Transforming Occupation in the Western Zones of Germany: Politics, Everyday Life and Social Interactions, 1945–55

Description

Transforming Occupation in the Western Zones of Germany provides an in-depth transnational study of power politics, daily life, and social interactions in the Western Zones of occupied Germany during the aftermath of the Second World War. Combining a history from below with a top-down perspective, the volume explores the origins, impacts, and legacies of the occupations of the western zones of Germany by the United States, Britain and France, examining complex yet topical issues that often arise as a consequence of war including regime change, transitional justice, everyday life under occupation, the role of intermediaries, and the multifaceted relationship between occupiers and occupied. Adopting a novel set of approaches that puts questions of power, social relations, gender, race, and the environment centre stage, it moves beyond existing narratives to place the occupation within a broader framework of continuity and change in post-war western Europe. Incorporating essays from 16 international scholars, this volume provides a substantial contribution to the emerging fields of occupation studies and the comparative history of post-war Europe. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Illustrations Contributors Acknowledgements Abbreviations Part One Contextualizing Occupation 1 Introduction: Reframing Occupation as a System of Rule Military occupation as a dynamic power relationship From high politics to social interactions: Historiography Five perspectives on the occupation of the western zones A comparative approach to the study of military occupation Notes 2 Preoccupied: Wartime Training for Post-War Occupation in the United States, 1940–5 Civilians or soldiers? The origins of the School of Military Government Charlottesville and the shadow of Reconstruction Privileged fictions Notes 3 Benign Occupations: The Allied Occupation of Germany and the International Law of Occupation Hostages Food Regime transformation Conclusion Notes Part Two The Past in the Present: Transitional Justice and Managing the Nazi Legacy 4 Transitional Justice? Denazification in the US Zone of Occupied Germany Denazification planning and practice in the US Zone German responses to denazification Concluding thoughts Notes 5 The Allied Internment of German Civilians in Occupied Germany: Cooperation and Conflict in the Western Zones, 1945–9 The internment policies of the western powers The practice of internment in the western zones Interactions between the occupiers and the occupied Conclusion Notes 6 What Do You Do with a Dead Nazi? Allied Policy on the Execution and Disposal of War Criminals, 1945–55 Anticipating death sentences for major war criminals Zonal trials and variations The British Zone The US and French Zones In search of a four-power agreement Reflections Notes Part Three Doing Occupation: Image and Reality 7 ‘My Home, Your Castle’: British Requisitioning of German Homes in Westphalia Westphalia as British headquarters The procedure of requisitioning The arrival of British families in the zone Difficult relationships Interactions: Fighting, talking, compromise Conclusion Notes 8 Game Plan for Democracy: Sport and Youth in Occupied West Germany Sport for democracy Sport exchanges Conclusion Notes 9 Occupying the Environment: German Hunters and the American Occupation American hunting German hunting Hunting in occupied Germany, 1945–7 From Reichsjagdgesetz to Bayerisches Jagdgesetz, 1947–9 Conclusion Notes Part Four Experiencing Occupation: Daily Life and Personal Relationships 10 The Sexualized Landscape of Post-War Germany and the Politics of Cross-Racial Intimacy in the US Zone A racially segregated occupation The black market Wannsee: The politics of cross-racial bathing Nuremberg: Of all places Conclusion Notes 11 Shared Spaces: Social Encounters between French and Germans in Occupied Freiburg, 1945–55 Franco-German encounters in Freiburg Public spaces The street Semi-public spaces The pub The tram Private spaces The home Conclusion Notes 12 ‘Gosh ... I Think I’m in a Dream!!’: Subjective Experiences and Daily Life in the British Zone A tale of two civvies ‘Like walking through a fairy tale’ ‘Concentration camps, atrocities, persecutions, war, where were they all’ ‘Thank God I’m alive to see all this!’ Notes Part Five Mediating Occupation: Interactions, Intermediaries and Legacies 13 ‘We Are Glad They Are Here, But We Are Not Rejoicing!’: The Catholic Clergy under French and American Occupation The priests’ perception of the occupation and the occupiers Between cooperation and protest: How the priests interacted with the occupiers The Catholic clergy under occupation: Local and long-term impact Notes 14 From Denazification to Renazification? West German Government Officials after 1945 The original 45ers: The story of a disappearance The occupation as decelerator and stepping stone: Career patterns Conclusion and outlook Notes 15 The Value of Knowledge: Western Intelligence Agencies and Former Members of the SS, Gestapo and Wehrmacht during the Early C Notes Select Bibliography Index