Economic Cooperation Administration
In 1948 the U.S. began implementing a massive program of economic assistance to Europe in order to support European recovery from the losses of World War II. This program, popularly known as the Marshall Plan, affected significantly Dennis FitzGerald's career. Paul Hoffman, Director of the Economic Cooperation Administration, the agency established to administer Marshall Plan programs, asked FitzGerald to help organize the Agricultural Division of the Economic Cooperation Administration Thus began FitzGerald’s 16-year career as an administrator of U.S. government foreign assistance programs. For roughly his first year on the job, FitzGerald was dual-hatted as Director of Foreign Agricultural Relations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.