During the winter of 1946-47, the worst in memory, Europe seemed on the verge of collapse. For the victors in World War II, there were no spoils. In London, coal shortages left only enough fuel to heat and light homes for a few hours a day. In Berlin, the vanquished were freezing and starving to death. On the walls of the bombed-out Reichstag, someone scrawled "Blessed are the dead, for their hands do not freeze." …showed first 75 words of 1734 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1734 total…successor at State, Bob Lovett, had a more practical view the Marshall Plan was that rare government program that came in on budget, accomplished its goal--and then ended. The men who made the Marshall Plan were practical, and their motivations can be regarded coldly as a matter of economics and power. But they also wanted to act because they believed that saving Europe was the right and only thing to do. They achieved that rarity