Like Most of Western Europe

Like most of Western Europe in the post-World War II years, Greece faced many challenges. Greece's problems were a direct result of the war and occupation by the Axis Powers and a direct result of internal conflicts between various factions vying for power within the nation. Between World War II and a brutal Civil War, Greece's infrastructure, people, and economy were nearly devastated by the late 1940s. The United States' famous European Recovery Program, more commonly known as the Marshall Plan, combined with the Truman Doctrine helped rebuild the shambles that was the Greek government and nation following the stresses of excessive and violent internal and external conflict. The need for outside assistance was obvious to the western world in the years following World War II. Greece had suffered greatly as a result of occupation by German and Italian forces. Greece was also caught in the crossfire of determining where their future lay in terms of following the Soviet Union into communism or becoming a member of the alliance of the United States and Western Europe. This crisis created a vicious civil war that raged from 1946-1949. The United States had a definite interest in supporting Greece as the Cold War era began. Any nation that sided with the West against the Soviet Union was a positive. Additionally, Greece was strategically located. The economic recovery of European nations, which was desperately needed in Greece, also had a direct impact on the U.S. economy. The combination of these factors plus a sense of humanitarianism spurred the U.S. to develop and instigate the aid program known as the Marshall Plan.[1] It is impossible to discuss the Marshall Plan in Greece without first gaining an understanding of the situation that warranted international intervention. The situation began prior to World War II when Greece became a conservative dictatorship under General Ioannis Metaxas in 1936. King George II who had been living in exile for 12 years in England initially appointed Metaxas as leader. The period was generally marked by unrest due to labor issues and poor economic conditions. Metaxas used this unrest to his advantage and was able to suspend important parts of the constitution in the summer of 1936.[2] Metaxas' regime known as the "Regime of the Fourth of August 1936" was not viewed positively by most and has been labeled "an authoritarian, backward-looking and paternalistic dictatorship, overlaid with a patina of quasi-fascist rhetoric and style"[3]. It was a fascist regime but lacked the power of other such regimes that were gaining power in Europe at the time. Metaxas' regime was aware of the growing problems in Europe and attempted to align themselves with Great Britain who had been a supporter for many years. Without offering a formal treaty of alliance, Britain and France offered to help protect Greece's territory from invasion as long as Greece would also resist any external aggression. Since Italy had just entered and now occupied Greece's neighbor, Albania, Greece gratefully took the offer from Britain and France in 1939 believing that Greece would be safe.[4] Although it was Metaxas' hope not to get involved in the war, it was soon obvious that he would have no choice. Mussolini of Italy, who was anxious to showoff to its ally, Germany, decided that Greece would be an easy target. On October 28, 1940, Italy demanded that Greece surrender to them. Greece immediately refused and found themselves under attack by Italy shortly thereafter. The powerful Germany saw a complete occupation of Greece as a necessity in the war. Consequently, Germany brought in extra troops and a bloody battle began in the spring of 1941. Greek soldiers and citizens fought valiantly against the well supplied and highly aggressive enemy, but, in the end, Greece was unable to stop them and was occupied by a joint force from Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria.[5] Greece was divided into three regions based on the occupying forces. Greece did maintain a type of government based in Athens under General Tsolakoglou. However, this government was not very effective against its occupiers and mostly existed as a sort of figurehead. As a result of the occupation and the weaknesses of Tsolakoglou's government, food was not distributed well and many starved during the first winter of occupation.[6] The situation did not improve for many years to come as the country continued to be occupied. As happened in other occupied nations, such as France, small pockets of resistance did exist. At first these were small groups of ex-military troops, but they were not able to put a substantial dent in their occupiers. Other, more powerful resistance groups began to emerge that would set the stage for the civil war to follow World War II. An uban group, known as EA or National Solidarity in Greek, was able to find and distribute food along with controlling the black market. The EA was tied to the EAM or National Liberation Front which was more directly involved in actual military resistance. Behind both of these groups was the KKE or Greek Communist Party. The communist party continued to dominate the resistance movement with the creation of the ELAS or Greek People's Liberation Army. In order to advance its own agenda, the KKE actually fought and eliminated other resistance groups so that they would be the most powerful force to emerge from the chaos of the occupation in Greece.