GIs and Germans : culture, gender and foreign relations, 1945-1949

At the end of World War II roughly 300,000 American GIs were deployed as occupation forces in Germany. Many of them quickly developed intimate relations with their former enemies. Those informal interactions played a significant role in the transformation of Germany from enemy to ally of the United States, argues Petra Goedde in her engrossing book. Goedde finds that as American soldiers fraternized with German civilians, particularly as they formed sexual relationships with women, they developed a feminized image of Germany that contrasted sharply with their wartime image of the aggressive Nazi stormtrooper. A perception of German “victimhood” emerged that was fostered by the German population and adopted by Americans. According to Goedde, this new view of Germany provided a foundation for the political rapprochement that developed between the two countries even before the advent of the Cold War. Her provocative findings suggest that the study of foreign relations should focus on interactions not only between politicians and diplomats but also between ordinary citizens.

At the end of World War II roughly 300,000 American GIs were deployed as occupation forces in Germany. Many of them quickly developed intimate relations with their former enemies. Those informal interactions played a significant role in the transformation of Germany from enemy to ally of the United States, argues Petra Goedde in this study. Goedde finds that as American soldiers fraternized with German civilians, particularly as they formed sexual relationships with women, they developed a feminised image of Germany that contrasted sharply with their wartime image of the aggressive Nazi stormtrooper. A perception of German "victimhood" emerged that was fostered by the German population and adopted by Americans. According to Goedde, this new view of Germany provided a foundation for the political rapprochement that developed between the two countries even before the advent of the Cold War. Her provocative findings suggest that the study of foreign relations should focus on interactions not only between politicians and diplomats but also between ordinary citizens.

Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 13 Chapter 1. “Know Your Enemy?” American and German Wartime Images 25 Chapter 2. Crossing the Border The Breakdown of the Fraternization Ban 66 Chapter 3. Villains to Victims The Cultural Feminization of Germany 104 Chapter 4. Selling Democracy GIs and German Youth 151 Chapter 5. Forging a Consensus Americans, Germans, and the Berlin Airlift 190 Conclusion 223 Notes 235 Select Bibliography 269 Index 296 After World War II thousands of American GIs developed intimate relations with their former enemies while deployed as occupation forces in Germany. This study argues that those informal interactions played a significant role in the transformation of Germany from enemy to ally of the USA.