On 5 June 1947, George Marshall, US Secretary of State, delivers an address at Harvard University, Massachusetts, in which he offers considerable economic assistance to all war-weakened European countries.

On 5 June 1947, Harvard University, Massachusetts, welcomes the US Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, who delivers an address in which he proposes economic and financial aid for European countries in return for closer European cooperation.

On 5 June 1947, the US Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, gives an address at Harvard University, Massachusetts, in which he offers the countries of Europe economic and financial assistance in exchange for closer European cooperation. George C. Marshall is in the centre, holding a hat and talking to Second World War hero, General Omar Nelson Bradley.

On 6 June 1947, the Luxembourg newspaper Luxemburger Wort examines the speech made the previous day by US Secretary of State, George Marshall, at Harvard. It draws a parallel between US aid designated for Europe and Soviet attempts to establish a Balkan federation.

On 6 June 1947, the day after the US Secretary of State, George Marshall, gives his address at Harvard, the Dutch daily newspaper De Volkskrant speculates on the implementation of the United States’ programme of aid for Europe.

On 10 June 1947, the German daily newspaper Die Welt considers the implications and application of the future programme of reconstruction aid proposed by George Marshall, US Secretary of State.

On 18 June 1947, in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, French diplomat André François-Poncet outlines the difficulties faced by Europe in responding to the proposal put forward by the American Secretary of State, George Marshall.

On 2 July 1947, Joseph M. Jones, Special Assistant to the US Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, describes the role that he played in preparing the address given by Mr Marshall on 5 June 1947 at Harvard University.

On 14 January 1949, George Marshall, US Secretary of State, writes a letter to Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, in which he recognises the role of France in the reconstruction of post-war Europe.

Following the offer of American aid for European reconstruction made by the US Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, on 5 June 1947, France, represented by Georges Bidault (left), and the United Kingdom, represented by Ernest Bevin (right), organise a conference in Paris for all European States with an interest in this offer.

On 12 July 1947, the Conference on European Economic Cooperation began in Paris. It brought together all those countries accepting the reconstruction aid proposed to Europe by the US Secretary of State, George Marshall.

On 12 July 1947, in Paris, Georges Bidault, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, opens the Conference on European Economic Cooperation, attended by representatives from the 16 countries of Western Europe that have accepted the economic assistance proposed one month previously by George C. Marshall, US Secretary of State.

On 12 July 1947, representatives of the countries accepting reconstruction aid, offered to Europe under the Marshall Plan, met at the conference on European economic cooperation, held in Paris. The Italian newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera describes the political and economic issues involved.

On 13 July 1947, the Paris Conference of the Sixteen on European Economic Cooperation envisages the establishment of a Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC) entrusted with drawing up a report on the economic requirements of Western Europe.

On 13 July 1947, during the Paris Conference on European Economic Cooperation, the French diplomat Hervé Alphand submits the initial report of the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC) and expresses his satisfaction with the spirit of solidarity which motivates the representatives of the 16 participating states.

On 14 July 1947, the second day of the Paris Conference on European Economic Cooperation, the Danish Ambassador, Johan Kruse, expresses his satisfaction with the efforts being made to revive the European economies and outlines his country’s most pressing requirements.

Speaking on 14 July 1947, the second day of the Paris Conference on European Economic Cooperation, the Greek Ambassador, Mr Raphael, calls upon European countries to work together for the recovery of the devastated economies of the Continent.

On 14 July 1947, the second day of the Paris Conference on European Economic Cooperation, Sean Lemass, Head of the Irish delegation, reviews the establishment of a coordinated economic recovery plan for Europe and emphasises Ireland's commitment to the recovery programme.

On 15 July 1947, during a working session of the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC), the French delegation submits to its partners a draft questionnaire which will enable an assessment to be made of the requirements and scope for economic recovery of the various countries in Western Europe.

On 18 July 1947, the Netherlands delegation to the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC) comments on the French draft Questionnaire and recalls the causes of the economic crisis affecting European countries.

