Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan (formally the European Recovery Program) was a foreign aid program enacted by the United States after World War II to rebuild war-torn Europe. It was named after Secretary of State George Marshall.

From 1948 until 1952, the United States sent $13 billion to Western Europe. By the end of the Marshall plan, the economies of nearly every country involved had grown beyond pre-war levels, and they have enjoyed economic prosperity ever since.

Trade organizations were set up and barriers to trade in Europe were reduced, leading to the European Community, and later the European Union.

Money was also offered to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact ?, but it was refused.