1
THE MARSHALL PLAN: ALTRUISM OR PRAGMATISM? Designed by Samuel Kimerling After WWII the United States gave more than $12.5 billion in aid to Europe. Was this all in the name of humanitarian aid? Or were there other economic and political goals behind the plan?
Essential Questions: This monumental effort raises some important questions regarding the nature of post-war policy. -What does it mean to be the victor in war? -Is there a responsibility to rebuild the enemy? -Does the price you pay for victory entitle you to spoils? -Did the Marshall Plan represent altruism on the part of the U.S. or pragmatism in gaining economic and strategic advantages? We will examine some original documents in an attempt to answer these questions.
Prosperity, the Fruit of Cooperation 1950
2
THE NEED FOR ASSISTANCE After WWI Germany was heavily penalized by the Allies for the damage they had leveled on the continent during the war. The result was such harsh economic conditions in Germany that the desperate conditions led to the extremism largely responsible for the rise of the Nazis and the outbreak of WWII. The Allies were determined not to let that happen again. Examine these photographs and answer the questions on the following pages.
1.What do you see in this picture? 2.What does this say about the state of Germany and its ability to recover?
Hamburg, Germany 1943 3
9th July 1945: Berlin
1.What do you see in this picture? 2.Categorize the people in the photo. 3.Describe what they are doing. 4.Describe the technology being used.
4
A French family returns to their village, Buron, northwest of Caen, July 18, 1944
1.What do you see in this picture? 2.What does it say about the lives of ordinary citizens in France during this time?
5
On June 5, 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall introduces his plan for European recovery at Harvard University commencement. This speech would become the blueprint for the European Recovery Program, more commonly known as The Marshall Plan.
AUDIO 1.1 Excerpt from George Marshall’s speech at Harvard
Follow along the speech with the text on the right
Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence
1.What is the reason for United States action?
2.What is the goal of his plan?
3.Why do people applaud when he mentions other governments?
George Marshall at Harvard University commencement 1947
4.What does he say is the responsibility of the Europeans?
6
The American Perspective 1.How does the film portray the United States?
2.What is the reaction of the Soviet Union?
3.How could the United States benefit from the Marshall Plan?
4.Why would the Communists object to United States influence in Europe?
“Big Picture: Changed Face of Europe” 1950 National Archives and Records Division
7
NOT SO FAST MY FRIENDS...
While it may have been clear to all parties involved that something needed to be done to help the current state of Europe, not every nation agreed with the U.S. led Marshall Plan. The Soviet Union and her satellite nations were Communist, and harbored innate distrust of the Capitalist economic systems of the United States and Western Europe. 1. What do you see in this poster? 2. What does it say about the Soviet view of the United States?f
“Don’t Fool Around!”
8
A SEAT AT THE TABLE The Soviet Union felt like they deserved a seat at the table in deciding the future of Europe. Look at the chart and evaluate their claim.
1.The United States and Soviet Union were both allies and major factors in winning the war, but which country paid the greatest price? 2.How can you account for the great number of allied civilians killed?
Click on the above icon for Joseph Stalin’s speech.
1.What does Stalin say is the reason for the start of WWII? 2.Are there any elements of Stalin’s argument you see in the American point of view? CAN HE BLOCK IT?
Edwin Marcus. "Can He Block It?" ca. 1947.
This cartoon appeared in the Soviet Newspaper Izvestiya. 1. What do you see?
2. What concerns does this cartoon imply?
3. How are the Americans portrayed in the Soviet cartoons?
“The American Bludgeon in the Solution of Market Problems.” Izvestiya, November 3, 1949. 11
1. What do you see in this cartoon?
2. What image is the author using to describe the European nations?
3. What is the meaning of the cartoon?
4. What is meant by the title?
“Capitalist Europe on the Upswing” American Marshall Plan credits have failed to give a lift to the capitalist countries of Europe 1947 Krokodil Moscow humor magazine.
Jo Spier. The Marshall Plan and You. The Hague, the Netherlands: Ministry of Economic Affairs, 1949,
AID DELIVERED AND THE START OF A NEW ERA While the Soviet Union was not pleased with the American response to aid war torn Europe, many nations received much needed aid. Examine the poster on the right and in the following gallery.
13
GALLERY 1.1 European Recovery Program poster contest Based on the theme “IntraEuropean Cooperation For A Better Standard of Living,” the following twelve posters were chosen as the most outstanding from among 10,000 such posters submitted by artists in thirteen European nations participating in the Marshall Plan. Use the arrows to scroll through the gallery.