On 23 July 1947, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Carrefour, Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister, analyses the outcome of the Conference on European Economic Cooperation held in Paris on 12 July 1947.

On 29 July 1947, the Netherlands Delegation submits a memorandum on the economic revival of Europe to the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC).

On 15 August 1947, in Paris, during a working session of the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC), the British delegation calls for the liberalisation of trade and the creation of a European customs union.

Le 23 août 1947, la délégation britannique auprès du Comité de coopération économique européenne (CCEE) analyse les mesures économiques à envisager pour reconstruire l'Europe et évoque l'idée de création d'une union douanière européenne.

On 26 August 1947, the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC), draws up in Paris a document devoted to the economic reconstruction of Germany and to the country’s place in a democratic Europe.

On 27 August 1947, the French delegation to the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC) comments on the preliminary draft of the British memorandum concerning European customs unions.

On 20 September 1947, in Paris, Hervé Alphand, Director-General of Economic, Financial and Technical Affairs at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, outlines the main thrust of the report on the recovery of the European economies drawn up by the Committee for European Economic Cooperation (CEEC) for the American authorities.

On 22 September 1947, the final day of the Paris Conference on European Economic Cooperation, Pierre-Henri Teitgen, Vice-President of the French Council, outlines the steps taken by France to revive its economy and play its part in the recovery of Europe.

On 22 September 1947, the final day of the Paris Conference on European Economic Cooperation, the British Foreign Minister, Ernest Bevin, expresses his satisfaction with the substance of the final report submitted by the French diplomat Hervé Alphand and hopes that he will see a devastated Europe rise from the ashes.

On 30 September 1947, commenting on the outcome of the Conference on European Economic Cooperation held in Paris, the German daily newspaper Die Welt welcomes the joint efforts made by the United States and European countries to stimulate economic recovery in Europe.

‘On 9 December 1947, the crisis first breaks out at the negotiating table of the Four Powers. Europe: Let’s hope that no one lets go!’ On 13 December 1947, the cartoonist Ernst Maria Lang comments on Europe’s fears about the conflict between the Western Allies and Moscow regarding application of the Marshall Plan.

In his memoirs, Georges Bidault, former French Foreign Minister, discusses the Marshall proposal for economic aid to Europe and describes how the European countries involved organised themselves to receive this US aid.

Map showing the European countries which, under the Marshall plan, are offered US material aid for reconstruction, those which accept the aid and those which reject it, and those which, on 16 April 1948, in Paris, decide to establish the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

On 7 November 1947, the French weekly publication La Tribune des Nations reports on the statement by Virgil Jordan, President of the National Industrial Conference Board in the United States, in which he emphasises the dangers of the Marshall Plan for the economic and industrial fabric of America.

On 21 November 1947, the American ‘Friendship Train’, loaded with food donations from US citizens destined for a war-torn Europe, leaves New York on a freighter down the Hudson River.

On 24 November 1947, in an article published in the French Socialist daily newspaper Le Populaire, Jim Carey, Secretary-General of the Congress for Industrial Organisation (CIO), defends the Marshall Plan against the criticisms levelled against it by certain European trade unions.

On 26 November 1947, estate agent Ray Moseley shares his concerns with US President Harry Truman about the financial aid provided by the United States to European countries at the expense of American households. In his reply, dated 1 December 1947, Harry Truman points out that most European countries have been devastated by the war and urgently require US economic aid.

On 19 December 1947, US President Harry S. Truman delivers an address to Congress on the issues involved in the economic reconstruction of Europe; he also outlines the aid provided by the United States for the purpose of getting the European economy back on its feet.

On 7 January 1948, in connection with the debates in the US Congress on the approval of the Marshall Plan, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the impatience of European countries with regard to the US financial and economic aid.

