Oh, not the general this case - to fight for peace throughout the world. The generals receive their ranks and titles for success in a military field. Nevertheless, General of the US Army General George Marshall (1880-1959) became the New Year of Nobel Prize of the 1953 World, the first and only professional military, awarded such a unique award.
But first things first. Young George Marshall did not want to help his father in a prosperous family business - coal trading - and entered the Virgin Military Institute. After that, training in the infantry and cavalry school and in the Army Staff College.
Participation in the Philippine Campaign and in the First World War, three years of service as an adjutant with the legendary general of Pershing, a few more years of difficult service in China, and at the age of 45, he goes to the teaching job, rightly believing that the active part of his career was completed. 12 years of work in the Army Infantry School in Fort Benning (Georgia) strengthened his reputation as a reputable professional, as well as a person of strong will and self-control.
No wonder they say that you first work for a reputation, and then the reputation begins to work for you. In 1936, Marshall assign the title of a brigade general and send to Washington. Here he leads the operational planning department of the Military Ministry.
On the Day of the Second World War, September 1, 1939, General Marshall became the head of the General Staff, and soon US President F. D. Roosevelt makes him his adviser on strategy and tactics. Marshall accompanies the president at all trips, participates in the work of all international conferences, including Tehran and Yalta.
The Marshall Army General has a wide range of activities: he coordinates the supply of weapons and food to the fighting Russia, together with the British, leads military actions in North Africa and Sicily, plans to landfill troops in Normandy. Oversion "Overlord" (1944) is the largest landing operation in history, more than 3 million people took part in it, she marked the opening of the second front in Europe.
In 1947, Marshall receives an invitation from the 33rd US President of the city of Truman to take the post of state secretary, which corresponds to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Truman hopes that the huge experience of the hero of the two world wars and its excellent reputation will contribute to the restoration of international relations.
Marshall decides to accept the proposal, hoping that, being at such a high position, will be able to change the mindset of compatriots. The fact is that his post-war euphoria reigning in society is very concerned and the desire to isolate from suffering from destroyed Europe. It really reminds him of a situation of 20 years ago, when Nazism managed to come to power.
The situation in empty Europe is truly threatening: 55 million dead and about 100 million people with disabilities, destroyed economy, unemployment, chaos, despair, threat of hungry riots and 500 million cubic meters of urban ruins, which, according to settlements, can be disassembled only by 1978.
How to support Europe? Many ideas spoke on this matter, but only Marshall managed to collect a group of talented economists and develop a detailed plan for economic assistance in a record time (European Recovery Program). Now the most important thing was to convince Europeans, and above all the Americans, in the need to embody this plan to life.
The promulgation of the Marshall Plan was preparing like a real military operation. To prevent information leakage, all the work was carried out in the situation of strict secrecy, this did not know the State Department, or even the president himself. Marshall and his team, of course, perfectly understood that such "partisan" actions could cost them all their careers. But, according to the Japanese, the brave general does not have cowardly soldiers.
May 5, 1947, Harvard. On this day, Marshall was awarded the honorary doctoral degree. However, instead of a thanksgiving speech, all his 10-minute speeches was devoted to the presentation of the essence of the post-war recovery plan. Europe proposed financial assistance, and the governments of recipient countries should have planned its size and ways to restore and modernize their economy.
The speech of Marshall made a colossal effect, overnight, he became a political star in the skyscles of both hemispheres. President Truman announced that the Marshall Plan is the second half of the nut to his "doctrine of the coercion of communism", and he all the soul "for". Congress was afraid that the massive outflow of capital would damage the US economy.
However, Marshall plan was far from charity. 17 billion dollars have highlighted Europe free, but spent mainly in the United States for the purchase of various equipment and services. Thus, new jobs were created, the economy was heard.
At the conference in Paris (July 1947), where concrete volumes of the help of each of the 16 member countries of the Committee of the European Economic Cooperation were discussed, the Soviet delegation left the meeting room. "This is an absolutely unsatisfactory plan of American imperialism," V. Molotov said. Naturally, because the only condition for obtaining assistance in restoring the economy was the removal of communists from the government.
"Marshall Plan" is considered the most successful project for economic assistance. Thanks to this rescue circle, the European industry has been fully restored and already in 1951 exceeded 40% of the pre-war levels. At the same time the basis of the future European Union was laid.
The Nobel Prize of the World is awarded since 1901, for 16 different years she has not been assigned for the lack of worthy applicants. And only once was not awarded for real actions, not for the specific struggle for the work of the world, but for intentions and promises. The Nobel laureate of 2009 became Mr. Barack Obama.
Author - Julia Indicator
Source - Springzhizni.ru.