The George C. Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia is pleased and honored to be partnered with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Goethe-Institut, and the German Historical Museum in the national tour of Selling Democracy: Films of the Marshall Plan 1948 – 1953.

Established in 1953 as a wholly independent foundation at Marshall’s alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, the mission of the George C. Marshall Foundation is – simply put – to preserve and perpetuate the legacy of Marshall. President Harry S. Truman, who urged the establishment of our foundation, called Marshall “the greatest of the greats.” In endorsing the creation of the Marshall Foundation, Winston Churchill said: “succeeding generations must not be allowed to forget his accomplishments.”

We accomplish our mission through a museum and archives in Lexington, Virginia, and through a variety of education and outreach programs that emphasize Marshall’s commitment to strong character and selfless service. We are particularly pleased to be part of the Selling Democracy series because we believe these films represent the commitment and resiliency of character that was at the heart of the Marshall Plan. Marshall and others knew that the success of the European Recovery Program lay with the character and determination of the people of Europe as much as it did with America’s subvention. These wonderful films make that point over and over again.

We are deeply grateful to Sandra Schulberg and her colleagues for organizing the Selling Democracy tour, which extends the optimism of the Marshall Plan across the globe. We are equally grateful to Eric and Linda Christenson for their invaluable work on the Marshall Plan filmography, which provided the groundwork for this series.

Brian Shaw, President, George C. Marshall Foundation