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Transcript of
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| GEORGE C. MARSHALL: "Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos." |  |
NARRATOR: His simple and somber message echoed across the ivy-covered walls of Cambridge to the crumbling walls of Europe. It announced an unprecedented assistance program for the reconstruction and recovery in Europe.
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GRAPHIC: Map of European countries that were recipients: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, West Germany, and the United Kingdom. |
GEORGE C. MARSHALL: "Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist."
NARRATOR: The 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan invites us to reflect on the past -- in this case, the moment when the United States assumed the responsibilities of world leadership. This anniversary also invites us to reflect on our role at the end of the Cold War when, once again, the U.S. finds itself at a crossroads. The challenges we face and the choices we make are essentially the same, guided by a simple truth: Nations working together as partners in peace and in trade are less likely to go to war.
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NARRATOR: Today it is hard to imagine the devastation in Europe after World War II. |
| DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, Eisenhower Center, U. of New Orleans: The winter of '46-47 was one of the bleakest in European history. Bread lines were everywhere, people were starving. Many of the buildings were bombed out. |  |
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LINCOLN GORDON, Brookings Institute: You had this terrible combination of wartime destruction, a terrible winter, very poor productive conditions. And, on top of that, you had total disruption of trade and payments within Europe. |
NARRATOR: More than just material assistance,the Marshall Plan offered hope to 270 million Europeans.
| CHARLES WEISS: This was possibly the most important thing the Marshall Plan did--was to restore confidence, restore hope, that this time America was not going to abandon Europe. |  |
NARRATOR: Looking back at the unquestioned success of the Marshall Plan, it is hard to appreciate how controversial it was at the time. Americans had already contributed $11 billion to war relief, so it was hard to understand why Europe needed still more help.
CHARLES WEISS: The mood in Congress and the country at the beginning of 1947 was certainly not oriented toward the recovery of Western Europe. People wanted to get back to normalcy.
LINCOLN GORDON: It was a mixed reaction. There were important elements, particularly in the conservative wing of the Republican party, which felt that the U.S. had already done its share in post-war European reconstruction.
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Senator WHERRY: "..any and all aid we give them..no matter how many billions of dollars are involved...will in fact become Operation Rathole!" |
LINCOLN GORDON: Marshall, of course, in the initial speech did not mention a figure. But he did mention a period of years, and it was clear from the context that the figure was going to be very large.
NARRATOR: In fact, the total requested for the four years of the Marshall Plan was $13 billion. The right feared that President Truman was beginning a global version of the New Deal. The left accused the Administration of having imperialist ambitions in Europe.
| AMB. ARTHUR HARTMAN: Truman, who was of that generation that remembered the First World War, and how we had tended to turn our backs on the rest of the world...saw that unless we stayed involved in the world, we were just creating a situation that could lead to World War III. |  |
LINCOLN GORDON: Marshall, in his speech, did not put a price tag on his plan. He knew the American people were not ready for that level of commitment. But he did know that it would be wrong to do nothing in the face of such suffering. To let Western Europe collapse for want of some dollars would have been a tragedy. It would have been repeating the terrible mistake after World War I.
NARRATOR: A powerful information and education campaign by public officials and celebrities helped Americans understand the need for action. A group of congressmen traveled to Europe to see the crisis first-hand. Republican Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois was only one of many conservative legislators who supported the Marshall Plan.
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EVERETT DIRKSEN: ".. it is amazing to me to see how the people back home have changed their minds on the basis of such facts as you disclose to them. . . . My formula, Mr. Chairman, is very, very brief. Do it -- do it now -- and do it right." |
NARRATOR: A pivotal figure in the debate was the powerful chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Arthur Vandenberg, who reversed his usually isolationist stance.
| ARTHUR VANDENBERG: "In the name of peace, stability, and freedom, it deserves prompt passage. In the name of intelligent American self-interest, it envisions a mighty undertaking worthy of our faith." |
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NARRATOR: Of course, the fear of communism played its role. Stalin, who had refused Marshall Plan aid to the Eastern bloc countries, clearly meant to profit from the chaos and despair of Europe. The communist coup in Czechoslovakia in February of 1948 shocked everyone, and shifted sentiment in favor of the Plan. After 10 months of discussion and planning, the funding measure was passed by a large majority in both houses. President Truman signed it into law on April 3, 1948. Within weeks Europe began receiving desperately needed goods...rationing ended, butter and eggs returned to stores...medical supplies were available.
LINCOLN GORDON: "The Marshall Plan was a supremely successful enterprise..."
NARRATOR: But its success was based on much more than material help. It fostered powerful principles: self-help, regional cooperation, technical training, all still fundamental to international aid today. The program also forced Europeans to set aside national rivalries and take seriously the need for regional planning and cooperation.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY: It began fostering the program of European integration that would come back in 1950 with the Coal & Steel Plan, the Schuman Plan, on until you have the European Community created in 1957.
LINCOLN GORDON: "It created NATO..."
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NARRATOR: The challenge at the end of World War II was to help allies and enemies alike recover from a terrible war. ... Today, the challenge is to help nations, isolated and impoverished, to join the world economy. It is also to face with compassion and energy the unfolding tragedy of some underdeveloped nations in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Near East... |
NARRATOR: The challenge at the end of World War II was to help allies and enemies alike to recover from a terrible war. The threats to American peace, freedom, and prosperity today lie in the growing tragedy of impoverished and underdeveloped nations of Africa, Latin America, and the Far East.
| MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, Secretary of State, Speech at Harvard, June 5, 1997 : Because the situation we face today is different from that confronted by Marshall's generation, we cannot always use the same means. But we can summon the same spirit. |
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NARRATOR: The Marshall Plan still serves as a model. Hundreds of successful development programs around the world demonstrate how aid helps economic growth...promotes trade...and preserves peace. Most recently we have seen...the peaceful transition to multiracial democracy in South Africa...land reform in El Salvador...and a prosperous economy in Costa Rica...all examples of foreign assistance that work |
| BRIAN ATWOOD, Administrator, USAID: Imagine what the world would look like 50 years later if we had listened to the skeptics of the Marshall Plan. Imagine what the developing world would look like had we not restored the European economies and transformed those recipient nations into donor partners." |
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NARRATOR: Educational and institutional reforms have made Korea an economic world power and an important trading partner.With international assistance, India has become a net exporter of food, and an important regional ally for the U.S.
AMBASSADOR HARTMAN: It's in our national interest...
ALBRIGHT: Where half a century ago American leadership helped lift Western Europe to prosperity and democracy, so today, the entire trans-Atlantic community is helping Europe's newly freed nations fix their economies and cement the rule of law.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY: If there's one thing we should remember about the Marshall Plan, it is that it took leadership. That it took guts for Marshall, Acheson, Truman, etc.,to go forward with this.
BRIAN ATWOOD; The unique aspect of American leadership in facing these global challenges is not just the ideas that we have the university communities...But it's the fact that Americans have this sort of cultural attitude that we can do just about anything.
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GEORGE C. MARSHALL : If we decide to do this thing, I know we can do it successfully. And there's no doubt in my mind that the whole world hangs in the balance. |
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