On 8 March 1948, faced with the threat of the Soviet bloc, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the efforts made by Georges Marshall, US Secretary of State, to gather around him the countries of Western Europe, thereby forming a united front against the dangers of Communism.

‘The wolf and the little goats. A fairytale yesterday — and today?’ In March 1948, referring to the Marshall Plan, German cartoonist Lang illustrates the solidarity binding the countries of Western Europe, which are uniting to protect convalescent Germany from the Soviet threat.

On 3 April 1948, US President Harry Truman, signs the law creating the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) whose role is to manage the programme of material and financial aid granted to European countries by the United States.

On 5 June 1947, US Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposes economic and financial aid to all European countries. Sixteen will accept the European Recovery Program (ERP) or Marshall plan.

On 9 April 1948, the US President, Harry Truman (right), appoints Paul Hoffman (left) as Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) tasked with allocating the funds provided by the Marshall Plan.

On 21 April 1948, the Belgian liberal daily newspaper La Dernière Heure publishes the provisional figures for the financial aid allocated by the United States to the European countries under the Marshall Plan for aid to Europe.

In July 1948, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the economic aid provided by the United States under the Marshall Plan and emphasises the importance of European reconstruction.

In August 1948, British cartoonist Ernest Howard Shepard emphasises the role played by Paul Hoffman, Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), which was responsible for distributing the funds provided under the Marshall Plan for the economic reconstruction of Western Europe.

On 29 November 1948, the US President, Harry S. Truman (left) meets with George C. Marshall, Paul Hoffmann and Averell Harriman in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss the implementation of the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe.

On 30 October 1952, George C. Marshall grants an interview to Harry B. Price in which the former US Secretary of State outlines the origins of the Marshall Plan and describes the important role played by George Kennan and Arthur Vandenberg in drawing up the European Recovery Program (ERP).

Series of posters promoting the benefits of the Marshall Plan for US economic aid in several of the European countries receiving the aid.

Dans ses Mémoires, Harry S. Truman, ancien président des États-Unis, évoque les raisons de la mise en place d'une aide économique américaine en faveur de l'Europe au lendemain de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

In this interview, Leo Tindemans, former attaché in the Economic Affairs Service of the Belgian Ministry of Agriculture, refers to the US economic aid given to European countries after the Second World War through the Marshall Plan funds.

In this interview, Hans-August Lücker, former President of the Bavarian Chamber of Agriculture and, in this capacity, author of a memorandum concerning the use of Marshall Plan aid for agriculture, recalls the need after the Second World War to make agriculture a competitive and profitable sector of the economy as part of a social market economy.

On 11 November 1947, in connection with the Marshall Plan, the German daily newspaper Die Welt gives details of the aid granted by the United States to Europe.

‘Europe convalescent home — He’s getting better too quickly …’ On 9 November 1948, in connection with the aid granted by the United States (Dr Uncle Sam) for European economic reconstruction (the Marshall Plan), German cartoonist Ernst Maria Lang illustrates the fears of France (the young Marianne) and the United Kingdom (John Bull) at an overly prompt economic recovery of Germany (Michel). On the right, the Netherlands (a little Meisje) observes the scene.

On 9 April 1949, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung publishes an article by Paul Hoffmann, the American Director of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA). He gives an account the first year of US economic aid to Western Europe under the Marshall Plan.

On 10 November 1949, German weekly Der Spiegel analyses the scope of the Marshall Plan for economic and financial aid to Europe against the backdrop of growing rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

‘Europa and the 1949 bull.' In 1949, taking inspiration from the myth of the abduction of the nymph Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull, cartoonist Mirko Szewczuk illustrates in his own inimitable fashion the importance of the economic aid supplied by the United States to Europe under the Marshall Plan.

In 1948, the city of West Berlin, severely damaged by the Allied bombings at the end of the Second World War, receives financial aid granted to the Federal Republic of Germany under the Marshall Plan.

