5. Diplomatic Relations and European Pacts. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


5. Diplomatic Relations and European Pacts


1946, Sept. 6

U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, in a speech in Stuttgart, announced a more lenient American policy toward Germany and called for a unified German economy.	1

1947, March 4

An Anglo-French treaty of alliance was signed at Dunkirk.	2

March 10–April 24

The council of foreign ministers, meeting in Moscow, failed in its effort to draft peace treaties for Germany and Austria.	3

July 12–15

The MARSHALL PLAN (See June 5), a program for European recovery proposed by U.S. secretary of state George Marshall, was discussed by delegates of 16 European nations meeting in Paris. A committee was set up to draft a European Recovery Program. The Soviet Union and its satellites refused to participate in a program of European reconstruction.	4

Oct. 5

The COMMUNIST INFORMATION BUREAU (Cominform) was established by the Communist parties of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, France, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. With headquarters in Belgrade, the bureau was to coordinate the activities of European Communist parties.	5

Oct. 29

Ratification of the customs union among Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.	6

Nov. 25–Dec. 16

A conference of the Big Four foreign ministers in London again failed to agree on solution of the German problem.	7


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.