Speech Delivered by General George Marshall at Harvard University on June 5, 1947
I need not tell you gentlemen that the world situation is very serious. That must
be apparent to all intelligent people. I think one difficulty is that the problem is one
of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press
and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear
appraisement of the situation. Furthermore, the people of this country are distant from
the troubled areas of the earth and it is hard for them to comprehend the plight and
consequent reactions of the long-suffering peoples, and the effect of those reactions on
their governments in connection with our efforts to promote peace in the world.
In considering the requirements for the rehabilitation of Europe, the physical loss of
life, the visible destruction of cities, factories, mines, and railroads was correctly
estimated, but it has become obvious during recent months that this visible destruction
was probably less serious than the dislocation of the entire fabric of European economy.
For the past 10 years conditions have been highly abnormal. The feverish preparation for
war and the more feverish maintenance of the war effort engulfed all aspects of national
economies. Machinery has fallen into disrepair or is entirely obsolete. Under the
arbitrary and destructive Nazi rule, virtually every possible enterprise was geared into
the German war machine. Long-standing commercial ties, private institutions, banks,
insurance companies, and shipping companies disappeared, through loss of capital,
absorption through nationalization, or by simple destruction. In many countries,
confidence in the local currency has been severely shaken. The breakdown of the business
structure of Europe during the war was complete. Recovery has been seriously retarded by
the fact that two years after the close of hostilities a peace settlement with Germany and
Austria has not been agreed upon. But even given a more prompt solution of these difficult
problems, the rehabilitation of the economic structure of Europe quite evidently will
require a much longer time and greater effort than bad been foreseen.
There is a phase of this matter which is both interesting and serious. The farmer has
always produced the foodstuffs to exchange with the city dweller for the other necessities
of life. This division of labor is the basis of modern civilization. At the present time
it is threatened with breakdown. The town and city industries are not producing adequate
goods to exchange with the food-producing farmer. Raw materials and fuel are in short
supply. Machinery is lacking or worn out. The farmer or the peasant cannot find the goods
for sale which he desires to purchase. So the sale of his farm produce for money which lie
cannot use seems to him an unprofitable transaction. He, therefore, has withdrawn many
fields from crop cultivation and is using them for grazing. He feeds more grain to stock
and finds for himself and his family an ample supply of food, however short he may be on
clothing and the other ordinary gadgets of civilization. Meanwhile people in the cities
are short of food and fuel. So the governments are forced to use their foreign money and
credits to procure these necessities abroad. This process exhausts funds which arc
urgently needed for , reconstruction. Thus a very serious situation is rapidly developing
which bodes no good for the world. The modern system of the division of labor upon which
the exchange of products is based is in danger of breaking down.
The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next three or four years
of foreign food and other essential products-principally from America-are so much greater
than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help or face
economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.
The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence of the
European people I n the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole.
The manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide areas must be able and willing to exchange
their products for currencies the continuing value of which is not open to question.
Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of
disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the
consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical
that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of
normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and
no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against
hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working
economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in
which free institutions can exist. Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a
piecemeal basis as various crises develop. Any assistance that this Government may render
in the future should provide a cure rather than a mere palliative. Any government that is
willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure, on the
part of the United States Government. Any government which maneuvers to block the recovery
of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore, governments, political
parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom
politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States.
It is already evident that, before the United States Government can proceed much
further in its efforts to alleviate the situation and help start the European world on its
way to recovery, there must be some agreement among the countries of Europe as to the
requirements of the situation and the part those countries themselves will take in order
to give proper effect to whatever action might be undertaken by this Government. It would
be neither fitting nor efficacious for this Government to undertake to draw up
unilaterally a program designed to place Europe on its feet economically. This is the
business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come from Europe. The role of
this country should consist of friendly aid in the drafting of a European program and of
later support of such a program so far as it may be practical for us to do so. The program
should be a joint one, agreed to by a number, if not all, European nations.
An essential part of any successful action on the part of the United States is an
understanding on the part of the people of America of the character of the problem and the
remedies to be applied. Political passion and prejudice should have no part. With
foresight, and a willingness on the part of our people to face up to the vast
responsibility which history has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have
outlined can and will be overcome.
Source:
from The Department of State Bulletin, XV1, No. 415 (June 15, 1947), pp.
1159-1160.
This text is part of the Internet
Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright.
Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational
purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No
permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook.
© Paul Halsall, July 1998
