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The Harriman Committee

The war against Hitler and Germany ended in early May 1945. Europe and in particular, Germany, was in ruins.  Millions of people were displaced. Estimates of displaced persons (DP) ranged between forty to sixty million including homeless, concentration camp survivors, labor camp inmates, and liberated prisoners of war.

Aerial view over the Rhine battle area: the ruins of Wesel, Germany. Photo by Sgt. Travis (c. 1944/45). Imperial War Museum – War Office Second World War Official Collection. PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
Aerial view over the Rhine battle area: the ruins of Wesel, Germany. Photo by Sgt. Travis (c. 1944/45). Imperial War Museum – War Office Second World War Official Collection. PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

European infrastructures were destroyed, food supplies were disrupted to the point where people continued to go hungry, coal for heating was still scarce, major transportation corridors were rendered useless, and manufacturing facilities had been bombed to the point where they could no longer function. (German factories suffered the most both from bombs and equipment pilfering by the Soviets.)

Gen. George C. Marshall (1880−1959), U.S. secretary of state, knew that it was imperative to get Europe back on its feet. The 900-lb gorilla in the room was the Versailles Treaty signed by Germany twenty-five years earlier. The terms of the treaty were so onerous that it was generally considered to be the catalyst for the emergence of Hitler and the Nazis. Gen. Marshall had a vision of the “new” Europe, and its prosperity would need to include all countries, including Germany.

Gen. George C. Marshall shaking hands with Sen. Tom Connally of Texas, as Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan (far left), President Truman, and James Byrnes (far right) look on, after Marshall’s swearing-in as secretary of state. Photo by Abbie Rowe (21 January 1947). National Archives and Records Administration. PD-U.S. government. Wikimedia Commons.
Gen. George C. Marshall shaking hands with Sen. Tom Connally of Texas, as Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan (far left), President Truman, and James Byrnes (far right) look on, after Marshall’s swearing-in as secretary of state. Photo by Abbie Rowe (21 January 1947). National Archives and Records Administration. PD-U.S. government. Wikimedia Commons.

The core of Gen. Marshall’s vision was comprehensive American economic assistance to the Europeans. There were two components for accomplishing this vision: creating a working plan and then the execution of the plan ⏤ in other words, getting it approved and funded by the American Congress. He acknowledged that the easy part was putting a plan together and the “heavy task” was “the execution” of the plan.

 To begin the process of developing an economic aid plan, an eighteen-member council was assembled. It was chaired by Averell Harriman (1891−1986), President Truman’s secretary of commerce. The council consisted of business leaders (e.g., CEOs of General Electric, B.F. Goodrich, and Procter & Gamble), labor leaders (e.g., George Meany of the AFL), academics, and public officials. The mission of the council was to develop a report on the “limits with which” the U.S. could provide economic relief to the Europeans. The President’s Committee on Foreign Aid, or the “Harriman Committee” as it was known, provided the road map that eventually became the “European Recovery Program” (ERP) and the final bill, “The Foreign Assistance Act of 1948.”

Averell Harriman. Photo by Joost Evers/Anefo (3 September 1965). Nationaal Archief. PD-CC CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Wikimedia Commons.
Averell Harriman. Photo by Joost Evers/Anefo (3 September 1965). Nationaal Archief. PD-CC CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Wikimedia Commons.

Then and now, it is commonly referred to as the “Marshall Plan.” Read More The Harriman Committee

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Plan Dog

With President Franklin Roosevelt’s increasing support of Churchill and England, Hitler was forced to come up with a strategy to blunt American involvement on the side of Britain. In September 1940, Germany announced the Tripartite Pact treaty had been signed. In a nutshell, the treaty and military alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan required all the participants to act against an aggressor of a treaty member.

Signing ceremony for the Axis Powers Tripartite Pact. Seated from left to right: Japan Ambassador Saburō Kurusu, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, and Adolf Hitler. Joachim von Ribbontrop is speaking at the podium. Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann (27 September 1940). U.S. National Archives. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Signing ceremony for the Axis Powers Tripartite Pact. Seated from left to right: Japan Ambassador Saburō Kurusu, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, and Adolf Hitler. Joachim von Ribbontrop is speaking at the podium. Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann (27 September 1940). U.S. National Archives. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

FDR knew this was a game changer and while it didn’t mention the United States, the president fully recognized it was directed at America eventually coming into direct conflict with the Axis powers. This situation required FDR and his senior administration and military staffs to reassess the global situation and devise an initial strategy for an event of war with one or all the treaty members.

This assessment (and recommendation) was written in late October 1940 and presented to the president on 12 November. The twenty-six page document became known as “The Plan Dog” memorandum.

Japanese embassy in Berlin exhibiting the flags of the Tripartite Pact members. Photo by anonymous (c. September 1940). Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-L09218/CC-BY-SA 3.0. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Germany. Wikimedia Commons.
Japanese embassy in Berlin exhibiting the flags of the Tripartite Pact members. Photo by anonymous (c. September 1940). Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-L09218/CC-BY-SA 3.0. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Germany. Wikimedia Commons.

Read More Plan Dog