[7] This was a risky move, but they could not tolerate competition. The EAM and ELAS were effective forms of resistance so Greece's ally, Britain, felt compelled to support these communist led groups. However, the British also wanted to see the monarch of Greece restored and created the EDES or National Republican Greek League with that aim in mind. The EDES did not have the power of the EAM and ELAS and was soon driven from power despite the British support.[8] Consequently, in the fall of 1944 when Germany withdrew from Greece, the EAM/ELAS was able to grab power, but not securely. Britain remained involved in the conflict with military advisors and troops available to Greece. Furthermore, unknown to Greek authorities at the time, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had already negotiated with Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union to keep Greece within the British sphere of influence in exchange for Soviet influence in the Eastern European countries of Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland.[9] Greece was unaware of this negotiation, and, consequently, many were genuinely concerned about the possible support of Stalin and the Soviet Union for the communist group in Greece. As a result of the occupation and intense political instability, Greece's condition at the close of World War II was nothing short of appalling. In an interview in 1996, James Warren, a member of the American contingent who went to Greece as part of the Marshall Plan at the age of 23, summarized the condition of Greece following the joint occupation: "Greece, of course, emerged from the war in a terrible state. Probably 2,000 of the nation's villages had been razed in... and burnt to the ground by the reprisal raids of the Nazis. There was not a harbour in Greece that was usable. There was hardly any road that could distribute supplies to starving people, ...the railroad was a total wreck; the Corinth Canal, of course, was filled with railroad cars dumped there by the Nazis. The industrial structure of the country was in fair shape, but the basic sinews of the economy were wrecked. A million goats killed, a million sheep killed, most livestock destroyed. Hardly a bridge left standing anywhere in the country. That was the result, if you will, of World War II."[10] Years of occupation, resistance, and retaliation had huge repercussions for Greece. Unfortunately, the pain and suffering was not concluded. A terrible civil war was yet to be fought on the same soil by the various factions who wished to ultimately control Greece. In what has been called "Europe's bloodiest conflict between 1945 and the breakup of Yugoslavia" Greece went to war with itself from 1946-1949.[11] Right after the end of World War II, Britain was able to focus its attention on Greece and supply enough support to restore a British and monarch friendly dictatorship.[12] A wave of retributions occurred against the communist associated forces and leaders causing purges and executions on a large scale.[13] As a result of the purges and killings, a guerilla movement began to grow and rapidly gained strength. Soon it consisted of "17,000 fighters, 50,000 active supporters, and perhaps 250,000 sympathizers, in a country of 7 million."[14] This rebellion was becoming too much for the British to manage. Consequently, United States President Harry S. Truman spoke to the U.S. Congress on March 12, 1947. Truman laid out a plan called the Truman Doctrine that would support the governments of Greece and Turkey. The United States' intention was to prevent the spread of communism into this area for several reasons. In the speech, Truman insisted that without the foreign aid that Great Britain was no longer financially able to supply Greece would certainly fall to the pressure of the Soviet Union and become Communist.[15] The United States saw that this must be prevented at all costs due to Greece's connection to the economies of Western European and United States. Furthermore, with Greece's strategic position in the Mediterranean region and proximity to the Middle East, it and Turkey could be vital allies in the future of global politics.[16] Greece, Turkey, and Iran were part of the so-called Northern Tier which was a buffer zone designed to stop the USSR from getting to the Middle Eastern oil reserves and the Persian Gulf. Some have suggested that these nations were used as pawns in a much larger political game. Since those nations needed assistance, they were given it, but with certain expectations about their future allegiances. This was certainly what Truman with his famous doctrine was expected to have happen in this region of the world.[17] The aid package that Truman proposed and that was approved on May 22, 1947, by the U.S. Congress was valued at $400 million. Some sources state that Greece was to receive $350 million and Turkey the remaining $50 million.[18] However, others suggest that the split was somewhat more even with Greece receiving $300 million overall. The distribution of the money as Truman intended it was to give Greece and equal amount in relief and military supplies with $150 million going to each. Turkey was to receive $100 million in arms and military advice.[19] The ability and willingness of the United States to give this kind and amount of aid coupled with the strategic purpose behind the package solidly put the United States in the position of world superpower. Truman saw the necessity of winning Greece from communism and the fact that he put so much on the line to do it shows his and the U.S.'s willingness to act and take a world power position. The isolationist policies of the past would no longer work in the growing environment of the Cold War and the concern about spheres of influence in Europe.