Marshall Plan

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What has America and the world been through? Where have we come from? World War II turned the world upside down! It destroyed England as it was known as companies and manufacturing were destroyed. After the victory in defeating Nazi Germany and its evil empire, America came to the rescue of the world and through the Marshall Plan, we helped to rebuild Europe and provide food for those in need. Have we forgotten what happened when socialism and communism were embraced and enforced?

As the European countries were in desperate need of food, Secretary of State George C. Marshall came up with a plan to bring assistance and meet the needs of those that were destroyed by the war. He explained to Congress what America needed to do to help the world recover from the devastation, “Why must the United States carry such a load in helping Europe? The answer is simple; the United States is the only country in the world today which has the economic power and productivity to furnish the needed assistance…to be quite clear this unprecedented endeavor of the New World to help the old is neither sure nor easy, it is a calculated risk. It is a difficult program…but there is no doubt whatever in my mind that if we decide to do this thing, we can do it successfully. And there is also no doubt in my mind that the whole world hangs in the balance as to what it is to be.” President Harry S. Truman signed into law the European Recovery Program, also known as the Marshall Plan on April 3, 1948.

America partnered with countries that were not embracing socialism and communism, and while we were taking care of other countries and feeding them, socialism and communism were persisting through the work of the Soviet Union, officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR. This was a national socialist group trying to take over the world. The USSR split the country of Germany! This created eastern communist Germany and western free Germany. The Berlin Wall was built marking the territory and keeping the people in communist Germany and others out. When you must build walls to keep people in, something isn’t right.

Another point to remember is that whoever controls the money controls the vision so whoever controls your economy controls your nation; socialism is an economic statement saying we want to control the economy. When you control your own money and economy that means you have freedom as we have in America and America only works if we keep God over our country and seek Him!

What is the fruit of socialism? Communism and Marxism. It begins to go this way when the government is embraced as a god. In 1961 the wall was built splitting Germany. Families could not visit each other because they were separated by the wall. If they tried to visit by crossing the wall, they would be shot and killed or caught in the barbwire that surrounded the wall. It is much like the wall between North Korea and South Korea today.

In 1962 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in Germany about the communism oppression, the wall and the evilness of it all. This was right after the Civil Rights Act was passed in America which stopped the oppression of people based on their race. After this President John F. Kennedy spoke at the wall in Germany and declared communism the world’s greatest threat since we know it replaces God in the hearts of its people with the government. In his speech, he said, “America is not perfect, but we do not have to build walls to keep our people from leaving.” Later that year he was assassinated which is why many believe that Russia had something to do with that. In 1968 Dr. King was assassinated and the same year Senator Robert Kennedy brother of President Kennedy was assassinated as well. It was a tragic time as America fought against communism and reminds us that we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood as it is written in the Bible.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at the Berlin Wall. He confronted the Soviet Union and declared to the communist leader “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” What he was saying is to end this captivity of your people if you really want freedom. We look back at this speech. “Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe. Secretary General Gorbachev, if you seek peace–if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe–if you seek liberalization: come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Vice President George H. Bush oversaw the ending of the USSR and the wall being torn down. As the wall was coming down, people were celebrating and crying together even as they climbed over the wall before it was torn down. They worked to demolish the wall with whatever tool they had available. One woman shares how liberating it was to help demolish the wall since it caused her not to be able to see her aunt before she passed away. President Reagan also had a chance to chip away at the wall as it was being torn down. Today a piece of the Berlin Wall is located at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

There is a reason why we say no to communism in America; our fathers died fighting communism! Many people gave their lives for us to be free in America, and God has called us to live free under Him. This program needs to be shared with everyone because in schools this history is no longer being taught and many don’t know the truth of socialism and what it will turn in to! Americans need to stay free! We must keep God over our country and fight for the freedom that we have. What are your thoughts about this? We want to hear from you! Write to us at Friends@VFNKB.com. Greg and John shared in this segment.

Images courtesy of Youtube.com Heritage Foundation; George C. Marshall Foundation; Wikipedia.com