Greece emerged from its participation on the Allied side in World War II deeply wounded, with heavy military and civilian losses, its natural and national resources pillaged, its merchant marine destroyed, its economy almost non-existent. The Greek people could not survive without international assistance. The humanitarian aid (primarily American) dispensed through UNRRA kept hundreds of thousands of Greeks alive. But to achieve the massive aid flows necessary to rebuild the Greek economy and make it sustainable, Greek politicians saw no alternative but to enlist their country in the broader geostrategic calculations of the United States. The Marshall Plan truly helped Greece. It remains a powerful historical bond between Europe and the United States, between Athens and Washington. Among the heartening lessons of these documents is their reminder of the depth of the reservoir of shared idealism and good will that tie our peoples together both in good times and in bad.
