The Research On Henry Morgenthau Jr. And Morgenthau Plan(1944-1945)

The year 1944 was a year of gradual victory for the anti-fascist allies,represented by the United States,in the European theatre,and the development of a program of dispositions for post-war Germany gradually gained importance.In August of the same year,during his mission to Europe,Henry Morgenthau Jr.,who was gradually hardening his stance towards Germany,was deeply convinced that the existing policy ideas and plans within the United States Government were too lenient towards Germany.Thus,after testing the position of British and American dignitaries and judging that some of them agreed to take a hard line against Germany,Morgenthau used Handbook for Military Government Personnel,which is prepared by the German Division of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force,to arouse Franklin D.Roosevelt's disgust and succeeded in prompting Roosevelt to establish a "Cabinet Committee on Germany," including himself,to discuss the American post-war program towards Germany.At the same time,Morgenthau formed a select committee within the Treasury Department to try to write a program to present to Roosevelt that reflected his hardline position.Morgenthau Plan was born out of this.On September 2,Morgenthau Plan was introduced to State and War Department officials in a discussion that amounted to a preparatory meeting of the Cabinet Committee.For the next ten days,the Treasury Department,represented by Morgenthau stood firm in its defense of Morgenthau Plan,the State and War Department,represented by Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Secretary of War Henry-L.Stimson,respectively,maintained their opposition to the Plan,and Morgenthau's lobbying to them was declared a failure.However,Morgenthau enlisted support from the Roosevelt to get the chance to attend the Second Quebec Conference("OCTAGON”)and promote Morgenthau Plan to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.Churchill initially opposed Morgenthau Plan,then compromised with Roosevelt and Morgenthau in concessions to Lend-Lease supplies,co-signing with Roosevelt the Quebec Memorandum.which is an enhanced version of Morgenthau Plan.This fact was undoubtedly an unexpected pleasure for Morgenthau.The signing of the Quebec Memorandum soon became known and widely controversial to Governments and peoples after the closing of the Second Quebec Conference on 15 September.Within the US Government,Hull and Stimson remain opposed to Morgenthau Plan.In American folklore,many opponents saw the Quebec Memorandum as a negative influence of Morgenthau and his Plan on Roosevelt,and in turn attacked them.At the same time,neither Britain nor the Soviet Union--United States'main allies--made public their official positions,Germany began to emphasize the harshness of Morgenthau Plan to galvanize the will for civil-military revolt,and the impact of Morgenthau Plan on the international situation was unknown.Roosevelt,facing pressure at home and abroad,temporarily cooled Morgenthau Plan,was lukewarm toward Morgenthau and appeased Hull and Stimson.Morgenthau used a variety of tactics to deal with domestic opposition but to little effect.On September 29.Roosevelt held a press conference in which he displayed an ambiguous attitude toward Morgenthau Plan that failed to bridge the differences between the parties.Republican presidential candidate Thomas E.Dewey,as Roosevelt's contender in the 1944 U.S.presidential election,wasted no time in attacking Roosevelt with Morgenthau Plan as an entry point.The domestic public opinion environment which Morgenthau Plan faced continued to deteriorate.Britain and the Soviet Union remained unambiguous,while Germany used Morgenthau Plan to successfully strengthen the resistance and disadvantage the Allies in fighting on German soil.Constrained by Roosevelt's directive to remain silent and unable to make his views publicly known,Morgenthau tried to prove that the Treasury Department had not leaked relevant information to the media by investigating the "leaks" and frequently contacted media practitioners to improve the climate for public opinion,as well as by other means.Under the approach as mentioned above,which served as a way to defend Morgenthau Plan while solidifying Roosevelt's campaign,Morgenthau's relatively low-key approach had some effect.On November 7.after defeating Dewey in the presidential election and winning re-election,Roosevelt again expressed interest in Morgenthau Plan,which is still being discussed by U.S.officials and the media.As Britain began to retreat from its support for Morgenthau Plan,the Soviet Union infiltrated through the Free German Committee(NKFD),and the possibility of post-war pro-Soviet Germany emerged,the international situation moved in a direction that was not conducive to Morgenthau Plan.Moreover,Roosevelt abruptly passed away just before Germany's surrender,and incoming President Harry S.Truman,unwilling to be tough on Germany and at odds with Morgenthau,eventually forced him to resign as Secretary of the Treasury.Although Morgenthau's book,Germany Is Our Problem,which was prepared for months to illustrate Morgenthau Plan,was published in October 1945,Morgenthau Plan was no longer seen as an alternative to the programs of dispositions for post-war Germany.The idea of being tough on Germany contained in the Plan was retained and had a long-term impact on the US post-war strategy towards Europe.