Marshall plan June 5th, 1947
Overview
George Marshall was appointed to be secretary of state after WWII by
Harry Truman. Truman had claimed that Marshall was a good man and
a great one during the war. After WWII, however, European economies
and spirits were destroyed, lying in ruins after the storm of a mighty
war never before, and never again seen. Marshall, had come up with a
plan, officially called the European Recovery Program, later the Marshall
plan, was to help rebuild the destroyed societies. 16 nations joined this
program, including Germany, and received help and payment from the
States to go out on their own and rebuild their economies and governments.
Impact
Amongst all the turmoil during the post WWII time period, the Marshall
plan left a generally positive impact. Especially during the building
tensions in between the world's two greatest super powers. And then the
Cold War, the Marshall plan did truly leave a positive impact on Europe.
So much so that from 1948 through 1952 European economies started
to prosper.