America rebuilt the economies of the countries it had just defeated

In 1948, facing a Europe devastated by war and at risk of turning to communism, the US launched the Marshall Plan, sending over $13 billion to rebuild Western European economies, including those of former enemies Germany and Italy. Recipients had to cooperate on joint economic planning, laying groundwork for European integration. It is widely credited with Europe's rapid postwar recovery, though historians still debate how decisive it really was.

— Benn Steil, The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War — 2018
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