At the end of World War II, Europe lay destroyed; millions displaced, millions dead, tens of thousands of cities, towns and cities burned out and a manufacturing base almost totally bombed out of existence. During several meetings between Stalin and George C. Marshall, it became clear to Marshall that the Soviets were not going to co-operate with the rebuilding of Europe. The main point of contention centered on Germany; it was Marshall’s belief that Germany was the main economic powerhouse of continental Europe and that it’s resurrection would lead to growth and political stability in Europe. Stalin also realized that, but a strong and productive Europe was not in his best interests; let Europe continue to live in poverty and hunger and the political instability will benefit Stalin.

After their last meeting, Marshall knew that it was in the best interest not only of Europe, but also the United States to rebuild Europe. Just seven weeks after his meeting with Stalin, Marshall developed a plan for the rebuilding of Europe and presented it to the President Harry Truman. The thought of spending billions of dollars to rebuild Europe was not popular but President Truman was firmly in favor of the plan. But how to get Congress to go along with the plan? Truman was considered a political hack by many and achieved the office of President only due to the death of the venerated Roosevelt.

Clark Clifford, then a political advisor to the President, recommended that the bill be called the Truman Plan, but Truman replied, “If I send the plan up the hill (with Truman’s name), it will quiver a couple of times, go belly up and die. Even the worst Republican will vote for the plan if Marshall’s name is on it” and so the European Recovery Act became known as the Marshall Plan.

George C. Marshall, also honored as the “Architect of Victory” for his work building the U.S. military both before and during World War II, went on to give an eleven-minute speech at Harvard in front of fifteen thousand which changed the course of history. As predicted by the President, Congress in part because of the great esteem they had for Marshall, appropriated billions for the rebuilding and resurgence of Western Europe. Monies were offered to Eastern European nations but being under the control of the Soviets, they were directed to refuse any monies, as Stalin feared a strong U.S. presence in the captive nations.

The plan was a remarkable success and lead to the West German state, the regrowth of Europe and the economic boom of the United States. In the background, the political realism and concern for actual success stood President Harry Truman. His ego, self-confidence and political savvy was strong enough to ensure the success of a plan that saved Europe. That is a test of a true leader.

I am re-reading Orlando Figes’ (for the third time) excellent The Crimean War and I was struck by the plight of all the soldiers (particularity the British, Russian and Ottoman). The daily trials of poor food, lack of medical facilities, diseases, abuse from officers including whipping enlisted men can make the horrors of actual battle seem less terrible.

In this reading, I have come to realize that alone among armies in the West, the Russian army seems to have consistently been the worse abuser of its own men. From the time of Peter the Great, through the list of Czars, into the First World War, to today, the average Russian soldier has been seen as truly expendable and faceless. With that mindset, we have seen repeatedly the failure of the Russian Empire and today, the ability to field a successful fighting force against a lengthy list of enemies. Yes, the military was effective in WWII, but in face of the brutality of the German opponents and given the total ruthlessness of Stalin and his generals, the average Russian soldier had nothing to lose by throwing himself into the cauldron of war. Throughout history, the Russian soldier has been poorly led, poorly equipped, lacking in logistical support and abused by his own officers. Indeed, such a luxury as a graves unit was virtually unknown. During Czarist times, until WWI, returning soldiers were often not allowed to return to their own villages (to disguise the human losses). When peasants were drafted for the military, their send off was an actual funeral procession while in WWII, when a high Soviet officer was asked about the lack of care for the dead, he is reported to have said that if a man does not return home, it will be assumed he was killed in the war.

The following from Figes’ book captures the pity those soldiers at the time of the Crimean War earned. As Figes writes,

“Nothing would be more fatal than for the government of States to get into the hands of experts. Expert knowledge is limited knowledge: and the unlimited ignorance of the plain man who knows only what hurts is a safer guide, than any vigorous direction of a specialized character. Why should you assume that all except doctors, engineers, etc. are drones or worse?”-Winston Churchill writing to H.G. Wells

There are three groups of people. There are the rich who are never satisfied because their wealth is never enough for them-these citizens are totally useless for the city. Then there are the poor who, because their daily bread is never enough, are dangerous because they are deceived by the tongues of crooked politicians and by their own envy and so they aim the arrows of their hatred towards the rich. And the, between these two, there is a third. This one is between them. It’s there to keep the order, it’s there to keep the city safe.”-Euripides in Suppliants

“As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.”

― fran lebowitz

“You shall not press down upon the brow of labour this crown of thorns; you shall not crucity mankind upon a cross of gold”-William Jennings Bryan, July 9, 1896

Bryan was a Presidential candidate in the 1896 election, and his speech has gone down in history as a rallying cry of the poor man against the big money of the day.  The fight was those like Bryan who believed in “bimetallism” where silver and gold would be the standard for the U.S. dollar as opposed to only gold which was seen as an attempt to keep down the masses.  Bryan went on to lose the election and his case when the way of the dodo bird.
Four years later, Frank Baum wrote and publised the world famous “Wizard of Oz” which became a huge best seller.  Little did Baum realize how popular his book would be and certainly he never envisioned the famous movie.  There are those who believe that his book is an allegory for Bryan’s fight over bimetallism.  There is no documentation for this theory, but let us take a look at some of the players:

“If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion”-Gerorge Bernard Shaw

“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant”-Charles De Gaulle

“A politician is a person with whose politics you don’t agree; if you agree with him, he is a statesman”-David Lloyd George

“The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so that they believe they are as clever as he”-Karl Kraus

“Have you ever seen a candidate talking to a rich person on television?”-Art Buchwald

“I once said cynically of a politician, ‘He’ll double cross tht bridge when he comes to it”-Oscar Levant

“At the same time, National Socialism also maee itself felt on the level of everyday life by rewarding those who employed National Socialist language and ritualistic behavior in the conduct of their daily affairs and by requiring that activities be conducted in such contexts. While true believers had no trouble meeting these requirments, those who were not (and those who were skeptical) were necessarily driven on the path to various degrees of inner corruption by constantly having to behave in the required manner in order to protect and promote their intrests. The more they internalized such behavior, the less it mattered in a practical sense whether they believed what they were saying and doing. Their political correctness required “correct” political behavior.” (Allianz and the German Insurance Business, 1933-45 by Gerald D. Feldman, pp 107) It was the same under Stalin, Mao, etc. and today we see it in the United States. As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

“France is an extremely fertile country: You plant functionaries and taxes grown”. Looks like the US is not alone in this.