Wat was het Marshallplan? | #Nederland | Historische Context HAVO

In 1945, the Second World War was over and part of the Netherlands lay in ruins. The damage to the economy was enormous, estimated at approximately 29% of the national income at the time. This made the Netherlands one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe. For example, 86 factories had been completely shipped to Germany, as had 28,000 machines. Furthermore, 200,000 hectares of agricultural land in Zeeland and North Holland had been flooded, the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam had been largely destroyed, 92,000 homes were uninhabitable, and by the summer of 1945, 800,000 Dutch people had only the clothes they were wearing. In short, a tremendous amount had to be done to help our country recover. This required a great deal of money—money the Dutch government simply didn't have. Fortunately, the United States lent a helping hand. America believed that not only the Netherlands, but all of Europe needed help. They did this not only out of charity, but also to strengthen their own economy. After all, this aid led Europe to purchase American goods, which in turn increased US exports. But perhaps an even more decisive factor in Europe's financial recovery was the fear of communism. US President Truman (1945-1952) believed that communism had to be combated in every possible way. Economic aid played a key role in this. According to the Americans, an impoverished Europe would be more at risk of falling into the hands of communism than a prosperous Europe. Therefore, in 1947, US Secretary of State George Marshall proposed providing dollar support to European countries to rebuild their economies. This Marshall Plan was not only offered to Western European countries; Eastern European countries were also invited by the Americans to receive this aid. Although some Eastern European countries were receptive, Russian leader Joseph Stalin forbade these countries from accepting Marshall Plan aid. The Dutch government, like almost all Western European countries, accepted the American offer and applied for Marshall Plan aid in 1947. Hundreds of millions of US dollars came to the Netherlands in the form of cash, goods, and services. The Americans provided most of this as a gift, with another portion in the form of a loan. The only real condition the Americans imposed was that the European countries receiving the aid draft a joint economic recovery plan. This would mark the beginning of European cooperation that truly gained momentum from the 1950s onward. The Americans regularly visited Europe to observe how the aid was being spent. The story goes that in 1947, during their tour of Europe, two high-ranking American officials visited the home of Prime Minister Willem Drees and his wife at Beeklaan 502 in The Hague. During this visit, Mrs. Drees supposedly poured the Americans Harriman and Hoffman a cup of tea and offered them a biscuit. Hoffman and Harriman reportedly said to each other afterward, "Our money is well spent on a country whose prime minister lives and works like that." The Mariakaakje supposedly secured Marshall Plan aid in this way. In fact, it would have generated millions of additional Marshall Plan dollars. But this story is only partially true. Regardless, the Marshall Plan provided a significant boost to the Dutch economy, which quickly recovered after the war. Whether the Mariakaakje played a role in this is actually irrelevant. Images: Wikimedia Commons Images Openbeelden.org Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.