became the largest party in parliament. Although most historians believe that these are far from enough to draw the conclusion that France and Italy will slide into the producer camp, in fact, American policymakers at that time did seriously consider this possibility. From 65438 to 0946, Harry Truman and his government began to hint that they had noticed this problem, especially through his intriguing behavior in Winston Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain Speech". At this time, the United States must stand firm in front of the world so as not to lose its credibility. The containment policy also requires the United States to provide assistance to non-capitalist countries to contain the influence and expansion of the Soviet Union. At that time, however, there were still people who hoped that Eastern European countries would join this plan and thus break away from the emerging Soviet bloc. Long before Marshall delivered his famous speech, there were many opinions and voices that it was necessary to carry out aid and reconstruction plans for Europe. 1On September 6th, 946, James F. Bijns, then US Secretary of State, first put forward the idea of assistance in a speech at an opera house in Stuttgart. In addition, General Lucius D. Clay asked the industrialist 〔Lewis H. Brown〕 to investigate and draft a report on Germany after World War II (1947). This report lists various situations faced by Germany after the war and puts forward some reconstruction suggestions. At the same time, dean acheson, then US Deputy Secretary of State, also made a special speech on this matter. Although his suggestion was not taken seriously at that time, alben barkley, then vice president of the United States, agreed with it.

At that time, it was thought that another way to replace the massive assistance from the United States was to obtain the materials and funds needed for reconstruction from Germany, the defeated country. As early as 1944, this idea was already included in the plan, which was the "Morgenthau Plan" put forward by Henry Morgenthau Jr Jr, then US Treasury Secretary ... In this plan, morgenthau suggested that Germany pay huge reparations after the war to help other European countries that were attacked by Axis countries in the war to rebuild. At the same time, this huge claim against Germany, which is almost squeezed, can also prevent Germany from rising again. Similarly, the Monet Plan put forward by French official Jean Monnet. The plan envisages that France will control two industrial zones in Germany, Saar and Ruhr, and allow France to make use of the rich mineral resources in these two areas, so that the industrial output of France will at least return to the pre-war level 150%.

From 65438 to 0946, the German occupation authorities issued strict policies to restrict Germany from resuming industrialization. These restrictions strictly regulate the output of coal and steel in Germany. The first plan to resume German industrialization was signed at the beginning of 1946, which is the so-called "first-class industrial agreement". By dismantling more than 65,438+0,500 factories in Germany, the pre-war industrial level was maintained at about 50% (65,438+0,938). Because the hidden disadvantages in this protocol were exposed immediately, the scheme was revised several times until 1949. The whole demolition work was not completed until 1950. Germany has long been an industrial power and economic center in Europe, so excessively weakening Germany will inevitably hinder the economic recovery of Europe as a whole, and the occupation authorities have to greatly increase their occupation costs to solve the contradiction between Germany's growing demand and material shortage.

One of the planners of Marshall Plan, George Kennan. These shortcomings and the subsequent public criticism due to the exposure of the above two plans have forced people to reconsider the Monet plan and the Morgenthau plan. In fact, many amendments are similar to the basic document "Joint Chiefs of Staff Directive 1067", which guided the American occupation and reconstruction of Germany before July 1947. "This directive has weakened Germany's major industrial output through strict restrictions". After the war, Germany's important mineral resources Sal and Silesia were no longer controlled by Germany, and the allied forces destroyed a large number of factories, limiting Germany's industrial output. By 1947, even the Ruhr area, the industrial center of Germany, may be completely demolished. In a word, Truman, Marshall and Acheson agreed that it is necessary to give Germany a lot of assistance immediately and continuously in the face of Germany, which has almost completely lost its production capacity.

The release of the reconstruction plan was also influenced to some extent by the ideological fine-tuning after the economic crisis in the 1930s in the United States. The Great Depression in the early 1930s convinced many Americans that a completely free market without government intervention could not guarantee economic stability and healthy growth. Many people who formulated Roosevelt's New Deal believed that the experience of American government's intervention in economy should be applied to the post-war reconstruction of Europe. At the same time, the economic crisis of 1929 also proves the harm of tariff and trade protectionism to the economy, and strengthens people's demand for European economic integration and free trade.

Under the above background, the Marshall Plan, which aims to help America's European allies recover their economies destroyed by World War II and curb the further expansion of capitalist forces in Europe, was officially released. Its official name is "European Recovery Plan (ERP)". Named after its main founder, then US Secretary of State george marshall. In fact, many officials in the State Council, especially William L. Clayton and George F. George Kennan, did plan this plan. Ernest bevin, then British Foreign Secretary, immediately got in touch with georges bidault, then French Foreign Minister, after hearing Marshall's speech on the radio. The two exchanged European views on American aid to Europe and prepared to give a formal reply. At the same time, the two foreign ministers agreed that it is necessary to invite the Soviet Union, an important ally of the anti-fascist war, to participate in the plan. Because directly rejecting the Soviet Union's participation in the aid program means openly distrusting the allies, Marshall welcomed the Soviet Union's participation in the Marshall Plan and accepting American aid in his speech. In fact, officials in the State Council know very well that Stalin will never agree to participate in the plan, and the US Congress will not approve a huge aid plan for the Soviet Union.

