World War II taught the United States the folly of punishing a vanquished aggressor; so after the war, they enacted the Marshall Plan to rebuild Germany.

(A) after the war, they enacted the Marshall Plan to rebuild Germany. Incorrect

there is no precedent of they

(B) after the war, the Marshall Plan was enacted to rebuild Germany.Incorrect

changes meaning - who enacted the Marshall Plan?

(C) after the war, the Marshall Plan was enacted by the United States to rebuild Germany. Incorrect

passive form

(D) after the war, the United States enacted the Marshall Plan to rebuild Germany. Correct

(E) after the war, the United States enacted the Marshall Plan in order to rebuild Germany. Incorrect

in order to uses redundant, correct idioms - .............enacted ....to .......

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Choice (A) is incorrect. Since United States is denoting the collective country, it is singular and therefore cannot be correctly referred to by the plural pronoun they.

Choice (B) is not technically incorrect, but it lacks precision since it does not state who enacted the Marshall Plan. Further, it uses a passive construction: “was enacted.”

Choice (C) states who enacted the Marshall Plan, but it retains the passive construction “was enacted.”

Choice (D) corrects the false reference by replacing they with the United States. Further, it uses the active verb enacted instead of the passive verb was enacted.

Choice (E) is second-best. The phrase “in order” is unnecessary.
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