The Marshal Plan is the first confrontation between the western and eastern blocs

In post-war Europe, which survived the fierce battles of the Second World War, in 1947 a number of natural questions arose. First of all, they concerned the restoration of the affected cities, economic systems, the demobilization of the military, the transfer to the peaceful track of the industry. The war brought much less destruction to their overseas ally, the United States. However, even here there were problems that needed to be addressed. Before this state, the question of the demobilization and organization of the private lives of soldiers was no less acute. Moreover, military production had to be curtailed and re-qualified in accordance with peace conditions. But in what markets would these products be sold? If pre-war Europe was an excellent trading partner with solvent citizens, now the continent was in ruins, and local consumers could hardly provide the necessary demand for imported goods. Restoration was beneficial to all. And the result of the coincidence of the goals was the Marshal's plan. In short, it was named because it was a complex of economic events proposed by the US Secretary of State George Marshall.

The essence of the Marshal's plan

The first features of the project were discussed in July 1945 at a conference in Paris. Initially, the Marshal's plan provided for the participation of Eastern European states. After all, the main destruction of the war fell precisely on the eastern part of Europe. In comparison with Warsaw, Prague and Krakow, Brussels and Paris seemed to be simply untouched by war quiet places. However, the eastern edge of Europe was already dependent on the Soviet government. And the leaders of the USSR feared that such assistance would strengthen the influence of the United States on these countries and weaken the popularity of 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's plan could not be extended to the Union itself, since the Central Committee of the CPSU (B) denied the budget deficit and the existence of any significant problems. From the help of a potential opponent refused, making a choice in favor of shock work. It is interesting that the revival of the USSR did not, at its own pace, yield to the European, let it be extracted at the cost of hard work.

Project implementation

The Marshall Plan eventually spread to the eighteen countries of 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 Marshal's plan allowed the restoration of the ruined economies of European states, making these countries prosperous and influential players in the world geopolitical arena. 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 vivid example of this fact was the constant supremacy of the state in a bloc of military-political orientation, created several years later. This bloc was NATO.