[20] Truman's timing could not have been better as the situation for the Greek government was bleak in the spring of 1947. The Greek National Army (GNA) began advancing on toward areas where the communist guerillas were known to operate in April of that year. The drive through central Greece heading north by the GNA was expected to be successful. It was assumed that the guerillas would give in; they were even offered amnesty if they surrendered. However, the army bogged down and became the victim of ambushes and guerilla attacks. Frequently, the GNA could not tell who was the enemy and who was not in the villages plus villagers often secretly worked for the guerillas making life even more difficult for the legitimate army and reducing the moral of the soldiers. The civil war mostly affected the countryside and villages many of which were isolated with the cities relatively safely held by the Greek government. Despite this, the economy of the nation came to a stop as it was largely agricultural.[21] The communist backed guerillas were able to work in the mountainous areas in small groups of 70-100 men and cripple the central government by cutting off access to supplies and roads. The guerilla forces were receiving assistance from outside sources from Yugoslavia, Albania, and Bulgaria all of which would have been pro-Soviet, communist countries at the time. These countries were helping to train and supply the guerillas in Greece.[22] It was clearly not a fair fight. The Truman Doctrine served to sway the fight to the side of the legitimate government. The Greek government was beginning to get more general support due to the death of King George II. His brother, Paul I, came to the throne and was a more active and political person than his brother. Paul was also more well liked in his country and more respected as a political player by the United States.[23] The first wave of American military advisors arrived in Greece on May 24, 1947. They were known as the United States Army Group Greece (USAGG).

"USAGG immediately began studying the equipment needs of the Greek army, air force, and gendarmerie. By mid July USAGG had cut Greek General Staff requirements from forty million dollars to sixteen million dollars, established an integrated relationship with the British and Greeks, and made recommendations for supplies and operations."[24] The USAGG was able to gain administrative control relatively quickly and easily. However, a new concern was mounting. The British wanted to pull their remaining 5000 troops from Greece as they were needed at home for re-construction. Truman and his administration were reluctant to commit U.S. troops in a foreign situation such as this. Additionally, the U.S. military had shrunk considerably in size following the end of World War II. Truman would have to pull soldiers from other assignments to send to Greece. Pouring U.S. soldiers into Greece may also appear like an act of war against the Soviet Union which would further complicate the political atmosphere. In the end Truman decided against sending in U.S. soldiers and imposed two other measures that would help the GNA be successful against the guerillas. These were increasing the size of the GNA and putting U.S. Army officers with Greek units to assist them in their decisions.[25] With this new plan in mind, the U.S. began moving in 74,000 tons of military equipment in the second half of 1947. These supplies included things like artillery, dive bombers, and napalm. Furthermore, 250 officers took up advisory positions with the Greek army.[26] The leader of the U.S. intervention, General James Van Fleet "started a policy-standard in dealing with popular insurrections of forcibly removing thousands of Greeks from their homes in the countryside, to try to isolate the guerrillas, to remove the source of their support."[27] In all, the U.S. forces took a tougher line than had the British advisors and troops in the years they had been there. Van Fleet was aggressive in both military and domestic operations.[28] This moved the Greek government in the direction of victory over the communist backed rebels, but it did little to improve the conditions in the nation as a whole. The following year, 1948, was to be the strongest year for the guerillas. Their forces grew to over 20,000 plus a number of informants. Under the direction of Van Fleet, however, the Greek National Army was systematically moving throughout the country and beginning the process of regaining control through a series of offensive maneuvers. The final blow to the communist came in a political not military way. In June of 1949, Stalin's Soviet government ceased to acknowledge Tito of Yugoslavia. Since Yugoslavia had been assisting the communists in Greece, this became a complicated situation. In the end, the Greek communists chose to side with Stalin. Consequently, Tito cut off their training camps and supplies. The Greek National Army took advantage of the weakened state of the rebels and launched a major attack in northern Greece in August of 1949. The rebels could not keep it together without outside assistance and a cease-fire was soon called. This cease fire marked the end of the civil war in Greece.[29] As all of that was occurring, the post-war conditions in Greece continued to decline. With the backdrop of the civil war in Greece, the U.S. was recognizing the need for other forms of intervention in Greece and in all of Western Europe in the post-war period. To help relieve the economic and social conditions of the time, a plan was being formulated. On July 12, 1947 at a meeting of the European states, a plan for recovery was being developed. The plan known as the European Recovery Plan or the Marshall Plan was first introduced by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall at a graduation address at Harvard University in June of 1947. Marshall was one of the most respected leaders of his day. He was a "former wartime chief of staff, the first career soldier to become secretary of state. Marshall was a man of enormous personal integrity whose selfless devotion to duty and hard-boiled honesty made him one of the most respected global leaders of the day."