US policy toward Germany and Japan post WW2

[unmerged(5384)]

It's not so bad to be defeated by the US. First, they beat the begeezus out of you, then they help dust you off and pick you up. But seriously, would the US have extended the Marshall Plan and helped Germany and Japan re-integrate into the world order as INDUSTRIALIZED countries IF there had been no Cold War? If the US had not needed both countries as allies against the Soviets, would the US had pursued a more Morgenthau-type policy toward both countries, i.e. perhaps reduce them to pastoral states?

 

[Emperor of Europe]

The cold war wasn't yet down to -273 degree centrigrade when the initial Marshall plan ideas were formulated, so I don't think the cold war was the driving force.

If you look at US policy after WW I it was pretty much the same. But unfortunately Britain and France insisted on a much more revenge-ful policy, that in the end lead to the rise of Hitler and to the Second World War.

I guess no-one wanted to repeat that mistake after WWII, even though the initial Soviet policy actually was to turn East Germany into a pastoral society.

The Marshall plan made political sense, since it allowed democracy to plant its roots, and it made economical sense since it helped build markets that were eager for US products.

Regards,

EoE

 

[unmerged(592)]

In my opinion cold war started 1917. WWII was an interlude.

 

[unmerged(469)]

In 1945 US probably wasn't worried as much about expansion of Soviet influence, but IMO they were worried about possibility of rise in communist sympathy in Marshall plan countries, and this was part of the motivation.

 

[Forrad]

Originally posted by Emperor of Europe
But unfortunately Britain and France insisted on a much more revenge-ful policy, that in the end lead to the rise of Hitler and to the Second World War.

I believe it was only the French who were hell-bent on punishing the Germans as much as possible but indeed we were both to blame for not standing up to Hitler.

 

[Keynes]

Originally posted by Emperor of Europe
The cold war wasn't yet down to -273 degree centrigrade when the initial Marshall plan ideas were formulated, so I don't think the cold war was the driving force.

True but Kennan's "X" article came out in '46 and Chruchill's Iron Curtain speech in '47. I think the Cold War definitely influenced the scope and magnitude of the Marshall Plan in a big way.

Morgenthau was a fool -- a clever fool but a fool nonetheless. His deindustrialization plan represented a view of the Department of Treasury and never reflected dominant American foreign policy thinking.

But the vast sums of money thrown around by Marshall were definitely influenced by the cold wind from the east IMO.

 

[unmerged(5384)]

Originally posted by Keynes


Morgenthau was a fool -- a clever fool but a fool nonetheless.

Now that's an oxymoron I haven't heard for some time.