The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy

After hostilities officially ceased, what drove American policy towards Germany in 1944-1949? While Soviet policies came under closer inspection, Western policies have rarely been subjected to critical review. This book deals with the Morgenthau Plan and its impact on American postwar planning. Conventional accounts of Western postwar policies occasionally mention the Morgenthau Plan, describing it as a plan developed in the Treasury Department designed to deindustrialize or "pastoralize" the German nation. These accounts are chiefly characterized by their brevity, at most admitting that "[it] and its temporary and partial adoption ... was an unfortunate but small chapter in American diplomatic history." Conventional accounts state that the Plan was adopted by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill at the Second Quebec Conference in September 1944, and that, when President Roosevelt was informed of its impracticality, he immediately abandoned it and stated that he had initialed the plan "without much thought." Contrary to what is often reported in history books, the Morgenthau Plan had a major impact on post war planning. This book traces the role of Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Roosevelt's Secretary of the Treasury, in the planning for the post war world, with close attention to the discussions leading up to the Second Quebec Conference where Winston Churchill's acceptance of the plan was obtained. It follows the devastating consequences of the policies based on the plan, and their contribution to the post war collapse of the European economy. Damning evidence shows that the Allies intentionally brought starvation and disease to large civilian populations. "This is a startling, important book which I hope will rattle the bones of the comfortable court historians of the USA, such as Stephen Ambrose, who have spent their careers shading and evading the truth that the world and their students deserve, and do not get."--James Bacque, Author of Other Losses and Crimes and Mercies (published by Little, Brown and Co.). John Dietrich holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and is an expert on post war conditions in Europe. Upon retiring from the US Army, he served in the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1985 until 1991.