The states of post-war Europe, which survived the fierce battles of World War II, in 1947 had a number of natural questions. First of all, they concerned the restoration of the affected cities, economic systems, the demobilization of the military, and the transfer of industry to a peaceful track. The war brought much less destruction to their overseas ally, the United States. However, there were also problems that needed to be addressed. Before this state, the issue of demobilization and the organization of the personal life of soldiers was no less acute. In addition, military production had to be curtailed and retrained in accordance with peaceful conditions. But in what markets would these goods come true? If pre-war Europe was an excellent trading partner with solvent citizens, now the continent lay in ruins, and local consumers could hardly meet the necessary demand for imported goods. The restoration was beneficial to everyone. And the result of the coincidence of goals was the Marshall Plan. It was briefly named as such, as it was a set of economic measures proposed by US Secretary of State George Marshall.
The essence of Marshall's plan
The first features of the project were discussed in July 1945 at a conference in Paris. Initially, the Marshall Plan provided for the participation of Eastern European states. After all, the main destruction of the war fell on the eastern part of Europe. Compared to Warsaw, Prague and Krakow, Brussels and Paris seemed to be just quiet places untouched by the war. However, the eastern outskirts of Europe was already dependent on the Soviet government. And the leaders of the USSR feared that such assistance would increase US influence in these countries and weaken the popularity of the Socialist Parties in them. Actually, for these reasons, all the states of the socialist camp took a proud position and refused to help. It is interesting to note that the Marshal Plan could not be extended to the Union itself, since the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks denied the budget deficit and the presence of any significant problems. They refused the help of a potential opponent, opting for shock work. It is interesting that the revival of the USSR really did not yield to the European one in its pace, even if it was obtained at the cost of hard work.
Project Implementation
The Marshall Plan eventually spread to eighteen countries in Britain, the Scandinavian Islands, Western, Southern and Central Europe. This economic program has become one of the most successful (of its kind) in all of human history. In a very short time, the Marshall Plan made it possible to restore the destroyed economies of European states, making these countries prosperous and influential players in the global geopoliticalarena. With all these benefits, it should also be noted that the success of the program to a large extent predetermined the dominance of the United States in the Western world. For example, a striking example of this fact was the permanent primacy of the state in the military-political bloc created a few years later. This bloc became NATO.
