Wer war George Catlett Marshall? >>
REDE GEORGE C. MARSHALL
III geboren: 31. 12.
1880 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania
III schloß 1902 das Militärinstitut
von Virginia ab
III hatte von 1902-1903 und von 1913-1916
ein Kommando auf den Philippinen
III kämpfte im Ersten Weltkrieg
in Frankreich
III von 1924-1927 Offizier in Tiensin,
China
III von 1927-1932 Ausbilder an der
Infanterieschule in Fort Benning, Georgia
III Generalstabschef der US-Armee von
1939-1945 (unter Übergehung von 34 rangälteren Generälen
von Präsident Roosevelt ernannt), vergrößerte
in dieser Zeit die US-Armee von 200 000 Mann auf 8,5 Millionen, organisierte
die amerikanische
Kriegführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg, wie zum
Beispiel die Invasion in der Normandie, wurde unter anderem von Winston
Churchill ausgezeichnet
III 1944: Beförderung zum Fünf-Sterne-General
III versuchte 1946 in einer Sondermission
den Konflikt in China zwischen Chiang Kai-shek und den Kommunisten beizulegen
III wurde am 9.1.1947 Aussenminister
der USA (Nachfolger von Byrnes)
III Initiator des nach ihm benannten
Programms zur europäischen Aufbauhilfe (ERP - European Recovery Program
/ Marshallplan),
III erstmals vorgetragen in der berühmten
Rede in der Harvard-Universität am 5.6.1947
III setzte sich für bessere Wirtschaftsbeziehungen
zwischen Südamerika und den USA ein
III in seine Amtszeit als Aussenminister
fiel unter anderem die Berlin-Blockade 1948
III nahm an allen großen Kriegs-
und Nachkriegskonferenzen zwischen 1941 und 1948 teil
III trat 1949 wegen einer Nierenerkrankung
aus dem politischen Dienst vorerst zurück
III nach dem Ausbruch des Koreakrieges
im Juli 1950 übernahm er Mitte September 1950 auf Wunsch von Präsident
Truman das
US-Verteidigungsministerium
III es gelang ihm, schlagkräftige
Truppenverbände für Korea zu mobilisieren
III half bei der Entwicklung der NATO
mit
III trat am 12.9.1951 als Verteidigungsminister
zurück
III bekam 1953 zusammen mit Albert
Schweitzer den Friedensnobelpreis zugesprochen; er ist bis heute der einzige
Berufssoldat, der den Friedensnobelpreis bekam
III lehnte es trotz einiger lukrativer
Angebote bis zu seinem Tode immer ab, seine Memoiren zu schreiben; Begründung:
er wolle
sich nicht an seinem Wirken für die Öffentlichkeit
bereichern und keine lebenden Persönlichkeiten durch seine Sichtweise
der historischen Ereignissen in Verlegenheit bringen
III bekam 1959 den Karlspreis der Stadt
Aachen, "verliehen für hohe Verdienste um den wirtschaftlichen
Wiederaufbau Europas durch den nach ihm benannten
Marshallplan, die Stärkung des Einigungsgedankens und des Willens
zur Selbsterhaltung der westeuropäischen
Völker", wie es in der Verleihungsurkunde hieß. Aufgrund
seiner Krankheit nahm seine Frau die
Auszeichnung entgegen.
III gestorben am 16.10.1959; begraben
auf dem Nationalfriedhof in Arlington bei Washington.
Auszüge aus der Rede des Außenministers der Vereinigten Staaten,
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ÜBERSETZUNG DEUTSCH
George C. Marshall, vom 5. Juni 1947 an der Harvard University:
" I need not tell you, gentlemen, that the world situation is very
serious. That must be apparent to all intelligent people. I think one
difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that
the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make
it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear appraisement
of the situation. Furthermore, the people of this country are distant
from the troubled areas of the earth and it is hard for them to comprehend
the plight and consequent reactions of the long-suffering peoples, and
the effect of those reactions on their governments in connection with
our efforts to promote peace in the world.