From 1950, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) uses the funds granted to it by the United States under the Marshall Plan for economic and financial aid to Europe in order to finance, in particular, the construction of 1 309 houses for German refugees from the Soviet occupation zone.

The Land of Schleswig-Holstein, whose capital Kiel was 81 % destroyed during the Second World War, benefits from the financial aid of the Marshall Plan. The photo shows US aid being used to fund the building of housing for refugees.

In 1953, Franz Blücher, West German Minister for the Marshall Plan, assesses his Government's use of the material aid supplied by the United States in order to revive the economy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In 1947, two years after the end of hostilities in Europe, the city centre of Stuttgart is still in ruins. By 1955, however, the town’s reconstruction has been completed, thanks, in large part, to the economic and financial aid given by the United States to Europe under the Marshall Plan.

Advanced automation in the Alfons Müller textiles factories in Wipperfürth and the commercial success of his products illustrate the post-war economic miracle in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Poster published in Austria in the late 1940s in support of the Marshall Plan for US aid to Europe.

Poster published in 1949 in order to inform the Austrian people of how the US economic aid provided under the Marshall Plan is being put to use in Austria.

Between 1950 and 1952, several posters are published in order to improve knowledge about the use made in Austria of the US economic aid provided under the Marshall Plan.

In June 1948, Soviet newsreels report on an organised demonstration of Communist workers in the streets of Vienna against Austrian participation in the Marshall Plan, which provided American aid to Europe.

In July 1949, Soviet newsreels report on an organised demonstration of Communist students in the streets of Vienna against Austrian participation in the Marshall Plan, which provided American aid to Europe.

In 1952, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) publishes a poster illustrating the US aid granted to Austria under the Marshall Plan and speculates over the future of the country’s petroleum resources.

On 25 February 1948, in The Hague, the Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce publishes a memorandum in which it describes the economic reconstruction efforts being carried out in postwar Europe.

On 13 March 1948, in Luxembourg, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, delivers an address during which he outlines the scope of the Marshall Plan and its political and economic implications for Western Europe.

On 4 April 1948, the Brussels newspaper Le Phare Dimanche warns its readers against the possible negative consequences of the Marshall Plan.

‘Economic morass: Spinach!' On 10 April 1948, the Netherlands cartoonist, Jordaan, parodies the adventures of Popeye and emphasises the benefits of the US economic aid granted to the Netherlands under the Marshall Plan (on the left: Louis Bel, Netherlands Prime Minister).

On 6 May 1948, in connection with the establishment of the Marshall Plan, the Belgian daily newspaper La Dernière Heure considers the possible application of the US aid granted to Belgium.

On 2 July 1948, in The Hague, the governments of the Netherlands and the United States sign an agreement concerning economic cooperation between the two countries in the framework of the Marshall Plan.

On 14 January 1949, as an information meeting on the Marshall Plan is held in the Netherlands, the Dutch journal Economische Voorlichting publishes an article on the economic and social consequences of the economic aid granted by the United States.

On 31 March 1950, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk analyses the effects of the Marshall Plan on the economy of the Netherlands.

In May 1951, the Dutch thank the United States for the help provided under the Marshall Plan during a procession of decorated floats in the streets of Sassenheim.

Dirk Stikker, Netherlands Foreign Minister from 1948 to 1952, describes the economic situation in the Netherlands after the Second World War and recalls the US aid granted to the countries of Europe under the Marshall Plan.

In 1949, the Dutch Government publishes a booklet of cartoons in which the illustrator Jo Spier welcomes the benefits of the Marshall Plan for economic and financial reconstruction accorded by the United States to the European countries devastated by the war.

Table showing aid received by the Netherlands under the Marshall Plan between 1948 and 1953.

On 5 June 1957, the 10th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, the Luxembourg Minister of State, Josph Bech, delivers a speech in which he highlights the essential role of US economic aid in Europe's recovery from the Second World War.

