united states was offered aid by the marshall plan.
who was offered aid by the marshall plan?
united states
after world war ii the marshall plan (and similar programs for asia, and the point four program for latin america) became the major american aid program, and became a model for its foreign aid policies for decades. the u.s. gave away about $20 billion in marshall plan grants and other grants and low-interest long-term loans to western europe, 1945 to 1951. historian michael j. hogan argues that american aid was critical in stabilizing the economy and politics of western europe. it brought in modern management that dramatically increased productivity, and encouraged cooperation between labor and management, and among the member states. local communist parties were opposed, and they lost prestige and influence and a role in government. in strategic terms, says hogan, the marshall plan strengthened the west against the possibility of a communist invasion or political takeover. however, the marshall plan's role in the rapid recovery has been debated. most reject the idea that it only miraculously revived europe, since the evidence shows that a general recovery was already under way thanks to other aid programs from the united states. economic historians bradford de long and barry eichengreen conclude it was, "history's most successful structural adjustment program." they state:
aid
austria finalized its marshall plan program in the end of 1947 and received the first tranche of marshall plan aid in march 1948. heavy industry (or what was left of it) was concentrated around linz, in the american zone, and in british-occupied styria. their products were in high demand in post-war europe. naturally, the administrators of the marshall plan channeled available financial aid into heavy industry controlled by the american and british forces. american military and political leaders made no secret of their intentions: geoffrey keyes said that "we cannot afford to let this key area (austria) fall under the exclusive influence of the soviet union." the marshall plan was deployed primarily "against" the soviet zone but it was not completely excluded: it received 8% of marshall plan investments (compared to 25% of food and other physical commodities). the austrian government regarded financial aid to the soviet zone as a lifeline holding the country together. this was the only case when marshall plan funds were distributed in soviet-occupied territories.
allied-occupied austria