Denmark’s Social Democratic Government & the Marshall Plan 1947–50

The implementation of the Marshall Plan in Denmark gave rise to serious conflicts between the Social Democratic government and the opposition – and between the government and the business community. Vibeke Sorensen portrays the deep disagreement that existed regarding Danish economic policy in the post-war period, analysing also how this political disagreement characterised the Danish implementation of the plan. On the basis of thorough source studies, Sorensen questions the up until now appreciatory evaluation of the importance of the Marshall Plan for the Danish society. On one hand, the implementation played a role in initiating structural changes in the Danish economy, with the plan itself complementing the social democratic reconstruction policy during the first few post-war years. On the other hand, the social democratic government failed in its effort to create consensus regarding more stringent control of economic policy and recognition of the necessity of an industrialisation policy. As a result, the Marshall Plan had only limited success in Denmark.