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9 - Protection from the Protector

Court-Martial Cases and the Lawlessness of Occupation in American-Controlled Berlin, 1945–1948

from Part Three - Tensions between Neighbors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2013

Thomas W. Maulucci, Jr
Affiliation:
State University of New York
Detlef Junker
Affiliation:
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
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Summary

Court-martial case files documenting noncapital infractions by U.S. military personnel unveil the stormy casual relationships and tense chance encounters, providing a unique opportunity to witness the many different faces of GIs and Germans in the first three years of Berlin's occupation. To maintain discipline among the troops stationed in the destroyed city, courts-martial were assembled swiftly so that potential infractions involving U.S. Army personnel could be adjudicated according to the dictates of military law. The cases adjudicated in these trials provide a view into German-American relations that looks beyond the much-discussed issue of fraternization. The court-martial system was designed to discipline and punish armed service personnel for infractions committed during tours of duty. Police records, MP reports, and personal accounts testify that Americans were represented in scuffles with the Berlin civilian population: these less than pleasant forms of fraternization punctuated the daily contact between Germans and their postwar protectors.
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Chapter
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GIs in Germany
The Social, Economic, Cultural, and Political History of the American Military Presence
, pp. 212 - 234
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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