“The major impact of the Marshall Plan was to put European countries under US control.” Discuss.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the statement that the major impact of the Marshall Plan was to put European countries under US control. Candidates may discuss the statement by referring to European dependency on food, raw material, credits and technology from the US. Candidates may also refer to CIA secret missions in European countries financed by the Marshall Plan, with the aim of controlling underground opposition groups and governments not aligned with the US. Candidates may also consider the imposition of new ways to produce and consume and the cultural “Americanization”. These all imply some control by the US as the Marshall plan provided funding. Candidates may challenge the statement by stating that the Plan only gave minimum control to the US regarding the allocation of the credits, and consider the creation of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) that gave Europe power to decide the use of aid. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the statement that the major impact of the Marshall Plan was to put European countries under US control. Few responses were seen to this question. Weaker candidates tended to give fairly generalized accounts with limited links to the question. However, some candidates were able to challenge the question successfully and argue that this was not the major impact of the Marshall Plan.