Delegates from 44 nations met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944 to formulate economic policies to rebuild nations devastated by World War II. The conference created three new international institutions: the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was meant to help promote world trade and economic stability; the World Bank, which was designed to provide funds for countries rebuilding after the war; and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was intended to help promote free trade. Through agreements such as these, delegates hoped to avoid the financial instability that followed World War I and resulted in the Great Depression.
