Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine

In 1947, US president Harry S Truman gave a speech in which he promised that the USA would give aid to countries that were resisting communist takeover. This became known as the Truman Doctrine.

In June the same year, George Marshall, US Secretary of State, gave a speech outlining a way to keep communism at bay and build up markets for US exports. It became known as the ‘Marshall Plan’.

$13 billion was provided by the US government for all European countries to rebuild. In Italy and France, communist parties were growing in size, and the aim was to cut them down. During the plan’s four-year run, industrial production in Western Europe went up by 40%.

Marshall Aid was available to all countries who had been affected by the war, but the Soviets would allow none of it to enter their satellite states.