A new Marshall Plan: Reconstructing Gaza like the Allies helped rebuild Europe - opinion

At the end of the Second World War, Germany agreed to “unconditional surrender.” The Nazi leaders that had brought destruction and death to millions of people were tried for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg. The majority of the accused were found guilty. Many were hanged, others were given long prison terms. German citizens came to realize that they had made an enormous error in supporting Hitler.

What was of crucial importance was the high level of educated German citizens that had survived the war. Germany still had an array of talented and hard-working professionals and craftsmen, as well as experienced bureaucrats that could run the country, provided that financial stability could be restored. The majority of Germans wanted a new beginning. They were eager to return to normality and rebuild their shattered country, as well as their personal well-being.

Stalin wanted to ensure that Germany would remain both impoverished and powerless, and that it would never again have the capacity to attack Russia. The Soviets were demanding $8 billion (equivalent to $60 billion today) in war reparations. The story of how the United States refused to go along with the wishes of Stalin, and instead decided that a productive Germany was the key to a prosperous Europe, is a story worth telling. It also has significant implications for the rebuilding of Gaza. 

In January 1947, president Harry Truman offered the position of secretary of state to George Marshall. He accepted and was duly sworn in as the 50th US secretary of state. Marshall was shocked to discover that within the State Department there was no planning section. He contacted George Kennan to head a new section called the Policy Planning Staff (PPS) in the State Department. Kennan was a diplomat and historian stationed at the time in China. In 1946, he sent an 8,000-word telegram to Washington. It became known as the “long telegram.” In it, he outlined his views on the post-Second World War situation. He concluded that he did not see the possibility for long-term peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union. His analysis of the situation would greatly influence US foreign policy for decades. Marshall and Kennan would become a formidable team that was supported by president Truman. They would need the approval of both the Senate and Congress to carry out what they intended to do. The challenge facing them as monumental.

Within a month, Great Britain informed the US that they were in a dire financial situation and could no longer offer financial aid and military equipment to Greece and Turkey. Without this, it was thought that both countries could easily fall to the communists. On March 12, Truman addressed a joint session of Congress. Truman proposed that American aid was essential for economic stability in the world. For the first time in history, he advocated that the victor in a war needed to restore the defeated parties for peace and prosperity to prevail. He concluded by saying that America must support free people everywhere. The New York Times reported that Truman had called for action way beyond anything that president Franklin D. Roosevelt had contemplated. The speech became known as “the Truman doctrine.” The irony was that Stalin never contemplated trying to turn either Greece or Turkey into communist countries.

In March, Marshall led a high-level delegation to Paris, Berlin, and then to Moscow. They were shocked at the level of destruction, food shortages, and suffering that they saw. Piles of rubble were ubiquitous. In Moscow, they had meetings with Vyacheslav Molotov, Stalin’s closest adviser, and with Stalin. It soon became apparent that the Soviets were determined to never allow Germany to rebuild and were demanding massive reparations for their losses. The Americans had an entirely different viewpoint. America wanted a unified Germany to become fully productive in order to bring prosperity to Europe. They believed that a prosperous Europe could only be achieved if Germany played a central role in this. Europe was also an important market for US exports. After 43 meetings over five weeks, the US negotiating team returned empty-handed. The Moscow conference was the manifestation of the Iron Curtain that Churchill had spoken about. Marshall reported to Truman about the failure of the talks. They both agreed that urgent action had to be taken in order to save Europe. 

The PPS was instructed to prepare a plan to revitalize the world’s economy. They were told to avoid trivia and to take into account that US resources were not unlimited. They were given two weeks to report back. In the end, the report was finished in three weeks. A herculean project if ever there was one. 

One of the most contentious issues was whether to include the Soviets in the aid proposal. The Soviets were an ally during the war, in which over 27 million of their soldiers and civilians had been killed. How could America offer aid to their former enemies without offering aid to their former ally? Kennan argued that Stalin would never accept an aid package that required Western inspection, as this would raise the suspicion that the West was spying on the Soviets. Marshall accepted Kennan’s advice and decided to include the offer of aid to the Soviets in the hope that they would refuse the offer. A copy of the speech that Marshal intended to give was sent to Truman. Truman called a meeting with Arthur Vandenberg, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and members of the Senate. After the briefing on the contents of Marshall’s proposed speech, Vandenberg informed Truman that he and several senators were against giving out huge amounts of foreign assistance. Despite the warning, Truman decided to authorize Marshall to make the speech as planned. If the Soviets agreed to accept the offer of financial aid, the entire program would face insurmountable opposition in the Senate. Marshall delivered the speech at Harvard University. The press understood that nothing could be done without the approval of Congress and the Senate, and the speech was only mentioned briefly in press reports. A new approach was needed. 

