Title: For European Recovery (June 23, 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
Headings: For European Recovery
Exhibition Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan

For European Recovery
Exhibition Celebrates 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan
Fears of Communist Domination
Truman Signs the Economic Assistance Act
Leaders of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan Countries
A Communist Critique of the Marshall Plan
Soviet Opposition to the Marshall Plan
A Negative View of Aid to Europe
Benefits for the U.S. Economy
Shipping Equipment Abroad Under the Marshall Plan
Stuttgart -- Before and After the Marshall Plan
Establishment of the German Marshall Fund

Content: Leaders of the Marshall Plan
Leaders of the Marshall Plan: President Truman, George Marshall, Paul Hoffman and Averell Harriman. - courtesy National Archives and Records Administration
On Nov. 29, 1948, Truman conferred with the top leaders of the Marshall Plan -- George C. Marshall (1880-1959), Paul G. Hoffman (1891-1974) and Averell Harriman (1891-1986). Hoffman was president of the Studebaker automobile corporation when Truman appointed him head of the Economic Cooperation Administration, the agency that operated the Economic Recovery Program. He was chosen because Congress thought that the ERP could best be run by people with business and financial experience. Hoffman was a first-rate manager whose tact, persuasiveness and commitment to ERP goals proved to be valuable assets. Harriman, also an experienced businessman, held the second-most-important post, special representative to the countries participating in the Marshall Plan. Before becoming secretary of commerce in the Truman administration, he had served in two crucial posts during World War II, as Lend-Lease representative in Britain and then as U.S. ambassador to Moscow. Marshall Plan Countries
Almost all European nations outside the Soviet bloc were members of the plan from the beginning. The two exceptions were Spain, which as a dictatorship under Franco was not invited to participate, and West Germany, which was under Allied occupation and did not become a full member until 1949, after a significant measure of self-government had been restored.