Christopher Jackson
Reconstruction
At the end of World War II parts of Europe was left in ruins. Britain was certainly heavily damaged by German bombing the war. Though the Axis powers were the main enemies of the war threats to democracy continued. Germany and Japan was subdued but the United States found a new foe in one of their previous allies. The Russian Soviets that sit at the very gates of a devastated Europe. The idea of Communism spreading was a real fear they if left uncheck would have made its way into Europe.
De Grazia’s article brings up the Marshall Plan. This plan was intended to be a recovery program for Europe. This would come in the form of American aid to the western parts of Europe. The article mentions that Spain was excluded from this aid. The explanation given involved Spain’s current leader at that time. This being Francisco Franco a dictator who leadership was seen as too similar to Nazism.
The Marshall Plan was put into action by the United States. So, backing any potential enemy to the democratic system did not sit well with the Present. Still the Marshall Plan did proceed as intended after WWII. Over a billion dollars was spent helping to rebuild Western Europe’s economy. This was accomplished by rebuilding regions flattened by conflict, fixing trade, and modernizing European industry. Due to this Europe as make strong and prosperous which in turn prevented its adoption of communism.
The emphasis on Spain was really understated in a lot of the blogs. I thought that its position as a battleground between the Soviet and Anglo ideologies was an important aspect in the construction of post-war Europe. The Marshall Plan really did exist as a cultural/economic projection of US power. The aid sent swayed many over to the US system and deterred some nations/peoples from the influence of communism due to its ability to take provide food, most importantly, to the near starving peoples of the post-war environment.
Along with aid, the Marshall Plan was also used as a way to influence other countries to become more like America and to be on our side as the Cold War was beginning to take shape. It was a great way to make allies fast after a war that destroyed most of the war economy.