Vandenberg came up with an answer to his own objections. He said he would support a plan, provided that two conditions were met. Firstly, the plan needed to be approved by a high-level bipartisan advisory council that would assess the ability of the US to meet Europe’s needs. Secondly, all the countries that were to receive aid had to agree to one plan. He wanted to avoid each country making large separate claims. Truman agreed. 

Ernest Bevan, the British foreign minister, listened to the speech of Marshall at home on his radio. He immediately understood the significance of what he had heard. America was offering to save Britain and Europe from financial catastrophe. He called for an emergency meeting with the foreign ministers of France and Russia. The meeting was held in Paris. After five days of meetings, Molotov, the Russian representative, concluded that both England and France would never agree to Germany’s paying war reparations. Molotov walked out and reported back to Stalin. Stalin announced that Russia and its satellite states were all withdrawing from what was now referred to as the Marshall Plan. Marshall got exactly what he was hoping for. The Soviets had scored an own goal. The Marshall Plan soon gained the support of the Senate and the House. In the end, about $88 billion in today’s money was given to 16 European countries over four years. America was the indisputable superpower whose generosity and foresight saved the world and ushered in decades of prosperity.

Gaza and post-war Europe

In Gaza, the physical destruction is similar to that in Europe at the end of the war. Nothing else is remotely similar to the situation in Germany after the war. Hamas has not surrendered unconditionally. It is doubtful that any of the Hamas leaders will ever be tried for the crimes that they have committed. The people in Gaza are mostly unskilled workers with little education. Thousands of Hamas terrorists are still alive. They are either hiding in the maze of underground tunnels that they have built or they have hidden their weapons and joined the so-called innocent civilians above ground. Hamas does not feel defeated. Hamas has achieved hero status by its attack on October 7 and has every intention of ruling Gaza in the future. Hamas has plenty of food in hidden warehouses. The food has all been stolen from aid agencies. The people of Gaza have not turned against Hamas. They are full of hatred for Israel and are not seeking to live peacefully with Israel. The Israeli assumption that if the Palestinians have a more prosperous life, they will want to live in peace with Israel has proven to be totally misguided.

Parties not involved in the conflict are calling for an immediate ceasefire. A ceasefire in Islam is a period in which you build up your forces until they are strong enough to win the next round of the war. It is not a permanent peace. Despite all the evidence of crimes against humanity proudly filmed by the Hamas terrorists themselves on October 7, the world has fallen for the Palestinian narrative of victimhood. Thousands deny that the crimes even took place. Hamas has actually increased its support for its genocidal policies that explicitly call for jihad and the destruction of Israel.

The UN, the EU, the two international courts in The Hague, the liberal press, and social media have combined to condemn Israel for defending itself by means that they consider to be a contravention of international law. South Africa has brought a false charge that Israel is committing genocide to the International Court of Justice. The world is fixated on condemning Israel and supporting Hamas. They are demanding to know what Israel’s plans are for “the day after.” What they want is a Marshall style plan that will rebuild Gaza so that Hamas can remain in power and continue to attack Israel in the future. The fate of the hostages is being largely ignored. 

When a pyromaniac is actively setting fires to the neighborhood, there are two courses of action that can be followed. You can increase the number of fire trucks, or you can try to stop the pyromaniac. When the pyromaniac is a country, you need to adopt the second approach. The Marshall Plan was only implemented in Europe after the Nazi party was no longer in power. The same principle needs to be applied to Gaza. All the hostages need to be released. If the people in Gaza want to end their suffering, they need to reject Hamas and the pyromaniacal aims of Iran. If they do this, and demonstrate a genuine desire to live in peace with Israel, then and only then should a Marshall style plan for Gaza be undertaken. It will be a time to build above ground and to end the dead-end tunnels of Hamas. The original Marshall Plan ushered in decades of peace and prosperity. Under the right circumstances, another Marshall-style plan could do the same for Gaza. ■

The writer, who was born in South Africa and made aliyah in 1982, is a retired accountant who lives in Ra’anana with his Israeli-born wife.