In this interview, Edmund Wellenstein, official in the Private Office of the Queen of the Netherlands from 1947 to 1950 then Head of the ‘Germany’ Division and Director-General for European Affairs in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1950 and 1952, describes how the Marshall Plan was received at the end of the 1940s in Dutch diplomatic circles, before going on to explain the scope of the proposal by Foreign Minister Johann Willem Beyen, who hoped to establish a common market between the Six in 1952 in the wake of the proposed European Political Community.

In late May 1946, a huge crowd at Orly Airport welcomes home Léon Blum, negotiator extraordinary of the French Republic in the United States, on his return from Washington where, on 28 May, after 11 weeks of negotiations, the Blum–Byrnes Agreement is signed which, in addition to the Lend-Lease arrangements, provides for the purchase by France of surplus American goods and for a loan for the reconstruction and modernisation of France.

The French Socialist, Léon Blum, was the former President of the French Council and briefly French Foreign Minister. Here, he places the Marshall Plan in a broad European context, and suggests that the United Nations Economic Committee for Europe, established in March 1947, should be responsible for its practical organisation.

On 2 July 1947, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, René Courtin, founder of the French Council for a United Europe, emphasises that, despite financial aid from the United States, most of the efforts to achieve economic recovery must be made by the French people.

On 24 July 1947, Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, writes a secret detailed note to Georges Bidault, the French Foreign Minister, concerning the implications of the Marshall Plan for French policy on Germany and on Europe.

‘Priority!’ On 26 July 1947, in connection with the implementation of the Marshall Plan, French cartoonist Claude Garnier illustrates France’s fears regarding an overly rapid economic reconstruction of post-war Germany. Queuing up to get on the ‘prosperity, revival and abundance’ bus, decorated with the stars of the US flag, France, represented as a young Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap, emphasises to the bus conductor that the countries that suffered German aggression during the Second World War should be given priority for the granting of Marshall Plan aid. On the other side of the bus, ‘Gretchen’, symbolising Germany — a young girl with braids, a Bavarian hat with a feather and military boots — shouldn’t expect preferential treatment and must wait her turn for US aid.

‘The American wall.’ On 4 October 1947, the cartoonist Woop portrays the efforts of the US President, Harry Truman, and his Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, to implement the Marshall Plan for the economic and financial reconstruction of European countries ravaged by the Second World War.

On 12 October 1947, in an article published in the French Communist daily newspaper L'Humanité, Benoit Frachon, General Secretary of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), condemns the American stranglehold on the French economy resulting from the implementation of the Marshall Plan.

On 6 November 1947, in the French daily newspaper Le Populaire, Léon Blum, former President of the French Council of State, defends himself against accusations made by Maurice Thorez, Secretary-General of the French Communist Party, who criticises him for having served American imperialism by accepting financial aid from Uncle Sam.

On 10 December 1947, the French newspaper L’Action vehemently refutes the argument that the French economy needs the Marshall Plan to ensure its recovery.

On 18 April 1948, Jean Monnet informs French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault of the American view of the Marshall Plan and of the progress in negotiations in which he is involved in the United States on the issue of supplying France with food products originating in the USA.

In April 1948, Jean Monnet is involved in negotiations in Washington concerning the distribution of material and financial aid to Europe under the Marshall Plan. In this letter written on 18 April 1948 and addressed to Robert Schuman, President of the French Council, he describes the mood of his US colleagues and ends by emphasising the need for a European federation.

On 5 May 1948, in connection with the implementation of the Marshall Plan, the Luxembourg daily newspaper Tageblatt questions the capacity for recovery of the French economy.

On 28 June 1948, in Paris, Georges Bidault (centre), French Foreign Minister, accompanied by René Mayer (right), French Finance Minister, and Jefferson Caffery (left), US Ambassador to France, sign an agreement for temporary financial aid amounting to 522 million dollars, granted under the Marshall Plan by the United States to France for the winter of 1948–1949.

