Western Europe was one of the most suffering places during and after the World Wars. Those wars brought poverty and destruction to many parts of the western european countries. France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, all of those were hit by the consequences of the war. But nowadays, those countries are among the top 10 economies of the world. The reason of these recoveries was the policies carried out by the goverments of those countries, that opened their economies to the rules of the international trade. As a consequence of this and with the help of the US through the Marshall Plan, those countries were able to increase internal spending, carry out public works and improve the life quality of their people. If it wasn't for the governments policies, the recovery would have been much more difficult.