[30] Marshall's role in World War II and his involvement in current affairs including the civil war in Greece made him the perfect person to reveal and instigate this plan. The plan was a massive investment by the U.S. government in economic recovery in both Western Europe and the forming Easter Block states. The plan would actually be so expensive to America that Truman's administration was reluctant to reveal the plan to the U.S. public and did not invite the American press to the commencement speech at Harvard. The British press had been tipped off to the text of the speech and soon the word spread throughout the world.[31] The program would equal between 5 and 10 percent of the U.S. federal budget or 2 percent of the U.S. gross national product for the four years of the program.[32] Even though the program would by crushingly expensive to the people of the United States, equaling about $13 billion (that would be roughly $130 billion by today's standards), the need was obvious.[33] Across Europe the conditions were nearly the same: "Food shortages and inflation discouraged maximum efforts by a demoralized work force; shortages of coal, steel, and other basic resources further restrained production; and the severe winter of 1946- 47, the worst in modern memory, nearly wiped out earlier economic gains. In 1947, Western Europe's agricultural production averaged only 83 percent of its prewar volume, industrial production only 88 percent, and exports a bare 59 percent. Translated into human terms, these figures added up to widespread fatigue and a pervasive sense of pessimism about the future."[34] Europe was not able to fix these problems themselves due to a lack of money. Gold and dollar reserves were dwindling. Consequently, the nations were unable to purchase needed equipment and supplies.[35] Businesses did not have the capital to invest and, therefore, could not advance. The U.S., France, and Great Britain agreed that the Soviet Union and countries within its sphere would be given the opportunity to benefit from the Marshall Plan. The offer was made, but, to no one's surprise, the Soviets refused the plan because they did not wish to have their financial situation evaluated which was considered a necessary part of the plan. Furthermore, the Soviets stopped their sphere of influence countries from accepting the plan for fear that those countries would become part of the Western European economy and the U.S. sphere of influence. Stalin and other leaders could not accept these conditions stipulated by the Marshall Plan and feared the consequences. The U.S.'s generous offer was refused eliminating these nations from any foreign assistance which led to their isolation and dependence on the Soviet Union.[36] Between the Truman Doctrine and Greece's acceptance of the Marshall Plan, it was clear that Greece had no intentions of becoming part of the Soviet sphere of influence. Greece certainly needed post-war recovery but, Greece's situation was made even bleaker by the civil war. Greece had all of the problems of the other nations involved plus about 10 percent of the population or 700,000 villagers were homeless due to the civil war. Many villages were deserted or destroyed. The people were in refugee camps and would have to be resettled. The situation was complicated. James Warren said, "the tasks of reconstruction were complicated by the civil war, delayed by the civil war, and added to by the civil war."[37] Much had to occur in the late 1940 and early 1950s to bring Greece to a better place in terms of economy and standard of living. To this end, Greece received a total of $366 million between 1948 and 1951. The majority of that money was given in the earlier fiscal years with $175 million in 1948/49 and $156 million in 1949/50. Greece's final payment was $45 million in 1950/51.[38] This seems like a significant amount of money. However, when compared with the amounts given to other European countries, it pales in comparison. For instance, France was granted a whopping $2,296 million in the same period and the United Kingdom received a staggering $3,297 million. Those countries suffered greatly from occupation or bombings and probably had stronger economies prior to the war. Greece's Marshall Plan amount was about equal with the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.[39] The Marshall Plan as it existed in Greece was called the American Mission of Aid to Greece (AMAG). It is estimated that the AMAG combined with the Truman Doctrine accounted for 75 percent of the foreign exchange requirement for Greece. This made these programs incredibly substantial to the recovery and growth of Greece's economy. James Warren made the following comment during an interview about his experience in Greece: "I think there was not a doubt in our minds that without the American aid, Greece would have gone down the tube. It was a situation which was right on the edge. The government in Athens appealed for aid to America, but the truth is that at that time the government was hardly even able to conduct its own affairs. It was a tragic situation, in which... one would have to say that the government was paralysed by its own web of fears, and almost like a chicken hypnotised in front of a snake. It was also a government which was... incompetent and corrupt, and so brutalising of its own citizens that it drove its people into the arms of the Communist guerrillas in the hills. So when America went in there, it went in with a rescue plan which was military, which was economic and which was social."