At first, Stalin showed "cautious interest" in the aid program. Because he thought that the Soviet Union was in a very favorable international environment after the war, it was not bad to accept conditional assistance. Therefore, he sent Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov to Paris for talks with the foreign ministers of Britain and France. At this time, Britain and France have understood the real intention of the United States not to want the Soviet Union to join the aid program. So they put forward many conditions that the Soviet Union could not accept. The most important thing is that any country that receives aid will inevitably lose part of its economic sovereignty, which is simply unacceptable to the Soviet Union. At the same time, the foreign ministers of Britain and France also insisted that the aided countries must participate in the construction of the European single market, which is obviously incompatible with the highly centralized planned economic system of the Soviet Union. In the end, Molotov rejected the aid plan and left Paris.

Then, a bigger meeting was held in Paris. The conference invited almost all the countries in Europe at that time, except Spain (because it remained neutral on the surface during World War II, but in fact it took a pro-fascist route) and pocket countries such as Andorra, San Marino and Liechtenstein. Before receiving the invitation, the Soviet Union had indicated that it would veto the plan, followed by the emerging members of the Eastern European Group. Finally, only Poland and Czechoslovakia expressed their willingness to attend the meeting. However, jan masaryk, the foreign minister of Czechoslovakia, was later called to Moscow because he supported Czechoslovakia's participation in the Marshall Plan, which was regarded as a clear signal that the Soviet Union wanted to begin to strengthen its overall control over Eastern Europe. Stalin believes that the signing of this plan will seriously threaten the Soviet Union's control over Eastern Europe, and that western countries will take this opportunity to make these countries break away from the influence and control of the region just established by the Soviet Union through economic integration. The United States also recognizes this, so it is also happy to see eastern European countries participate in its economic assistance plan to resist the influence of the Soviet Union. Therefore, when the delegations of Czechoslovakia and Poland were prevented by the Soviet Union from going to Paris to attend the meeting, other Eastern European countries also wisely refused the assistance of the United States. Finland also refused to participate in the project, so as not to form too antagonistic relationship with neighboring Soviet Union. Soon, the Soviet Union came up with the Marshall Plan's "alternative plan" for Eastern Europe, which mainly included economic assistance to Eastern European countries and the development of trade between Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union-this is the famous Molotov Plan, which is the embryonic form of the Economic Mutual Assistance Committee (COMECON). To turn the plan from signature into reality, it needs not only the consultation of all participating countries, but also the approval of the US Congress. Therefore, representatives of sixteen participating countries gathered in Paris to discuss the form and distribution of American aid in the future. Because this issue is closely related to the interests of all countries, the whole negotiation is extremely long and complicated. France's main consideration is not to let Germany restore its pre-war strength. Compared with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, although they have suffered Nazi aggression, considering their close economic ties with Germany, they still hope to promote their own economic prosperity and development by promoting the revival of Germany. Scandinavian countries, especially Sweden, always adhere to two principles. First of all, their long-term trade ties with countries in the Eastern camp should not be interrupted; The second is that its neutrality is inviolable. Britain insists that, considering its own special situation, she can't just be satisfied with receiving the same aid from other continental European countries, because these aid shares have little substantive effect on Britain. On the one hand, the United States strongly advocates the principle of free trade, on the other hand, it demands that Europe unite and build a fortress against capitalism. William Clayton, the representative of Truman administration, promised European countries that they could organize their own plans freely, but he also reminded Europeans that if they want to put them into practice, they must pass the US Congress. At this time, although most members of Congress agree with the two principles of free trade and European integration, they are hesitant to invest too much dollars in Germany.

After the parties reached an agreement, European countries submitted a draft reconstruction plan to Washington. In this draft, the total assistance provided by Europe is $22 billion. After Truman cut it to $654.38+07 billion, the draft was submitted to Congress for approval. The draft met with strong opposition in Congress. Opponents are mainly some * * * and party member. Most of them advocate isolationist policies and are very tired of the government's massive expenditures. One of the most representative is Robert A. Taft. On the left, the bill was also resolutely resisted by members of Parliament represented by henry wallace. Wallace believes that this plan is not only a huge subsidy for American commodity export capital, but also a catalyst to accelerate the polarization between the east and the west in the world. However, after the February Revolution in Czechoslovakia 1948 (the Czech Republic took full control of the political power), all opposition voices quickly subsided. Soon after, with the joint support of the two parties, Congress passed the government expenditure bill including the initial $5 billion aid. In the plan finally approved by the National Assembly, * * * includes an aid amount of $654.38+$02.4 billion for a period of four years.

1On April 3, 948, Truman signed the Marshall Plan, and he also approved the establishment of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) to be responsible for the implementation of this plan. The leader of this organization is Paul G. Hoffman. In the same year, the participating countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States) signed an agreement and decided to set up an organization with a status parallel to the General Directorate of Economic Cooperation, namely the European Economic Cooperation Organization. This organization was later renamed the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Its first director was a Frenchman, Robert Marjolin. 1947+ 10 delivered a batch of substantial aid to Greece and Turkey. This is not only because it is regarded as the front line to resist the expansion of capitalism, but also because both countries benefited from Truman Doctrine and received a considerable amount of early assistance. Initially, Britain provided assistance to the anti-* * forces in these two countries. However, due to its poor economic situation at this time, it is difficult to persist, so Britain asked the United States to continue to bear this responsibility.

