A question of priorities : democratic reforms and economic recovery in postwar Germany : Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart under U.S. occupation, 1945-1949

Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable increase in studies on the postwar period of Germany, reflecting the crucial importance of these years for an understanding of the developments in the two Germanys. With her study of U.S. occupation policy and its effects on German social and political developments in Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart, Rebecca Boehling offers a most valuable contribution to this debate. She examines the decisions made by the U.S. Military Government regarding German municipal personnel from the first year of the occupation, when all city officials were appointed directly by Military Government of with its explicit approval, through the first postwar municipal elections in 1946 and 1948, when democratic self-government was gradually restored. Boehling explores the far-reaching effects of personnel decisions on German political life within the framework of U.S. policies intended to denazify and democratize Germany. The conclusion she draws is that the early local-level German developments under U.S. occupation facilitated economic recovery in a manner that restricted the implementation of political and social goals of democratization.

Rebecca Boehling teaches in the Department of History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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Contributing to the recent interest in the immediate postwar period as the key to the later history of the two Germanies, Boehling (history, U. of Maryland-Baltimore County) examines the decisions made by the US Military Government regarding German municipal personnel in selected cities from the first year of occupation, when all city officials were appointed by the Military Government, to the first elections in 1946 and 1948. She finds that the local developments under US occupation facilitated economic recovery in a manner that restricted the implementation of the political and social goals of democratization. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable increase in studies on the postwar period of Germany, reflecting the crucial importance of these years for an understanding of the developments in the two Germanys. With her study of U.S. occupation policy and its effects on German social and political developments in Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart, Rebecca Boehling offers a most valuable contribution to this debate. She examines the decisions made by the U.S. Military Government regarding German municipal personnel from the first year of the occupation, when all city officials were appointed directly by Military Government or with its explicit approval, through the first postwar municipal elections in 1946 and 1948, when democratic self-government was gradually restored CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS PREFACE INTRODUCTION Chapter I: American Preparations for Postwar German Self-Government Chapter II: Structure, Jurisdiction, and Policies of the Office of Military Government – U.S. Zone (OMGUS) Chapter III: From Resistance and Liberation to Conquest and Occupation Chapter IV: The Stunde Null: American Occupiers, German Appointees, and Pre-democratic Municipal Administration Chapter V: German Grassroots Democracy and U.S. Military Government: Early Manifestations of Local Self-Government Chapter VI: U.S. Military Government in Retreat: The Return of German Self-Government and the Results of Democratization Initiatives Chapter VII: Conclusion: The Legacy of the U.S. Occupation BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable increase in studies on the postwar period of Germany, reflecting the crucial importance of these years for an understanding of the developments in the two Germanys. With her study of U.S. occupation policy and its effects on German social and political developments in the major cities.