It was sixty years ago today
Sixty years ago today, on June 5, 1947, then Secretary of State George Marshall delivered a short speech at Harvard University’s commencement that would change history. The resulting Marshall Plan provided substantial U.S. financial assistance to a war-torn European continent. By the time the Marshall Plan ended in 1952, the US had invested $13.3 billion.
The Marshall Plan is not only an example of successful U.S. diplomacy or U.S. magnanimity, but also of self-interest. The United States wanted to prevent further stagnation of world trade, promote the economic recovery of Europe, and stop any further Communist gains on the continent.
For GMF, June 5 is important for another reason beyond Marshall’s famous speech. Today marks the 35th anniversary of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. GMF was conceived of and established as a permanent memorial to the Marshall Plan. On June 5, 1972, Willy Brandt, then Chancellor of West Germany, in a speech at Harvard University, announced a significant financial gift to establish GMF.
Two common features of the Marshall Plan and Brandt’s innovative gift are especially noteworthy. First, both gave the recipient a pivotal role in deciding how the funds would be used. Transatlantic cooperation was paramount. Marshall insisted that European governments had to be in the lead: “This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come from Europe.” One critical condition of the aid was that European governments had to cooperate in developing a plan to spend the money for the benefit of the entire region. The Marshall Plan challenged the European partners to enter into close economic cooperation. Many believe that steps initiated under the European Recovery Program led to the launching of the Coal and Steel Community in 1952 and eventually to the European Union of today.
In 1972, Brandt felt strongly that the gift he would announce should be given with no strings attached. GMF would be a wholly American organization, with an American president and an all-American Board of Trustees. Brandt believed that America’s presence in Europe was more necessary than ever; that the European-American partnership was indispensable. GMF was to be dedicated to strengthening that partnership – but again, GMF would decide how its endowment would be used.
A second common feature of importance was that Marshall and Brandt both sought to be as inclusive as possible, reaching out to the entire European continent. Marshall’s offer extended to the Soviet Union and the nations of central and eastern Europe under Soviet occupation. After an initial meeting of the Soviet Foreign Minister with his British and French counterparts, however, the Soviets decided not to participate.
Twenty-five years later, in his Harvard speech, Brandt stated that we should “never underestimate the possibilities for cooperation across the whole of Europe that may arise in the years ahead.” He conceived of a German Marshall Fund that would one day work across Europe. With the end of the Cold War, GMF has done just that. Today, with its headquarters in Washington, GMF maintains seven offices across Europe in Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Belgrade, Bratislava, Ankara, and Bucharest.
In a letter to then U.S. President Nixon informing him about the creation of GMF, Willy Brandt wrote that GMF “is meant to help keep awake and to strengthen in present and future generations the spirit of Euro-American solidarity and the awareness of our common destiny.” GMF seeks to fulfill that mission every day.