In the post-war period, Europe would be divided into two major spheres: the “West,” mainly influenced by the USA, and the “Eastern Bloc,” dominated by the Soviet Union. Western Europe was composed by all the countries liberated by the Western Allies (USA, Canada, UK, France, etc) from German occupation, the European western allies themselves, plus Italy (a former Axis Power) and the Federal Republic of Germany (informally known as West Germany) formed by the three of the four Allied Occupation Zones in Germany, namely the zones of the USA, UK, and France. Almost all countries of Western Europe received economical assistance from the United States through the Marshall Plan.