I would like to say that no man ever was given finer cooperation than that given me by President Truman. – Paul Hoffman
But I felt that most of us in the world today gave priority to our personal interests. – Paul Hoffman
At the time it seriously troubled me, but in drafting me as Marshall Plan Administrator, President Truman did as great a favor for me as one man can do for another. It opened my eyes to many things of which I was totally unaware and it was the beginning of my real education. – Paul Hoffman
The Europeans had made two promises to the United States if Marshall Plan help was forthcoming. The first promise was maximum self-help on the part of every country; and second, maximum mutual aid. – Paul Hoffman
In its best prewar year, Europe with almost 300 million people had a gross national product of 150 billion dollars. In that same year, the United States with 150 million people had a gross national product of 300 billion dollars. – Paul Hoffman
Among the reasons for this was the fact that the U.S.A. is one mass market. It is only when you have a mass market that large-scale manufacturing which involves very substantial expenditures can be justified. – Paul Hoffman
As far as we were concerned, we were operators, we were administrators. I don’t ever recall going to Dean Acheson and asking for any counsel or advice on administration, but I had the greatest respect for him, as I have today. – Paul Hoffman
If he had listened to some of his advisors and had tried to make the Marshall Plan a political dumping ground for unqualified politicians, it couldn’t have been a success. – Paul Hoffman
If there was to be a new Europe, there not only had to be a common market, but also great mobility in labor. – Paul Hoffman
Yes, Jean Monnet was the father of the concept of a United States of Europe and his efforts more than those of any other single man helped change the thinking of European leaders. – Paul Hoffman
The magic was in the Marshall Plan itself. It provided an opportunity for appealing and constructive work. In a sense, the mission chiefs were given the opportunity to help act as architects for the new Europe that was envisioned. – Paul Hoffman
However, from the very beginning of the program, we made it perfectly clear that we would be out of Europe in four years; that whatever was to be accomplished had to be accomplished in that period of time. – Paul Hoffman
