The US gave war-shattered Europe billions in aid, partly to keep it from turning communist

Between 1948 and 1952, the United States sent roughly $13 billion (well over $150 billion today) to rebuild Western European economies devastated by the Second World War. Named after Secretary of State George Marshall, the plan is widely credited with speeding recovery and cementing Cold War alliances against Soviet influence.

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