Aaron Rapport
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801453588
- eISBN:
- 9780801455643
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801453588.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter looks at the United States' occupation of Germany at the end of World War II, which culminated in a democratic West German state that was both an “economic miracle” and a member of the ...
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This chapter looks at the United States' occupation of Germany at the end of World War II, which culminated in a democratic West German state that was both an “economic miracle” and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Professor Carl J. Friedrich, an adviser to occupation forces in Germany, lamented that U.S. policy had produced unnecessary suffering during the occupation and actually hindered the stated goal of democratization. Writing in the same volume as Friedrich, Dale Clark argued that there was essentially no coherent occupation plan when Germany surrendered. The rest of the chapter then traces the creation of U.S. policy regarding noncombat operations in postwar Germany, focusing on the assessments and planning of the Roosevelt administration.Less
This chapter looks at the United States' occupation of Germany at the end of World War II, which culminated in a democratic West German state that was both an “economic miracle” and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Professor Carl J. Friedrich, an adviser to occupation forces in Germany, lamented that U.S. policy had produced unnecessary suffering during the occupation and actually hindered the stated goal of democratization. Writing in the same volume as Friedrich, Dale Clark argued that there was essentially no coherent occupation plan when Germany surrendered. The rest of the chapter then traces the creation of U.S. policy regarding noncombat operations in postwar Germany, focusing on the assessments and planning of the Roosevelt administration.
Daniel Harrington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813136134
- eISBN:
- 9780813136837
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813136134.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
No place symbolizes the Cold War more than Berlin. This book examines the “Berlin question” from its origin in wartime plans for the occupation of Germany through the Paris Council of Foreign ...
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No place symbolizes the Cold War more than Berlin. This book examines the “Berlin question” from its origin in wartime plans for the occupation of Germany through the Paris Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in 1949. Tracing the blockade’s origins, it explains why British and American planners during the Second World War neglected Western access to postwar Berlin and why Western officials did little to reduce Berlin’s vulnerability as Cold War tensions increased. Standard accounts mistakenly emphasize an early decision to rely on an airlift to defeat the blockade. Leaders did not sit down, weigh alternatives, and choose “airlift” as the course of action that would resolve the crisis on their terms. No one at first believed the airlift could defeat the blockade; its inevitable failure would confront the Western powers with a choice between withdrawing from Berlin and starting a war. The airlift’s unexpected success transformed the crisis, confronting the Soviets with the choice between war and retreat. The Western powers found it harder to concert policy during the crisis than standard accounts acknowledge. The study traces diplomatic negotiations at all levels, from Berlin to the United Nations, examines the crisis’s effects on the 1948 US presidential election, and traces how the blockade affected US debates over the custody and use of atomic weapons.Less
No place symbolizes the Cold War more than Berlin. This book examines the “Berlin question” from its origin in wartime plans for the occupation of Germany through the Paris Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in 1949. Tracing the blockade’s origins, it explains why British and American planners during the Second World War neglected Western access to postwar Berlin and why Western officials did little to reduce Berlin’s vulnerability as Cold War tensions increased. Standard accounts mistakenly emphasize an early decision to rely on an airlift to defeat the blockade. Leaders did not sit down, weigh alternatives, and choose “airlift” as the course of action that would resolve the crisis on their terms. No one at first believed the airlift could defeat the blockade; its inevitable failure would confront the Western powers with a choice between withdrawing from Berlin and starting a war. The airlift’s unexpected success transformed the crisis, confronting the Soviets with the choice between war and retreat. The Western powers found it harder to concert policy during the crisis than standard accounts acknowledge. The study traces diplomatic negotiations at all levels, from Berlin to the United Nations, examines the crisis’s effects on the 1948 US presidential election, and traces how the blockade affected US debates over the custody and use of atomic weapons.
Thomas Brodie
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- November 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198827023
- eISBN:
- 9780191865992
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198827023.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter analyses German Catholics’ transitions from war to peace during the mid-1940s. Beginning its analysis in summer 1944, the chapter initially explores Catholics’ attitudes as the Reich ...
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This chapter analyses German Catholics’ transitions from war to peace during the mid-1940s. Beginning its analysis in summer 1944, the chapter initially explores Catholics’ attitudes as the Reich collapsed under the weight of Allied offensives, and the theological frameworks employed to understand this devastation and defeat. The chapter then proceeds to examine the reasons behind the Catholic Church’s rising power and influence over the later 1940s during the Allied occupation of the Rhineland and Westphalia, and considers whether this reflected continuity or discontinuity from its position during the Second World War itself. The chapter argues that the Catholic Church’s newfound influence during the early post-war period reflected the peculiar circumstances of foreign occupation, with the clergy emerging as champions of the German population’s grievances vis-à-vis the Allied occupiers in the absence of secular German authorities.Less
This chapter analyses German Catholics’ transitions from war to peace during the mid-1940s. Beginning its analysis in summer 1944, the chapter initially explores Catholics’ attitudes as the Reich collapsed under the weight of Allied offensives, and the theological frameworks employed to understand this devastation and defeat. The chapter then proceeds to examine the reasons behind the Catholic Church’s rising power and influence over the later 1940s during the Allied occupation of the Rhineland and Westphalia, and considers whether this reflected continuity or discontinuity from its position during the Second World War itself. The chapter argues that the Catholic Church’s newfound influence during the early post-war period reflected the peculiar circumstances of foreign occupation, with the clergy emerging as champions of the German population’s grievances vis-à-vis the Allied occupiers in the absence of secular German authorities.
