Title: The Marshall Plan - Rebuilding Western Europe After WW2
Headings: The Marshall Plan - Rebuilding Western Europe After WWII
The Marshall Plan - Rebuilding Western Europe After WWII
The Need for Aid
The Marshall Plan
The Plan in Action
Effects
Views of the Plan
Watch Now: The Marshall Plan

Content: The Marshall Plan
The US, also terrified that communist groups would gain further power—the Cold War was emerging and Soviet domination of Europe seemed a real danger—and wishing to secure European markets, opted for a program of financial aid. Announced on June 5th, 1947 by George Marshall, the European Recovery Program, ERP, called for a system of aid and loans, at first to all nations affected by the war. However, as plans for the ERP were being formalized, Russian leader Stalin, afraid of US economic domination, refused the initiative and pressured the nations under his control into refusing aid despite a desperate need. The Plan in Action
Once a committee of sixteen countries reported back favorably, the program was signed into US law on April 3, 1948. The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was then created under Paul G. Hoffman, and between then and 1952, over $13 billion worth of aid was given. To assist in coordinating the program, the European nations created the Committee of European Economic Cooperation which helped form a four-year recovery program. The nations receiving were: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and West Germany. Effects
During the years of the plan, receiving nations experienced economic growth of between 15%-25%. Industry was quickly renewed and agricultural production sometimes exceeded pre-war levels.