in june 1947, general george c. marshall, truman's secretary of state, proposed a huge war-recovery program of money, food, clothing, and machinery to help europe overcome "hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos." marshall invited all of europe to participate, but the soviet-bloc countries refused, calling it an american scheme to take over europe.
with 16 nations participating, the marshall plan was a great success. between 1948 and 1952, u.s. aid amounting to $13 billion helped to rebuild cities, factories, roads, and railroads throughout europe.