P2701

Marshall Plan

50th Anniversary

Collins Cover Announcement 

The Marshall Plan

50th Anniversary Issue

Fifty years ago Europe lay shattered from World War Two. Its governments were near bankruptcy. Millions of its people faced starvation. The Cold War with the Soviet Union was just beginning to spread across the continent. At this point, the United States of America embarked on a historic endeavor -The Marshall Plan.

George Catlett Marshall was a man for the times. He was a Five Star General and the only professional soldier to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. He was a Secretary of State and a Presidential Chief of Staff. Winston Churchill called him the "true organizer of victory over the Axis powers in World War IL

The Marshall Plan provided 13.5 billion dollars over four years to seventeen European nations. That was a staggering five percent of America's gross national product. The outlay was enormous, and the rebuilding results were spectacular. It combined American resources and European know-how. It removed the threat of starvation. It saved countries threatened by Communist takeover. It was a tremendous success.

The Collins hand-painted cachet for this issue makes a strong visual impact. Maps are always a collecting favorite on covers, and this one shows a post World War II Europe. A tradesman sets about rebuilding while a gardener tends her crops that will help combat hunger. Also, I've placed familiar European icons on my map of the continent, and an open page of the plan with a quote of a powerful goal that was indeed achieved.

This cachet has a certain historical elegance to it and proved to be an especially good design to enhance with watercolors. It's a winner and I highly recommend it. Europe today is a robust, thriving continent with strong and lasting friendly ties to the United States. Churchill termed it "the most unsordid act in history." Historian Arnold Toynbee called it "the signal achievement of our age." Dean Acheson described it as "one of the greatest and most honorable adventures in history." George simply called it "a near miracle." The Marshall Plan. Item #P2701 - $11.75.