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The Nazi Marshall Plan

I like a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone—as long as it makes sense. I believe President Kennedy was killed by multiple gunmen who were likely paid by the mob. I don’t believe the conspiracy theory that Adolph Hitler escaped to South America.

I suppose I should point out that the subject of today’s blog post could realistically be classified as a conspiracy theory since there isn’t any verifiable official documentation to substantiate its claims. However, this is one of those theories that might have some backbone based on circumstantial evidence.

Did You Know?

Here’s a question to test your knowledge about World War II:

Which countries did the United States formally declare war against after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941?

(a) Germany, France & Japan

(b) Grand Fenwick, Elbonia & Lilliput

(c) Japan, Germany & Italy

(d) Australia, New Zealand & Russia

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation did a survey of American citizens with questions taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test. Sixty-percent failed to identify the three countries in the above question (I made up three of the four; obviously, the third choice or, C is the correct answer). Additionally, only 13% knew when the U.S. Constitution was ratified, 57% couldn’t say how many justices sat on the U.S. Supreme Court, and only 24% could identify something Benjamin Franklin was famous for—37% thought he invented the light bulb.

I will leave any conclusions up to you.

The American Marshall Plan

As a backdrop, let’s look at the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948 also known as the Marshall Plan. Approved by President Harry Truman and Congress in April 1948, it was named after General George C. Marshall, arguably one of Roosevelt and Truman’s best advisors (General Marshall was Truman’s Secretary of State when he pushed for the draft and approval of the plan). The goal of the Marshall Plan was to simply aid Western and Eastern European countries with economic assistance to rebuild their infrastructures. Listen to General Marshall’s Harvard speech in 1947 here.

General George C. Marshall. Photo by anonymous (c. 1946). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
General George C. Marshall. Photo by anonymous (c. 1946). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

Truman and Marshall had two overriding reasons to see this plan approved: first, they saw it as an investment in Eastern European countries as a way to thwart Soviet influence (Stalin ultimately refused to accept any American money for his satellite countries) and second, Marshall was keenly aware of the ramifications from World War I and the Versailles Treaty when the victors demanded unrealistic reparations without assisting Germany to get back on its feet.

The Marshall Plan operated for four years with aid totaling $17 billion or more than $194 billion in today’s dollars. It was replaced at the end of 1951 with the Mutual Security Plan which donated $7 billion on an annual basis. This lasted until 1961 when that plan was replaced by another economic assistance program.

The Marshall Plan was extraordinary in its vision to the future. It is highly probable that the only reason Europe recovered so quickly (not only its infrastructure but also its economy) after such a devastating war was because of American assistance—seventy years later, Germany has the strongest economy in the EU.

However, there is a strong possibility that before the war ended, the Nazis recognized the same thing about Germany and its need for post-war assistance. In their minds however, it would be former Nazis who would plan for the rebirth of Germany with the intent to wait for the Fourth Reich to rise from the ashes.

German Industrialists

It is no secret that most of Germany’s most powerful industrialists supported Hitler and the Nazi regime. Hitler gave a speech to the Industrialist Club on 27 January 1932 as he was running for the presidency in the March 1932 elections. This speech impressed those in attendance and the future Führer immediately gained the support of many German industrialists. Hitler came in second behind the incumbent president, Paul von Hindenburg. However, Hindenburg was persuaded by Hitler’s friends to appoint him chancellor on 30 January 1933. One month later, Hindenburg suspended German citizens’ civil liberties and Hitler began his march to dictatorship and his quest for the Thousand Year Reich, not to mention his place in history as the greatest mass murderer. Read More The Nazi Marshall Plan

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The Double Cross System

Undoubtedly, many of you have heard the story of the fake army which was used to deceive Hitler and his generals into planning for a cross channel invasion (across the Strait of Dover to Pas de Calais). It is true but the story is somewhat more complex and as wartime documents seven decades old are declassified, historians are only now able to fill in missing gaps and answer why Hitler reacted the way he did to the Normandy invasion.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the author of the James Bond series, Ian Fleming (1908−1964), worked for British Naval Intelligence during World War II? He was promoted to commander and initially served as the assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, the curmudgeon Rear Admiral John Godfrey (1888−1970). In that role, Fleming represented Godfrey in many high-level meetings with the British Secret Intelligence Service, Special Operations Executive (SOE), and the Prime Minister’s staff among other wartime government organizations including the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS—the predecessor to the CIA).

You will shortly meet Duško Popov, one of the principal double agents for the Double Cross System. He was a Serbian intelligence agent who was flamboyant, wealthy, promiscuous, and well-connected in France and the United States. Popov offered his services to the German Abwehr (military intelligence) with the intent all along of becoming a double agent. Popov was anti-Nazi and promptly became a double agent working for MI5 (British Military Intelligence, Section 5). Stationed in Lisbon in mid-1941, Popov was paid $80,000 for his MI5 services. At the time, Fleming had been assigned to shadow him. Popov frequented a local casino where one evening he became upset with the way the house was breaking the rules to benefit one of its affluent baccarat clients. Popov placed a $50,000 bet which the other gentleman was obliged to match, much to his chagrin. This ended with Popov collecting his money and an admonishment to the dealer, “I trust you’ll call this to the attention of the management and that in the future such irresponsible play will be prohibited. It is a disgrace and an annoyance to the serious players.” As he walked away, Popov winked at Fleming whom he knew was with British Intelligence and had been watching him.

Many of the Bond books and its characters were based loosely on Fleming’s wartime experiences. Bond’s boss, M, was based on Godfrey while Miss Moneypenny was loosely based on Vera Atkins, one of leaders of the SOE (click here to read Women Agents of the SOE). It is thought the James Bond character is likely based on Duško Popov and the reason we see Bond in so many casinos stems from Fleming’s experience that evening in the Lisbon casino.

One last tidbit of information: Popov once told Fleming that his uncle, Milivoj Popov, lived in Belgrade, Serbia and the number he called to speak with his uncle was 26-007.

Deception strategies were used by the Allies and Germans against one another throughout World War II. However, by 1942, the Americans and British held the upper hand: intelligence was gained through the top secret Ultra program by decrypting German messages using the Nazi military Enigma machine at Bletchley Park. Deception methods created primarily by British intelligence were becoming increasingly complex and successful. As Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin agreed in late 1943 on plans for an invasion of Europe, the Allies came up with the largest deception plan to date to be used against the Nazis.

Bletchley Park. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons.
Bletchley Park. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons.
Four rotor German naval Enigma. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). Bletchley Park. PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons
Four rotor German naval Enigma. Photo by Magnus Manske (2005). Bletchley Park. PD-GNU Free Documentation. Wikimedia Commons

Operation Bodyguard and Fortitude

Operation Bodyguard was the American and British-led umbrella deception plan to mislead the Germans into thinking the inevitable invasion of Europe would take place at a location other than the real invasion site. Additionally, the plan was to deceive Hitler about the actual date, time, and size of the assault force. It was formulated in 1943 once the Allies agreed to a 1944 invasion date. Read More The Double Cross System