[40] This sums up the situation when the United States began providing aid to Greece. The conditions that needed to be overcome in order for Greece to be a successful nation were enormous. The level of assistance required by Greece was not only obvious to the Americans, but to the Greeks themselves. In an interview with Anthony Bernaris who was the Secretary-General to the Ministry of National Economy in Greece in 1947, he recognized the problems that Greece faced due to the weaknesses of their economy. He was also careful to say how much Greece appreciated and needed the U.S. assistance in this recovery. Despite his positive attitude, the U.S. took a heavy handed position upon first bringing the AMAG into Greece. Many unpopular decisions were made and it was not all sunshine and roses. The unpopular decisions were a necessity in order to establish the U.S. position and motivate the Greeks and their economy in a positive direction. Paul Porter, leader of the American Economic Mission recognized the problems as "severe budgetary deficits, drastic inflation, the flight of capital overseas and the inability of the right-wing government to administer effectively the extensive reforms needed."[41] Porter also noted the disparity between the wealthy class and the staving children so prevalent throughout the nation; Porter expressed concerns about the funds landing in the appropriate places where they would be the most helpful. Porter feared that the $700 million in foreign aid that had come into Greece up to 1947 had been ill-used and Greece was merely subsisting and not growing.[42] To Porter and other U.S. experts and advisors the answer was simple. The U.S. authorities would have to assume control over the economy in a significant way. In 1947, it was agreed that the Greek government could not make any important decisions without U.S. approval. When the Greek Prime Minister Sophoulis announced a new economic plan on the radio, it was one that the AMAG had prepared for him.[43] Dealing with inflation was one of the first tasks for the AMAG. It was necessary to control inflation so that the Greek money would have some value which would make it possible for businesses to raise capital for reinvestment. The AMAG approached controlling inflation through an attempt to stabilize wages and prices. This turned out to be challenging for several reasons. One the labor unions threatened to strike about controls on wage increases. As a matter of fact, extremist measures were taken; it became illegal to strike with the punishment death to those who did.[44] Another problem was simply the issue of stabilizing commodity prices. In March of 1948, commodity prices were 306 times the pre-war levels.[45] Later, in the same year, the prices started to drop, but then the AMAG had to deal with the problem of the devaluation of the drachma. The AMAG was trying to promote a very conservative approach to the economy. One way of controlling inflation and re-gaining control over the economy was to devalue the drachma, increase the cigarette tax, and eliminate the wheat subsidy.[46] All of these actions were a hardship for the people, but deemed necessary to bring the economy under control. Part of the economic problems was caused by the unevenness of the federal budget in Greece. The majority went to the military which is not surprising. As a result of the wars, Greece also had hundreds of thousands refugees to take care of and more being created everyday until the civil war ended. Although the government tried to limit the money spent on this to 15 cents a person or 50 cents a day for a family of four, it was still financially taxing. There were also too many government employees or public workers in Greece according to the American experts who cut 15,000 of 80,000 workers very quickly without improving the efficiency of the remaining workers. The expenses and the difficulty of balancing a budget were enormous.[47] In order to finance what was needed, balance the budget, and get Greece's economy up and running again, the U.S. experts turned to a staple of the U.S. economy - taxes. Porter and others from the U.S. wanted an income tax instituted, but the wealthy Greeks had too much pull in the government and were able to fight that. Consequently, the increase in tax dollars came from indirect taxation such as sales tax where the poor actually carry much of the burden.[48] Through a variety of efforts, the Greek economy began a tentative stabilization in late 1948 which opened up the opportunity to start improving the lives of the people and rebuilding the infrastructure of the nation. This had been the Marshall Plan's primary function in Greece, but the stabilization of the economy and cessation of the civil war had to come first or the U.S. money and efforts would have been largely wasted. The true intention of the Marshall Plan was to improve the economy and infrastructure of needy nations so that they could be independent again. For Greece in the first years of the plan, much of the money had to be spent on the military. The intention was to spend 50 percent on the military, 48.5 percent on the economy, and 1.5 percent on administration of the plan.[49] In reality, 57.7 percent was spent on the military and 41 percent on economic aid. Additionally, part of the economic portion went to projects that assisted the military.