The first page of Marshall Plan1948 In July, the General Administration of Economic Cooperation began to operate formally. In the same year, the organization issued its mission statement, which includes: promoting European economic progress, promoting European production development, providing support for European countries' currency issuance, and promoting international trade (especially trade with the United States, because its economic interests require Europe to be rich enough to import American goods). Another unacknowledged goal of the General Administration of Economic Cooperation (and Marshall Plan) is to curb the expansion of Soviet power in Europe, especially the growth of the power of the production parties in Czechoslovakia, France and Italy.

The funds involved in the Marshall Plan are usually delivered to European governments first. All funds are managed by the host government and the General Administration of Economic Cooperation. A special envoy of the General Administration of Economic Cooperation will be stationed in the capital of each participating country. This position is generally held by a well-known American business person. Their duty is to make suggestions during the implementation of the plan. The General Administration of Economic Cooperation not only encourages all parties to cooperate in allocating aid funds, but also organizes a consultative group composed of government, industrial and commercial and labor leaders to assess the economic situation and decide on the specific flow of aid funds.

Europeans used most of the Marshall Plan's aid funds to import goods produced in the United States. European countries consumed almost all their foreign exchange reserves in World War II, so the assistance brought by Marshall Plan was almost the only foreign exchange source they imported from abroad. At the beginning of the implementation of the plan, European countries mostly used aid to import urgently needed necessities, such as food and fuel, but then the direction of bulk import turned to the raw materials and products originally needed for reconstruction. In the following years, under the dual pressure of the US Congress and the outbreak of the Korean War, the United States still invested a lot of money to rebuild the armaments of European countries, and this number increased year by year. According to statistics, by the mid-term of 195 1, of the * * *1300 million dollars of aid funds provided, 3.4 billion dollars were used to import raw materials and semi-finished products, 3.2 billion dollars were used to buy grain, feed and fertilizer,1900 million dollars were used to import heavy industrial products such as machinery, vehicles and heavy equipment, and 60 million dollars were used.

At the same time, a counterpart fund has been set up, and the function of this project is to convert the aid funds of Marshall Plan into funds composed of local currency. According to the articles of association of the General Administration of Economic Cooperation, no less than 60% of the funds will be used for manufacturing investment. This is most prominent in Germany. Under the control of the local government, most of these funds are used to lend to private enterprises, which makes them play an important role in promoting the reconstruction process. The fund also played a central role in Germany's re-industrialization. Take 1949-50 as an example, 40% of the total investment in German coal mining industry is provided by this fund. For enterprises that borrow money, they must repay it on time. After repayment, this part of the funds will be lent again soon. At that time, this process was carried out under the disguise of German state-owned bank KFW (Kreditanstalt fü r Wiederaufbau). This fund was later managed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs. By 197 1 year, its figure will still be1000 million Deutsche Mark. In 1997, this figure has reached 23 billion German marks. Through this revolving credit system, by the end of 1995, about140 billion Deutsche Mark had been lent to many German citizens in the form of low-interest loans. The remaining 40% of the corresponding funds are used to repay foreign debts, stabilize the currency and invest in non-industrial projects. France uses matching funds the most widely. They mainly used the money to offset the budget deficit. Not only in France, but also in most other participating countries, most of the money in the corresponding funds is regarded as the general income of the government, rather than being used for repeated private loans like Germany.

Another less expensive but equally effective plan is the technical assistance plan, which is also led by the General Administration of Economic Cooperation. This program supports European technicians and entrepreneurs to visit factories and mines in the United States, so that they can apply the advanced experience and system of the United States to their own countries. At the same time, hundreds of American technicians went to Europe as technical consultants with the help of this plan. The amount of aid allocated by Marshall Plan to participating countries is roughly distributed according to population. However, several large industrial countries have received relatively more aid, and it is generally believed that their revival plays a key role in the economic recovery of Europe as a whole. At the same time, compared with countries that have become axis countries and neutral countries, the per capita assistance of the United States to its allies is relatively large. The following table shows the specific amount of assistance provided by Marshall Plan to countries every year (unit: billion US dollars). As for the specific amount of aid, academic circles have different opinions so far. The focus of scholars' debate is which part of American aid to these countries at that time belonged to Marshall Plan. Country/region 1948/49

(billions of dollars) 1949/50

(billions of dollars) 1950/ 5 1 (billions of dollars) Total amount (billions of dollars) Austria 2.32 1.66 0.70 4.88 Belgium and Luxembourg 1.95 2.22 3.60 7.77 Denmark/kloc-0. .95 3.85 France 65438+00.850.88 0.45-1.33 Italy and Trieste 5.94 4.05 2.05 12.04 Netherlands 4.713.023.551kloc.