On 28 June 1948, Georges Bidault (centre), French Foreign Minister, and Jefferson Caffery (left), US Ambassador to France, sign an agreement for financial aid granted under the Marshall Plan by the United States to France.

On 28 August 1948, French Prime Minister André Marie resigns, bringing about the fall of his government. One week later, on 6 September 1948, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates the consequences of the French governmental crisis on Anglo-American efforts to reconstruct post-war Europe.

On 15 September 1948, French strikers take to the streets of Paris to demonstrate against the Marshall Plan for economic aid to Europe on the grounds that it is an anti-Communist tool.

On 15 December 1948, in an article published in the newspaper L’Aurore, Gilles Gozard, French MP for the Allier département, emphasises the importance of the US aid granted to France under the Marshall Plan.

In 1949, the US aid granted under the Marshall Plan reaches its destination. The photo shows a cargo of tractors delivered to the port of Le Havre, France.

On 16 June 1949, the French daily newspaper Combat comments on the schedule for economic and social recovery published by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT).

On 6 December 1949, the French Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité criticises the Marshall Plan on the basis, in particular, of statistics which illustrate the economic situation in France.

In his memoirs, Italian Foreign Minister Carlo Sforza recalls Italy's position towards the Marshall Plan and the offer of economic and financial assistance for all European countries.

On 14 January 1948, the Italian daily newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera considers the reasons for the US aid granted to European countries under the Marshall Plan and refutes the arguments of those who accuse the United States of territorial and economic imperialism.

On 19 May 1948, one month after the entry into force of the Marshall Plan, the Italian Socialist daily newspaper Avanti criticises the lack of planning on the part of national authorities with regard to the distribution of the US aid.

‘The Marshall Plan — “So you have received a parcel of children’s clothing from UNRRA as well?”’ On 20 May 1948, the cartoonist of the Italian Socialist daily newspaper Avanti comments ironically on the nature of the US aid granted to Italy under the Marshall Plan and UNRRA, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency.

On 19 August 1949, the Italian newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera comments on the visit made by Paul Hoffman, Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA), to Europe. It considers the practical applications of the Marshall Plan loans, with particular reference to the specific case of Italy.

In Matera, southern Italy, funds allocated under the Marshall Plan make possible the construction of new housing.

Italian industry benefits from new equipment provided by the United States under the Marshall Plan. Fiat car factories do particularly well.

On 2 July 1947, during the final meeting of the Three-Power Conference in Paris, Viatcheslav Molotov, the Soviet Union Foreign Minister, criticises the Marshall Plan and US imperialism.

On 13 July 1947, the Soviet daily newspaper Pravda publishes a critical report on the work of the Conference on European Economic Cooperation which, at France’s invitation, opened the previous day in Paris in order to review the ways in which the loans granted to Europe under the Marshall Plan have been utilised.

On 20 December 1947, German weekly Der Spiegel examines the Soviet Union's reaction to the Marshall Plan.

On 13 March 1948, in Luxembourg, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, delivers an address during which he describes the reasons for the rejection of the Marshall Plan by the Soviet Union and its European satellites.

On 23 March 1948, British cartoonist Leslie Gilbert Illingworth illustrates Moscow’s reluctance at the idea of seeing the countries of Central and Eastern Europe benefit from the US aid granted under the Marshall Plan. On the right, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

On 17 December 1948, the Soviet newspaper Pravda criticises the US aid granted to West Germany under the Marshall Plan and deplores the decision taken by the British and American military authorities of the Bizone for an eventual transfer to the Germans of the decision-making authority regarding the ownership of the steel and mining industries in the Ruhr (Law No 75).

On 1 January 1949, the Soviet daily newspaper Pravda describes a Europe divided into a capitalist and a socialist sphere and compares the two systems.

‘The American sledgehammer at work, solving the market problem.' On 3 November 1949, the Soviet periodical Izvestiya criticises the imperialist policy of the American Paul Hoffman, Director of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) established to administer the financial aid granted under the Marshall Plan for Europe.

