American policy and the reconstruction of West Germany, 1945-1955

This volume of essays by German and American historians deals with the most important issues of U.S. policy toward Germany in the decade following World War II: constitutional problems, political and economic democratization, higher education, urban reconstruction, questions of industry, demilitarization and rearmament, treatment of war criminals, problems of German and European security, and the integration of the Federal Republic of Germany into the Western Alliance.

All contributions to this volume are based on recent research in German and American archives, including two comprehensive essays on archival sources in the Federal Republic and the United States for the Occupation period and the era of the Allied High Commission. While a substantial body of historical literature deals with the policies of the U.S. government for Germany (1945-49), archival research into American policy toward Germany in the period of the Allied High Commission (1949-55) is still in an early stage. Relevant records are not easily accessible to historians.

The essays in this volume therefore represent one of the first efforts to expand our knowledge of both periods of German history and of American policy toward Germany in the first postwar decade.