70 Years of the Marshall Plan

Design and implementation of the anniversary event

On 5 June 1947 George Marshall made a speech in Harvard that changed the world: with it, the American Secretary of State and adviser to President Truman laid the foundations of the European Recovery Program (ERP). The so-called Marshall Plan became the most successful political project in American and European history. Between 1948 and 1952, 14 billion dollars, funded by the American taxpayer, was paid into the reconstruction programme for Europe. Austria’s economy continues to benefit from these funds to this day, which are used to promote innovative projects by Austrian companies and start-ups under a scheme for ERP loans granted by the Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws).
The festivities marking the 70th anniversary of Marshall Plan aid, with speeches by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Vice-Chancellor Wolfgang Brandstetter and the  Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the US Embassy in Vienna, Eugene S. Young, demonstrate this connection between the past and the future.
"70 projections for 70 years": Under the artistic direction of Virgil Widrich, a multi-disciplinary team designed the event on 21. June 2017 at METAStadt Vienna and a travelling exhibition for the Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (ERP Fund).