Europe in ChaosEurope was a mess after World War II. Numerous governments and powerful leaders were overthrown, leaving a power vacuum that left Europe in chaos. The violence of war also left behind mass destruction and poverty. Businesses, factories and homes had been destroyed, leaving people without work or a place to stay. This plunged Europe into a massive economic depression. This is where the United States decided to intervene. The European Recovery Program (ERP), closely modeled on the Truman Doctrine policy of support for Greece and Turkey, was announced in June 1947 by General George Marshall in his speech at Harvard University. He stated that the ERP is directed against hunger, poverty and chaos, not against any country or doctrine. To resolve the postwar disorder in Europe, to prevent left-wing governments from rising in reaction to the Nazi occupation, and for humanitarian reasons, the United States lent money and material support around the world. This is more commonly known as the Marshall Plan. Dear mom and dad, send money. One of the primary and well-publicized goals of the Marshall Plan was to resolve the post-war disorder that was sweeping across Europe. Marshall recognized that the United States did not have the resources to rebuild Europe country by country without any cooperation, so the Plan was established to force the participating nations to work together to plan the most effective way to use American aid. This gave rise to the creation of the European Organization for Economic Cooperation (OEEC), which was primarily a planning and coordination group. The OEEC included sixteen free European countries. The Marshall Plan was also an unprecedented piece of paper... in Press, 2005McMahon, Robert J. The Cold War New York: Oxford University Press, 2003Powaski, Ronald E. The Cold War The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917- 1991 [bookon-line] (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, last accessed 12 June 2011), iii; available from Questoa, http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=78888203; Internet.Thackeray, Frank W. and Findling, John E Events that changed the world in the twentieth century. Westport, Connecticut: The Greenwood Press, 1995) Walker, Martin The Cold War, NY, NY: Holt Paperback, 1993 Watson, Robert P., Devine, Michael J. and Wolz, Robert J. eds., The National Security Legacyof Harry S Truman [online book] (Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 2005, accessed 12 June 2011), iii; available from Questoa, http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=113611086; Internet.