[50] The humanitarian aspect of the plan is how the idea had been sold to the U.S. public. In Greece, the humanitarian or economic efforts were important. One of the primary functions was to improve health care for all the citizens especially those who were war refugees or victims of occupation and war. With that in mind, hospitals and health centers were built, medical supplies shipped in, and the battle with malaria won.[51] The care of the people went behind that as well. Schools were built for children. Furthermore, schools were designed to teach juveniles and adults about better farming practices including the use of pesticides, modern farm equipment, and modern farming techniques. Since Greece was traditionally an agricultural economy despite its rocky and mountainous terrain, it was thought that improving agriculture in the nation would allow the citizens to become financially independent.[52] This was also part of re-establishing the people who had been removed from their land due to the civil war and occupation. Much of the nation's livestock had been killed as well. As part of the plan, livestock was brought in and the village and rural economies began to be re-established.[53] The Marshall plan fed the population with imported food, but part of the plan also required that the nation be self-sufficient once again and not need to rely on outside food sources. These changes and improvements were part of the Agricultural Division or Office of the Marshall Plan. An interesting side note to the changes in agriculture was the introduction of the Missouri Mule to Greece. These mules, which are exceptionally large, were brought to Greece to carry military equipment in the mountainous regions. The animals were supposed to carry howitzers, supplies, and ammunition. However, the Greek Army and U.S. advisors soon realized that these mules were too big for the mountainous trails. So, they took the Missouri Mules into the villages and traded them for regular, smaller mules inadvertently giving the villagers an animal that could do a tremendous amount of work due to its size.[54] The task of rebuilding the nation's infrastructure was much more complex and expensive. It also ranged from enormous to small projects. One symbolic project was the re-opening of the famous Orient Express which connected Greece to Western Europe.[55] The Transportation Office was in charge of this area of rebuilding. The re-establishment of the railroad system, in general, was important to the nation's economy. Many of the needed bridges and rail lines had been destroyed by the occupation forces in order to cripple any Greek resistance. As part of the railroads, stations, warehouse depots, and telecommunication had to be repaired. An improvement in the railroads allowed products to move around in the country, but the products needed to leave Greece as well. The Transportation Office was also responsible for re-opening the Corinth Canal, an important waterway slicing across the southern part of Greece and connecting the Western Mediterranean and Adriatic en route to Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea ports. A major interruption of service occurred in 1944 "when the retreating German Army set explosives to the flanks of the Canal and caused 60000 cubic meters of earth to cave in. To make repairs even more difficult, the Germans also sunk railroad cars into it. It took 5 years to clear the Canal for traffic then."[56] It was a monumental task to re-open this canal, but one that was deemed necessary to spawning trade for the recovering economy. It was also a psychological boost to the Greeks. They saw the canal as important; the fact that the American experts made this large task happen helped the Greeks believe in the Americans and in their own future.[57] For similar reasons of economic and psychological improvement, harbors and airfields were constructed or rebuilt throughout Greece. Another important concern of the Transportation Office was the actual roadways. Over 1000 miles of first-class roads were built in Greece along with the re-construction of many bridges and secondary roads and highways. This was considered so important due to the economy, but, more notably, due to the need to move military equipment around the nation. Military equipment is heavy and requires excellent road surfaces. The need for this was especially true in the first few years of the Marshall Plan when the civil war continued to rage. The Nazis and other World War II occupiers had destroyed many roads and bridges and the communist guerillas were practically experts at mining and destroying them.[58] Of course, many structure had to be re-built as well. Both wars had wrecked havoc on existing buildings and nothing was built for many years due to the wars. It was said that all of "Greece (especially Athens) came to resemble a giant work site with building construction everywhere."[59] Much like with the Corinth Canal, the road construction was necessary, but it was also a show of progress that was needed. A better road system also encouraged every aspect of the economy. For instance, farmers could move their products to market more easily just as industrial goods could be taken to a port. Much of the road work was accomplished in rural areas by the importation of road graters from the U.S. This was an unheard of piece of equipment in Greece, but made the process of building roads in rural areas much easier and faster than ever imagined possible.