"“Based on impressive multi-archival work and a keen sense for a good narrative, the author introduces us to the complex, interlocking networks of the littleknown Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany. A fantastic addition to our understanding of the ‘Transnational Transatlantic’ in the 20th century”
- Giles Scott-Smith, Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History, Leiden University, The Netherlands
"An original and insightful book exploring how two transatlantic networks worked to improve and solidify West Germany’s relationship with the United States in the aftermath of World War II- transnational history at its best.”- Deborah Barton, Assistant Professor of History, University of Montreal, Canada
Revisiting the relationship between the USA and Germany following the Second World War, this book offers a new perspective and focuses on the influence of two organisations in accelerating West Germany’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance. Tracing the Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany’s (ACG) origins to the late 1940s and tracking their development and activities throughout the 1950s-70s, this book covers new ground in German-American historiography by bridging public and private relations and introducing central actors that have previously been hidden from academic debate. The author unveils and examines dense transatlantic elite networks that allowed Germany to re-join the ‘community of nations,’ regain sovereignty, and become a trusted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Analysing transatlantic relations through the lens of the intertwined history of the Atlantik-Brücke and the ACG, this book explores public-private networks on a transnational level, providing valuable reading for those studying political history, European and American post-war relations and the Cold War.
Author(s): Anne Zetsche
Series: Palgrave Studies in Political History
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 309
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Graphs
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
Private Elites and Foreign Relations
Casting and Connecting “Good Germans”
The Founders and Their Motivations
Meaning and Significance of the Atlantik-Brücke and ACG
Forging Transatlantic Links in the American Century
This Book
Chapter 2: Unlikely Friends: The Founders of an Unfolding Transatlantic Elite Network
A Transatlantic Commuter: Eric Moritz Warburg, 1900–1990
The Warburg Dynasty
New York Apprenticeship in the 1920s
Brief Return to Germany, a Country in Upheaval
Starting Anew in the US
A Transatlantic Commuter’s Life
A German-Born Jew with an American Passport Reviving West German Industry
Unofficial Service to the Cause of German-American Relations
Germanophile Cold Warrior: Christopher Temple Emmet, 1900–1974
The “Bourgeoisie” of the United States: Emmet’s Family Background
Emmet’s Political Activism
Emmet and the CFR
The “Committee” Cold Warrior
Fighting Communism by Opposing US Foreign Policy in Occupied Germany
The East Prussian Countess: Marion Dönhoff, 1909–2002
“Ancient Aristocratic Lineage”: Dönhoff’s Family Background
The Countess’ Educational Career
The Countess’ 20 July Connection
Starting Anew: The Countess Turned Journalist
Crossing the Atlantic Again
Dönhoff’s Networks
The Most Unlikely Atlanticist
Hanseatic Merchant and Politician: Erik Blumenfeld, 1915–1997
Hamburg Merchants and Danish Gentry
From Bourgeois Dandy Life to the “Parade Grounds of Concentration Camps”
Reviving Business in Hamburg
Entering Politics Speaking Out on Economic Issues
Adenauer’s Unofficial Foreign Policy Adviser
The Atlanticist Looking East
Conclusion
Chapter 3: The “Good” Germans and Their American Friends: The Atlantik-Brücke’s and the ACG’s Membership
The Beginnings
The Atlantik-Brücke
The 1950s: Establishing a White-Washing Agency for West German Industry
The 1960s: The Politicisation of a Private Elite Club
The American Council on Germany
The American Friends of the “Good” Germans
The ACG Struggling with a Changing Zeitgeist
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Boosting the German Image: The Funders of a German-American Public Diplomacy Effort
West German Public Agencies
The Federal Press Office
The Foreign Office and the Federal Chancellery
Boosting Transatlantic Elite Networking: The ACG and the Ford Foundation
An Institutional Relationship Underpinned by Transatlantic Friendships
Ford Foundation Money and Activities of the ACG
Corporate Donors to the Cause of German-American Relations
Inverted Roles During the 1950s and 1960s: The ACG on Financial Life Support from West German Industrial Circles
Coming of Age in the 1970s: “The Chairman” Turns the Tide
Conclusion
Chapter 5: Off the Record: The Informal Diplomacy of the ACG and the Atlantik-Brücke
Public Diplomacy and Beyond, 1952–1959
Adenauer’s Trips to the United States
Confiscated German Property in the US
The Kennan Acheson Controversy
Challenges to Atlanticism: 1960–1967
The Franco-German Friendship Treaty of 1963
Détente and the End of the Era of the Cold Warrior Christopher Emmet, 1968–1974
The Non-proliferation Treaty
Brandt’s Ostpolitik and the First Young Leaders’ Conference
Conclusion
Chapter 6: Promoting a Transatlantic Identity: The German-American Conferences, 1959–1974—A Public-Private Project
The Culture of Transatlantic Elite Networking
Setting and Social Events Surrounding the Transatlantic Elite Meetings
Tribute to the Frontline City: Visiting Tours to Berlin
A German-American Elite Network Evolves: A “Common Western Parliament”?
The Selection Process
The Transatlantic Elite Network
The Inner Circle of the Conference Network
The Debates Within the German-American Elite: Courting Controversy?
Disengagement
Germany’s Nazi Past
The Vietnam War
East-West Trade
Conclusion
Chapter 7: A German-American Elite Network in the Post-Cold War Era Outlook and Conclusion
Sources and Literature
Primary Source Material
Unpublished Sources
Archives
Published Sources
Reports of the German-American Conferences:
Annual Reports
Miscellaneous
Interview Cited
Newspapers Consulted
Secondary Literature
Index