‘Peace is excluded from paradise.' On 20 July 1950, the Soviet satirical magazine Krokodil denounces the Marshall Plan, portraying it as a dangerous refuge serving the economic, military and religious interests of the West.

On 16 April 1948, in Paris, representatives of the 16 European States that have accepted the US aid provided under the Marshall Plan sign the Convention establishing the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) which will enter into force on 1 July 1948.

On 16 April 1948, in Paris, the representatives of the 16 European States that have accepted aid under the Marshall plan sign the Convention establishing the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), which is to enter into force on 1 July 1948. Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister, initials the Convention on behalf of France.

On 16 April 1948, at the Château de la Muette in Paris, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, signs the Convention establishing the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

On 16 April 1948, in Paris, the representatives of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom and the Commanders-in-Chief of the French, British and US occupation zones in Germany sign the Convention establishing the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), which enters into force on 1 July 1948.

On 24 August 1948, the Italian Government sends to the French Government a memorandum in which it emphasises the important role to be played by the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), which is seen as an essential force for European unification.

Signed on 16 October 1948 in Paris by the representatives of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Swtizerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom, by the Commanders-in-Chief of the French, British and US occupation zones in Germany and by the Commander of the British-US zone of the Free Territory of Trieste, the first Agreement for Intra-European Payments and Compensations aims to establish a regional payments system in order to encourage intra-European trade.

On 30 December 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes its progress report on the issues arising from the economic reconstruction of post-war Europe.

On 30 December 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes its Interim Report on the European Recovery Programme that focuses on the economic situation in Austria.

On 30 December 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes its progress report on the economic recovery programme in the Benelux countries.

On 30 December 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes its progress report on the economic recovery programme in Italy.

On 30 December 1948, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes its progress report on the economic recovery programme in the United Kingdom.

Robert Marjolin, Secretary-General of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), records a message in the Paris studios of ‘Voice of America’, to be broadcast from the New York studio on the first anniversary of the Marshall Plan in April 1949.

On 29 October 1949, the Italian newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera considers the future of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and stresses the importance of coordinating national economic policies across Europe.

On 20 December 1949, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Parool considers the action of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and speculates on the question of European economic integration.

On 1 February 1950, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk welcomes the appointment of Dirk U. Stikker, Dutch Foreign Minister, to the post of ‘political mediator’ of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

‘The Stikker Plan.’ On 11 February 1950, Roc, the Dutch cartoonist, depicts the US-backed appointment of Dirk U. Stikker, Netherlands Foreign Minister, as ‘Political Ombudsman’ of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

On 13 June 1950, the Dutch daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk comments on the proposal by Dirk Stikker, Dutch Foreign Minister, to pursue European integration by sector.

On 15 June 1950, the liberal Amsterdam daily newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad leads with Belgium’s criticism of the Stikker Plan.

In September 1951, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes a report which focuses on how the organisation was founded and its working methods, along with its general policies.

On 10 April 1953, a meeting in Washington of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) provides an opportunity for a study of the economic situation in Europe. From left to right: Harold Stassen (Director of Mutual Security), Sir Hugh Ellis-Rees (President of the OEEC Council), Hans Karl von Mangoldt (Chairman of the Managing Board of the European Payments Union), Attilio Cattani (Chairman of the OEEC Executive Committee), Baron Jean Charles Snoy et d’Oppuers (Chairman of the Exchange Steering Committee) and Robert Marjolin (OEEC Secretary-General).

In 1954, Karl Harten, Director of the European Productivity Agency (EPA), outlines the EPA's activities and describes measures that aim at increasing productivity in Europe.

In 1954, Yvan Lavergne, Administrator at the Energy Division of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), considers the OEEC's policies concerning coal supplies in Europe.

In 1954, Dirk Stikker, Chairman of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) from 1950 to 1952, analyses the work of the organisation during its early years.