1.What are some images in the posters? 2.How do the posters represent the intent of the Marshall’s plan? 3. What do they say about the attitude of the European nations? Whatever the weather, we only reach welfare together Author: E. Spreckmeester Publisher: European Recovery Programme
REVISITING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Now that you have seen documents, photos, speeches, data, and artwork about the Marshall Plan and post WWII European recovery, let us revisit our essential questions: 1.What does it mean to be the victor in war? 2.Is there a responsibility to rebuild the enemy? 3.Does the price you pay for victory entitle you to spoils? 4.Did the Marshall Plan represent altruism on the part of the U.S. or pragmatism in gaining economic and strategic advantages?
RESOURCES • cover image -West Berlin, Germany ©National Archives, Photographs of Marshall Plan activities (U.S. Agency for International Development) • pg. 2 Prosperity, the fruit of co-operation/Author: Brian DearPublisher: European Recovery Programme http://marshallfoundation.org/library/posters/prosperity-fruit-co-operation/ • pg. 3 NATO images http://www.nato.int/history/images/history/hamburg-b.jpg • pg. 4 Women of Berlin http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/weekly/women-post-war-germany.jpg • pg. 5 Buron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buron • pg. 6 http://www.humanity.org/voices/commencements/george-marshall-harvard-university-speech-1947 • pg. 7 https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.2569840 • pg. 8 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/marshall/marsh-exhibition.html • pg. 9 http://all-that-is-interesting.com/world-war-2-deaths • pg. 10 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/marshall/marsh-exhibition.html • pg. 11 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/marshall/marsh-exhibition.html • pg. 12 http://soviethistory.macalester.edu/index.php? page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1947coldwar&Year=1947&navi=byYear • pg. 13 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/marshall/marsh-exhibition.html • pg. 14 http://marshallfoundation.org/library/collection/poster-collection/marshall-plan/#!/collection=276
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
REFLECTION After switching my topic from the more obscure food history topic to the much more document rich Marshall Plan, my issue was not where to find documents, but just the opposite. There were so many great documents, I found myself following lead after lead on possible directions to take the assignment. While I learned a tremendous amount about the Marshall Plan, the state of Europe after WWII, and the different opinions throughout U.S. and Europe about the plan, I didn't feel like I was getting any closer to completing the assignment. But I was finding photos, documents, and getting more information. Through this research I was able to narrow my focus and choose an angle on which to focus: the differing views on the Marshall Plan from Europe, Russia, and at home in the U.S.. My next challenge was to step away from the history and just look at the documents. What was I trying to say?
What were the documents telling me? I finally focused on assembling documents that could tell a story. Once I had a clear narrative of what I wanted the students to see, the guiding questions practically wrote themselves. This assignment has been exciting for me on two main levels. First learning how to write this type of assignment for my students will be something I will continue to work on throughout my career. I am a big believer in having students think like historians. The other facet is just how much I enjoyed researching the history surrounding the Marshall Plan. Reading all the documents and seeing all the photos was like a DBQ itself. I will continue to practice, learn, and hopefully inspire my students to do the same. ~ Sam Kimerling Twitter/ @kimerlin171 | AboutMe 17
FROM - EXPLORING HISTORY: VOL II
Complete iBook available free at iTunes
EXPLORING HISTORY: VOL II This eBook is a collaborative project of Peter Pappas
and his Fall 2014 Social Studies Methods Class
School of Education ~ University of Portland, Portland Ore.
Chapters in chronological order
1. The American Revolution by Scott Deal
Graduate and undergraduate level pre-service teachers were assigned the task of developing an engaging research question, researching supportive documents and curating them into a DBQ suitable for middle or high school students. For more on this class, visit the course blog EdMethods
For more on the assignment and work flow tap here.
2. The Pig War by Andy Saxton 3. Cesspool of Savagery by Michelle Murphy 4. Chemical War by Erik Nelson 5. Americans’ Perceptions of Immigration
in the 1920s by Ceci Brunning and Jenna Bunnell 6. The New Deal and the Art of Public Persuasion
by Kari VanKommer 7. Combat Soldiers in Context by Kristi Anne McKenzie
8. The Marshall Plan: Altruism or Pragmatism?
by Sam Kimerling
Engaging questions and historic documents empower students to be the historian in the classroom.
9. Little Rock Nine: Evaluating Historical Sources
by Christy Thomas 10. First Ladies as a Political Tool by Emily Strocher
xix
Peter Pappas, editor
School of Education ~ University of Portland His popular blog, Copy/Paste features downloads of his instructional resources, projects and publications. Follow him at Twitter @edteck. His other multi-touch eBooks are available at here. For an example of one of his eBook design training workshops tap here.
CC BY-NC 3.0 Peter Pappas and Samuel Kimerling, 2015 The authors take copyright infringement seriously. If any copyright holder has been inadvertently or unintentionally overlooked, the publisher will be pleased to remove the said material from this book at the very first opportunity.
Cover image: Replica of old French globe
Date:1 January 1, 2013
Petar Milošević Source
xx
