Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-txr5j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-07T15:58:08.478Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

10 - Study Tours, Trade Fairs, Publicity Campaigns - German-American Business Encounters and Cold War Anxieties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2013

Detlef Junker
Affiliation:
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
Get access

Summary

For historians of postwar Germany and America, writing about “business relations” poses a formidable challenge. Although such a study might begin with a focus on finance and trade, one quickly discovers that “business” always transcends the realm of the economy proper. After 1945, transatlantic business relations were not only about trade or corporate partnerships, they were also about the transmission of mentalities and ideas. Postwar business relations entailed a collection of “sociopolitical,” “socioeconomic,” and “sociocultural interlacings.” Whether over a glass of wine or at a seminar on management strategies, whether in New York or in Frankfurt, American and West German businessmen met regularly to forge a vibrant transatlantic relationship. Corporate executives, company managers, economic publicists, and entrepreneurs came together to discuss not only business ventures and export statistics but also the political developments in both countries, the spiritual condition of “the West,” and the nature of democracy and totalitarianism. If we could eavesdrop on these private dialogues from 1945 to 1968, we would discover that West German and American businessmen were not immune to the broader preoccupations of the postwar period.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×