The Cold War in global context, 1945-1991 - Early superpower tensions - The Marshall Plan

4 important questions on The Cold War in global context, 1945-1991 - Early superpower tensions - The Marshall Plan

What was the Marshall Plan about?

  • Crucial to the overall Western strategy of rebuilding Europe's war-torn economies was the implementation of the so-called Marshall Plan, named after American Secretary of State George C. Marshall.
  • In a speech before the Harvard graduating class of 1947, Marshall addressed the issue of continued postwar dislocations on the European continent, inviting all affected nations, including the USSR and its satellites, to construct a comprehensive plan for economic recovery built around the promise of coordinated American financial assistance.

What did Stalin do with the offer of Marshall plan?

Although the Soviets attended the first planning meeting held in Paris at the end of June 1947, Stalin eventually rejected the offer and prohibited Eastern European client states from participating.

Why did Stalin reject Marshall plan? Who is Cominform?

  • The Soviets took exception to the Plan's requirement that the US have some supervisory role over and access to the budgetary records of the receiving countries. These conditions were interpreted by Stalin as a violation of the principle of national sovereignty.
  • The additional requirement that Marshall Plan money be used to purchase American products struck the Soviets as yet another attempt to extend the influence of the capitalist system.
  • The Communist Information Bureau (Cominform), the propaganda wing of the Soviet state, denounced the Marshall Plan as a sinister ploy to "establish the world supremacy of American imperialism."
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Who adopted Soviet-style political systems?

By 1948 the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, together with the occupied countries of Eastern Europe, were compelled to adopt Soviet-style political systems and state-dominated command economies.

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