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Introduction The standard narrative of the Marshall Plan as an uncontested blessing for postwar Europe requires significant qualification when examined through the lens of its contemporary critics. While political leaders and economic beneficiaries celebrated American generosity, substantial intellectual and political movements across Europe developed sophisticated critiques that questioned the Plan’s motives, methods, and consequences. These criticisms emerged from multiple positions on the left—from communist parties taking direct orders from Moscow to independent socialist intellectuals concerned with preserving European autonomy to social democrats wary of American capitalism—and collectively represented a significant counter-discourse to the enthusiastic official reception of American aid. This…