This book revisits the turbulent years between the end of World War II and the passage of the European Recovery Program in April 1948. At its center is Herbert Hoover's February 1947 mission to Germany and Austria, undertaken at the request of President Harry S. Truman amid worsening hunger, economic collapse, and political uncertainty across Europe.
Challenging conventional accounts that present the Marshall Plan primarily as the achievement of Secretary of State George Marshall, the book argues that contemporaries initially understood the proposal as the "Hoover Plan". Drawing on Hoover's investigations, presidential reports, Congressional testimony, and political advocacy, it traces how ideas for economic reconstruction evolved into the program ultimately known as the Marshall Plan. It also places renewed emphasis on the personal and professional relationship between Hoover and Truman, presenting their cooperation as a significant factor in the development and passage of the European Recovery Program. Offering a fresh perspective on postwar recovery, this study reassesses the origins of one of the most influential foreign-aid initiatives of the modern era.