Cons Of The Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan, officially known as the European Recovery Program, was a proposed plan of action articulated by the United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall in 1947 designed to offer assistance to America’s long-time neighbors in the recovery of their devastated Western European economy. Overall, this plain granted aid goods and services on a credit basis in order to jumpstart the participating countries’ economy. The undersecretary of the United Stated Department of Defense at the time, Dean Acheson, once legitimized the American desire for the plan in his memoir by detailing the thought shared by himself along with Secretary Marshall that Europe was headed to “head long destruction” and without a plan “millions of people would
Essentially, West Germany used the Marshall Plan aid to support a previous adoption of a “social market economy”. This support mainly came in the form of Marshall plan deliveries of goods that became added economic resources that allowed for the stabilization of the new currency of the time, the D-Mark. In addition, the Marshall plan offered economic growth support in the form of study trips under the Technical Assistance program that allowed Germans involved in West German economic policy the opportunity to visit United States in order to gain American knowledge of modern manufacturing methods in addition to management problems, which is said to have profited the industry and economy significantly. Another system was the use of counterpart funds that came about after United States good and services were sold to businesses and individuals that paid the American dollar amount in the local D-Mark currency to the local West German ERP Special fund. The counterpart funds that resulted from these transactions could then be used in investments for reconstruction, which also contributed to a successful recuperation of West Germany for the short and long-run. In order to ensure the Marshall Plan aid could properly be paid back in due time, Western Germany set forth a sound plan that led to success. A German lending bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederautbau, was responsible for
Moreover, maximum German contribution to European recovery cannot be obtained without establishment of political organization of Western Germany. Delay would also be detrimental to desired process of integration Western Germany into Western Europe.”
This view forced the Western European members to move on from their past fears and look ahead to a peaceful and profitable partnership with a new Germany. With the establishment of the state, the Federal Republic of Germany was finally afforded the opportunity to join the Organization for European Cooperation (OEEC), the European governing body created to fulfill the Marshall Plan, after its establishment, thus solidifying its position as an official member of the Western European