Remaking the Conquering Heroes: The Social and Geopolitical Impact of the Post-War American Occupation of Germany

by J. Willoughby

Overview

Remaking the Conquering Heroes shows that American policymakers and Army officers had to confront and take control over a lawless US military in the aftermath of World War II. Money laundering, theft, racial antagonism between black and white GIs, unregulated sex, and high rates of venereal disease threatened to undermine American authority in occupied Germany as much as Soviet-American conflict. Willoughby argues that it was the creative, if disorganized, reaction of American officials in Germany that helped create both a foreign policy framework and more inclusive, familial military establishment capable of consolidating and extending US power during the Cold War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349386253
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	03/09/2001
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2001
Pages:	187
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

JOHN WILLOUGHBY is Associate Professor of Economics at American University in Washington, D.C. Between 1998 and 2000, he served as the Senior Economics Professor at the new American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Historical Significance of the Rise of American Martial Tourism in Germany The Collapse of the World War II Army 'Primarily Invested in the German Fraulein' The Corrosive Racial Divide From Colony to Junior Partner Between Boot Camp and Summer Camp The Beginnings of Gender and Racial Inclusion in the Cold War Military Family Remaking the Conquering Heroes: Extending American Power

Editorial Reviews

'...a uniquely interdisciplinary social history of the U.S. occupation army...' -

Journal of Military History

From the Publisher

Willoughby has written a fascinating study of the transformation of American troops in Germany...

Choice

In a period already rife with political and historical studies, the author (economics, American U.) chose to focus on the grass roots, analyzing economic documents produced by US officers working in Berlin just after the Nazis' collapse. He shows that in the war's aftermath, American policymakers and Army officers had to control a lawless US military as money laundering, theft, racial antagonisms, unregulated sex, high rates of venereal disease, and Soviet-American conflict threatened to undermine their authority in occupied Germany. Willoughby argues that it was the creative reaction of American officials that helped launch both a foreign policy framework and a more inclusive, familial military establishment capable of consolidating and extending US power during the Cold War. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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