What do you think?
Rate this book
TEAMWORK: Europe's economic recovery 1945-1952
The Marshall Plan and its associated organizations - the Organization for European Cooperation (OEEC) and the US Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) - saved Europe from economic and political collapse between 1948 and 1952. This was one of the quickest, most efficient rescue of an entire continent, orchestrated by an international organization and a US agency.
Two very different teams cooperated in an increasingly successful fashion toward a common goal. Eighteen-nation OEEC delegates progressively moved away from their individual national foci to embrace the long-term interest of Europe.
The ECA members, whose role was to ensure proper use of the Marshall funds, ended up being also skillful coaches for their less experienced OEEC colleagues.
As divided as Europe was in 1945, it had been possible, with the right objectives, the right organizations and carefully chosen men, to get the victors and vanquished to rebuild together their devastated economies quickly and efficiently. No reason this exploit could not be achieved again, even in today's polarized world.
Luc O. Bauer grew up in Paris and lived through the hardship and excitement of this unique period of Europe's history.
His father, Gérard F. Bauer was the first representative of Switzerland at the OEEC.
Besides accessing the OEEC Archives now part of the OECD Library and Archives, L.O. Bauer made extensive use of unpublished diplomatic cables between the Switzerland's OEEC delegation, its Embassy in Paris and its Foreign Affairs Department in Bern and of leading personalities' biographies. To capture the mood of the population, he used digitized issues from Le Figaro and the Glasgow Herald.
Two very different teams cooperated in an increasingly successful fashion toward a common goal. Eighteen-nation OEEC delegates progressively moved away from their individual national foci to embrace the long-term interest of Europe.
The ECA members, whose role was to ensure proper use of the Marshall funds, ended up being also skillful coaches for their less experienced OEEC colleagues.
As divided as Europe was in 1945, it had been possible, with the right objectives, the right organizations and carefully chosen men, to get the victors and vanquished to rebuild together their devastated economies quickly and efficiently. No reason this exploit could not be achieved again, even in today's polarized world.
Luc O. Bauer grew up in Paris and lived through the hardship and excitement of this unique period of Europe's history.
His father, Gérard F. Bauer was the first representative of Switzerland at the OEEC.
Besides accessing the OEEC Archives now part of the OECD Library and Archives, L.O. Bauer made extensive use of unpublished diplomatic cables between the Switzerland's OEEC delegation, its Embassy in Paris and its Foreign Affairs Department in Bern and of leading personalities' biographies. To capture the mood of the population, he used digitized issues from Le Figaro and the Glasgow Herald.
709 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2023
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.