Reflecting On V-E Day

Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of V-E Day---the date that Germany surrendered to the Allies in World War II.

Almost six years of war on the European continent resulted in untold levels of death and destruction.

I recently came across this graphic on the casualty totals in Europe from World War II.

24 million in the Soviet Union.

7.7 million in Germany.

5.6 million in Poland.

1 million in what was Yugoslavia and 825,000 in Greece.

On the other hand, a mere 100 in neutral Switzerland and in Turkey.

In addition, an estimated 250,000 Americans also died in the European theater in World War II.

160,000 Americans perished in the Pacific theater.

It is hard to wrap our minds around these numbers 80 years later.

War really is hell.

When all of the death and destruction was over the United States enacted the Marshall Plan which was designed to assist Europe in rebuilding their economies after the war.

The United States contributed $13.3 billion between 1948 and 1951 to assist in rebuilding the economies of 16 European countries ( Germany and the UK were excluded).

That would amount to $150 billion in today's dollars.

It allowed Europe to rebuild and recover.

At BeeLine we like to put things in context.

Let's put that amount of money in context on what is going on in the world today. 

At the time of the Marshall Plan, the populations of the European countries that received the aid was approximately 143.5 million.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, aid to Palestinians totaled over $40 billion between 1994 and 2020. Taking account of subsequent aid and inflating the total amount to current dollars would equal about $50 billion. 

This aid flowed in from European and Arab countries in addition to Japan and the United States. One source puts the amount of aid from the United States to Palestine at over $7.6 billion since 1993. 

That would total about $10 billion in today's dollars.

This aid was provided for a population of about 2 million that lived in Gaza.

On a per capita basis, adjusted for inflation, Palestine has received 20 times more aid than the Europeans did to rebuild war-torn Western Europe under the Marshall Plan after World War II.

If you consider just the U.S. aid, Palestine received over four times as much aid per capita as was provided to Europe in the Marshall Plan.

If you look at the money that was given the Palestinians since the mid-1990's, and compare it to the Marshall Plan, you really have to wonder where all the money went? 

The Marshall Plan dollars allowed Europe to rebuild and create robust economies and lives for its people.

Did we get anything to advance the lives of Palestinians from all that aid money?

It seems that most of the money went for the tools of terrorism and to enrich the leadership of Hamas and the PLO

What did this aid get us?

A continuing cycle of terror that culminated in the horrific attack on Israel in October, 2023.

More war from Hamas and more misery for the Palestinian people.

Where are the protests about all of this wasted money and lost opportunity?

There is a reason that the Palestinian people are living an oppressed life.

The numbers above say it all.

War is hell.

Failing to embrace peace and attempting to build prosperity for the populace in its aftermath is worse.

On the 80th anniversary of V-E Day take a moment to reflect on the death and destruction that took place in Europe during World War II.

Much of it was caused by the ambitions and actions of one man.

That reflection might also serve to show how ridiculous the attempts that are made by some to compare Trump to Hitler.

Trump is the one man right now who is working the hardest to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to put an end to the senseless carnage in that war.

Trump is also the man who was first to make a proposal to rebuild Gaza and establish a path for a viable economy there.

Perhaps it was just a negotiating ploy to get other Arab nations to step up to the task of rebuilding but the fact remains that Trump knows the value of building a sustainable economy in Gaza for stability and peace in the region.

There is much to reflect on this May 8.