In considering the requirements for the rehabilitation of Europe, the
physical loss of life, the visible destruction of cities, factories, mines
and railroads was correctly estimated but it has become obvious during
recent months that this visible destruction was probably less serious
than the dislocation of the entire fabric of European economy.
For the past 10 years conditions have been highly abnormal. The feverish
preparation for war and the more feverish
maintenance of the war effort engulfed all aspects of national economies.
Machinery has fallen into disrepair or is entirely obsolete. Under the
arbitrary and destructive Nazi rule, virtually every possible enterprise
was geared into the German war machine. Long-standing commercial ties,
private institutions, banks, insurance companies, and shipping companies
disappeared, through loss of capital, absorption through nationalization,
or by simple destruction. In many countries, confidence in the local currency
has been severely shaken. The breakdown of the business structure of Europe
during the war was complete. Recovery has been seriously retarded by the
fact that two years after the close of hostilities a peace settlement
with Germany and Austria has not been agreed upon. But even given a more
prompt solution of these difficult problems the rehabilitation of the
economic structure of Europe quite evidently will require a much longer
time and greater effort than had been foreseen.
There is a phase of this matter which is both interesting and serious.
The farmer has always produced the foodstuffs to exchange with the city
dweller for the other necessities of life. This division of labor is the
basis of modern civilization. At the present time it is threatened with
breakdown. The town and city industries are not producing adequate goods
to exchange with the food producing farmer. Raw materials and fuel are
in short supply. Machinery is lacking or worn out. The farmer or the peasant
cannot find the goods for sale which he desires to purchase. So the sale
of his farm produce for money which he cannot use seems to him an unprofitable
transaction. He, therefore, has withdrawn many fields from crop cultivation
and is using them for grazing. He feeds more grain to stock and finds
for himself and his family an ample supply of food, however short he may
be on clothing and the other ordinary gadgets of civilization. Meanwhile
people in the cities are short of food and fuel. So the governments are
forced to use their foreign money and credits to procure these necessities
abroad. This process exhausts funds which are urgently needed for reconstruction.
Thus a very serious situation is rapidly developing which bodes no good
for the world. The modern system of the division of labor upon which the
exchange of products is based is in danger of breaking down.
The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next three
or four years of foreign food and other essential
products - principally from America - are so much greater than her present
ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help or face
economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.
The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence
of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and
of Europe as a whole. The manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide
areas must be able and willing to exchange their products for currencies
the continuing value of which is not open to question.
Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities
of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned,
the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent
to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is
able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world,
without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace.
Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against
hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival
of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political
and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Such assistance,
I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis as various crises develop.
Any assistance that this Government may render in the future should provide
a cure rather than a mere palliative. Any government that is willing to
assist in the task of recovery will find full co-operation I am sure,
on the part of the United States Government. Any government which maneuvers
to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore,
governments, political parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human
misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter
the opposition of the United States.
It is already evident that, before the United States Government can proceed
much further in its efforts to alleviate the situation
and help start the European world on its way to recovery, there must be
some agreement among the countries of Europe as to the requirements of
the situation and the part those countries themselves will take in order
to give proper effect to whatever action might be undertaken by this Government.
It would be neither fitting nor efficacious for this Government to undertake
to draw up unilaterally a program designed to place Europe on its feet
economically. This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I
think, must come from Europe. The role of this country should consist
of friendly aid in the drafting of a European program and of later support
of such a program so far as it may be practical for us to do so. The program
should be a joint one, agreed to by a number, if not all European nations.
An essential part of any successful action on the part of the United States
is an understanding on the part of the people of America of the character
of the problem and the remedies to be applied. Political passion and prejudice
should have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on the part of
our people to face up to the vast responsibility which history has clearly
placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined can and will
be overcome."
