photo by christian kennel, peggy reiff miller collection
Efforts to send aid to rebuild foreign industries was a straightforward process. Cargoes of coal, petroleum industrial machinery, locomotives, manufacturing equipment, and other materials flowed across the Atlantic to rebuild Europe’s factories, often on US-flagged ships. One unusual form of industrial aid the United States provided in this period was the ships themselves. In 1945, the US government owned an astonishing 3,800 merchant ships, comprising about 55 percent of the world’s shipping; Britain was a distant second at 21 percent. This number was far greater than was required to satisfy the American government’s needs. In the spirit of post-war economic rehabilitation, eager to get the government out of the shipping business, and already suspicious of Soviet intentions, Congress passed the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946. This law
allowed American and foreign firms to buy government-built ships at bargain rates. More than 800 ships went to American owners; some 1,100 went to foreign owners. Many of these were traditional maritime nations in Europe such as Norway or Greece, or South American nations like Argentina and Brazil, eager to jump into the shipping business with US-built ships. Only one Communist-dominated nation bought ships through this act: Poland purchased a mere four cargo vessels. Ironically, the Merchant Ship Sales Act was a significant factor in weakening American shipping by providing cheap ships to competitors. American labor unions had bitterly opposed the Merchant Ship Sales Act as a betrayal that undermined their economic well-being; however, growing concerns about the spread of Communism dictated the wisdom of the measure.
unrra photo
(above) USAT Charles W. Wooster taking on heifers to deliver to Czechoslovakia in January 1946. (below) Mules hoisted aboard UNRRA ships in pairs, bound for Greece to replace draft animals that had been lost in the war, 1944.
28
SEA HISTORY 177, WINTER 2021–22