The Second World War was, quite simply, the most deadly and destructive conflict in human history. In fact, EB "Sledgehammer" Sledge, a famous U.S. Marine who fought on the Pacific front during the war, gave an early account of the atrocities he experienced in his 1981 memoir, "With the Old Breed: in Peleliu and Okinawa. He said: "It was so wild. We were savages. We had all become hardened. We were out there, human beings, the most highly developed life form on earth, fighting against each other like wild animals" (Sledge). so, is World War II called “the Good War” and why is it still important today (Terkel 387)? Regardless of the pulverization, disappearance and decimation, the war helped usher in a new world, in which Hitler's Third Reich was created. In Europe, such a world was advocated by post-World War II peacemakers. On June 5, 1947, U.S. Secretary George Marshall made public the U.S. government's decision to assist in the political and economic restoration of Europe. Europe (Marshall). Little did he know, this twelve-minute speech managed to change the course of history and the fate of a devastated Europe after the Second World War. This led to the implementation of the Marshall Plan, otherwise known as the "European Plan". Recovery Program” and the Truman Doctrine. Not only did they revolutionize the European economy, but they also managed to bring about political change by containing the spread of communism. Both programs also enabled a transition to the creation of new political institutions such as NATO and the European Steel and Coal Community. World War II also marked the beginning of the end of global colonialism as patriot developments began to triumph over weakened pioneer domains...... middle of article...... Marshall, George C. Library reference on the Cold War. Ed. Richard C. Hanes, Sharon M. Hanes, and Lawrence W. Baker. Flight. 5: Primary sources. Detroit: UXL, 2004. 43-51. World history in context. Internet. April 2, 2014. Neumann, William L. After Victory: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin and the Making of Peace. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Print. Perry, Mark. Command partners: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in War and Peace. New York: Penguin, 2007. Print.Sledge, EB World War II Reference Library. Ed. Barbara C. Bigelow et al. Flight. 4: Primary sources. Detroit: UXL, 2000. 197-209. World history in context. Internet. April 2, 2014.Terkel, Studs. “The Good War”: An oral history of the Second World War. New York: Pantheon, 1984. Print. Wexler, Imanuel. The Marshall Plan revisited: the European recovery program in an economic perspective. Westport, CT., 1983.