This Day in History: 3 April 2020
3 April 1948
72 years ago, today, President Harry S. Truman enacted the European Recovery Program, also known as the Marshall Plan, which helped the nations of Europe recover and rebuild due to the devastating aftermath of World War Two. It aimed to stabilise Europe's economy, but from a political point of view, it turned European nations away from the temptation of communism, in response to the spread of Soviet control in Eastern Europe. The continent was the centre of an ideological battle between the US and the Soviet Union, and this programme of Truman's helped increase the tension between the two superpowers.
President Truman was concerned with how, due to the war, many countries were left with no money or jobs, so communism was looking attractive to these societies, especially in France and Italy. Those in Eastern Europe had also been liberated by the Soviets from the Nazis in the war, and some even already had communist governments, like Poland and Romania. Truman feared this would happen in other countries, particularly in Greece and Turkey, as they were too poor to resist communist revolutions. So, to combat this, Truman gave $13 million to help rebuild Europe, at the same time hoping to stop communism's appeal by giving people a place in capitalism. 16 countries, including Britain and France accepted the money, but the Soviet Union criticised the programme as an attack on communism.
Want to find out more about the Marshall Plan? Click here for more information, or click here for a video explaining the programme.
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