[60] Improving power in Greece was also a task of the Marshall Plan. The Office of Electric Power was responsible for this. The goal was to have a national power electric grid which would include hydroelectric dams in the Pindus Mountains on the Acheloos River that flows down to the Ionian Sea. This project was not completed until the 1960s, but now supplies the power for the western and central parts of Greece. Thermal stations would also be built in the Peloponnesus Mountains in the southern part of the country to generate power for that region.[61] The power project "was a very visible and very confidence-building project, in the sense that one could see these pylons marching across the landscape and sensed that the country was indeed on the road to recovery as the electric power project itself was put together."[62] Other natural resources were to be utilized more effectively as well under the Marshall Plan. Mining and processing the deposits including bauxite, pyrite, chromite, and manganese were supported through technical assistance and grant assistance.[63] Certain industries, especially those associated with reconstruction and revitalization such as the fertilizer and cement industries were given substantial support.[64] Other industries that would employ people, especially women, such as the textile business were re-established as well.[65] The level of industry in the pre-war period was not exceptionally high in Greece; they lagged behind many of the more industrial nations of Europe. Therefore, the Marshall Plan saw the need to re-establish the industry that existed and that was necessary for re-building the nation as a whole as imperative to getting Greece on a more level playing field with its neighbors and potential trading partners in the western world. As a matter of fact, industrial production was the only area where Greece saw steady improvement during the years of the Marshall Plan. Despite the sincere efforts of those behind the Marshall Plan, Greece's economy did not respond as hoped. There was progress in reconstruction and huge amounts of capital pushed into the country. However, agricultural and industrial production failed to climb to acceptable levels.[66] "Using 100 as the prewar index of agricultural productivity, the Economic Cooperation Administration estimated that, between 1947-48 and 1950-51, Greece moved from 86 to 93-a lower level than any other ECA nation except Austria."[67] In certain areas the situation was even worse. For example, in mineral production, the index was 16 in 1947, went up to 20 in 1948, then declined to 16 again in 1949.[68] The greatest advance was in industry where the index went from 64 to 99 between 1947 and 1949.[69] This is a positive until one considers that in the pre- war period Greece had very little industry so any increase looks significant. The truth was that little improved in terms of the nation's economy and Greece remained a very poor nation with a per capita income of just $160 in 1953.[70] In rural areas where the unemployment rate was 20 percent and underemployment a large problem as well, some families earned as little as $100 a year.[71] This is especially terrible when considering that the cost of living had risen by 20 times between 1945 and 1949 and the Greek currency continued to lose value.[72] This made it impossible for families to improve their living conditions and many people lost hope. Even parts of the economy that had been good in the pre-war period failed to regain that status. In particular, much has been written about the tobacco market. Before World War II, Greece was the largest supplier of tobacco products to Germany. This had been a lucrative part of the Greek economy. Greece shipped agricultural products to Germany which was an industrialized nation. They were complimentary trading partners. Following the wars, Greece tried to re-establish that trading relationship, but was unable to do so. Greece lost the tobacco contract to the United States.[73] Consequently, the import to export ratio, which had already been out of balance, became worse.[74] Despite obvious struggles during the time of the Marshall Plan, the question remains of whether or not the plan helped the Greek people and that nation's economy. There are a variety of opinions on this subject. One British journalist in 1954 commented, "Nobody can seriously suppose that if American aid were to be withdrawn now, Greece could avoid a total economic collapse."[75] That seems to be the consensus of many experts. Without American intervention, the Greek economy would have been far worse in the late 1940s and early 1950s and would have taken longer to recover in the long run. At the same time, the American economic planners who made so many of the decisions in Greece have been criticized for being heavy-handed in their actions and taking responsibility away from the Greek government. This may be true, but Greek has probably benefited in the long run from the U.S. Marshall Plan. Certainly, the physical improvements of the schools, hospitals, roads, railroads, building, etc. are lasting reminders of the Marshall Plan. These were also things that were necessary to help the people of Greece and its economy. As part of U.S. interest in Greece, the U.S. pushed for Greece to become a full member of NATO which benefited the country in the long run. From the personal interviews of Warren, an AMAG worker, and Bernaris, a Greek government representative, a positive glow is put on the Marshall plan. Both gentlemen were interviewed years later, but recalled that time in Greece as a time of opportunity and progress. Bernaris says in the interview, "I am sure that the Greek people will always be very grateful to President Truman for his initiative."[76] In the rest of the interview, Bernaris goes on to praise the efforts of the Marshall Plan for putting Greece on the path to recovery.