Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Introduction: Politics, Security, Economics, Culture, and Society - Dimensions of Transatlantic Relations
- POLITICS
- “No Harder Enterprise” - Politics and Policies in the German-American Relationship, 1945-1968
- 1 The Allied Council of Foreign Ministers Conferences and the German Question, 1945-1947
- 2 The United States in the Allied Control Council - From Dualism to Temporary Division
- 3 Supervised Democratization: American Occupation and German Politics
- 4 Life Rewarded the Latecomers - Denazification During the Cold War
- 5 The Marshall Plan and the Origins of the Cold War
- 6 Winning the Peace - The United States, Western Germany, and the Ambiguities of “Dual Containment” 1945-1950
- 7 The United States and the Founding of the Federal Republic, 1948-1949
- 8 From Occupation to Alliance - German-American Relations, 1949-1955
- 9 Rollback - An Offensive Strategy for the Cold War
- 10 From Supreme Authority to Reserved Rights and Responsibilities - The International Legal Basis of German-American Relations
- 11 Germany Between the Superpowers, 1948-1968
- 12 The United States and the German Question, 1949-1968
- 13 Divided Loyalties in Transatlantic Policy Toward Europe
- 14 The U.S. Congress and German-American Relations
- 15 Political Parties and German-American Relations - Politics Beyond the Water’s Edge
- 16 Personalities and Politics - The American Ambassadors to the Federal Republic
- 17 The Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, 1955-1968
- 18 Berlin - Catalyst and Fault Line of German-American Relations in the Cold War
- 19 “Little Room for Maneuver” - Relations Between the United States and the GDR
- SECURITY
- Security Through Deterrence? German-American Security Relations, 1945-1968 - The Primacy of Security Policy
- 1 Overcast, Paperclip, Osoaviakhim - Looting and the Transfer of German Military Technology
- 2 The Dilemmas of Dual Containment - Germany as a Security Problem, 1945-1950
- 3 Partners in Defense - America, West Germany, and the Security of Europe, 1950-1968
- 4 Variable Architectures for War and Peace - U.S. Force Structure and Basing in Germany, 1945-1990
- 5 The Shifting Military Balance in Central Europe
- 6 NATO Strategy and the German-American Relationship
- 7 German-American Disagreements over Arms-Control Policy
- 8 The Origins of Intelligence Cooperation Between the United States and West Germany
- ECONOMICS
- From Enlightened Hegemony to Partnership - The United States and West Germany in the World Economy, 1945-1968
- 1 From Weakening an Enemy to Strengthening an Ally: The United States and German Reparations
- 2 Restructuring and Support - Beginnings of American Economic Policy in Occupied Germany
- 3 From Decartelization to Reconcentration - The Mixed Legacy of American-Led Corporate Reconstruction in Germany
- 4 Opting for the Structural Break: The West German Currency Reform and Its Consequences
- 5 The Marshall Plan
- 6 Protégé and Partner - The United States and the Return of West Germany to the Liberal World Economic System
- 7 American and German Trade Relations
- 8 Technology and the Construction of the Alliance - Technology Transfer, the Cold War, and German-American Relations
- 9 Occupation Costs, Stationing Costs, Offset Payments - The Conflict over the Burdens of the Cold War
- 10 From Reconstruction Aid to Capital Interlocking: Direct and Portfolio Investments
- 11 German and American Economic and Monetary Policy
- 12 The Influence of the United States on German Economic Thought
- CULTURE
- A New Start and Old Prejudices: The Cold War and German-American Cultural Relations, 1945-1968
- 1 U.S. Cultural Policy and German Culture During the American Occupation
- 2 American Influences on the German Educational System
- 3 American Cultural Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-1968
- 4 Between Elitism and Educational Reform - German-American Exchange Programs, 1945-1970
- 5 Science and Scientific Exchange in the German-American Relationship
- 6 American Literature in Germany and Its Reception in the Political Context of the Postwar Years
- 7 The American Reception of Contemporary German Literature
- 8 Cold War Politics and American Popular Culture in Germany
- 9 Popular Music in Germany - The Genesis of a New Field of Discourse
- 10 German Musical Influences in the United States
- 11 Side by Side - Hollywood and German Film Culture
- 12 From Reeducation to Alternative Theater - German-American Theater Relations
- 13 Fascination, Ignorance, and Rejection - Changing Transatlantic Perspectives in the Visual Arts, 1945-1968
- 14 Architecture as Political Medium
- 15 The Legacy of the Holocaust in Germany and the United States
- SOCIETY
- America and Social Change in Germany
- 1 Gentle Conquest in the West: Americans and Germans, 1944-1945
- 2 Gender, Race, and Power - American Soldiers and the German Population
- 3 CARE Packages - Gifts from Overseas to a Defeated and Debilitated Nation
- 4 Remigrants and Reconstruction
- 5 Immigration and Emigration Before 1968
- 6 The German Churches and the Specter of Americanization
- 7 From Negation to First Dialogues - American Jewry and Germany in the First Postwar Decades
- 8 German and American Women Between Domesticity and the Workplace
- 9 Support and Dissent - German and American Labor’s Transnational Ties
- 10 Study Tours, Trade Fairs, Publicity Campaigns - German-American Business Encounters and Cold War Anxieties
- 11 Producing to Consume Becomes Consuming to Produce - Advertising and Consumerism in German-American Relations
- 12 American Influences on Urban Developments in West Germany
- 13 Blurred Sovereignty - The German-American Media Relationship in the Postwar Era
- 14 In Hitler’s Shadow
- 15 Old Stereotypes and New Realities - The West German Image of the United States
- 16 The Good and the Bad America - Perceptions of the United States in the GDR
- 17 Neither East Nor West - Anti-Americanism in West Germany, 1945-1968
- 18 Americanization
- 19 Westernization - The Transition in Political Culture
- Index
18 - Americanization
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2013
- Frontmatter
- Introduction: Politics, Security, Economics, Culture, and Society - Dimensions of Transatlantic Relations
- POLITICS
- “No Harder Enterprise” - Politics and Policies in the German-American Relationship, 1945-1968
- 1 The Allied Council of Foreign Ministers Conferences and the German Question, 1945-1947
- 2 The United States in the Allied Control Council - From Dualism to Temporary Division
- 3 Supervised Democratization: American Occupation and German Politics
- 4 Life Rewarded the Latecomers - Denazification During the Cold War
- 5 The Marshall Plan and the Origins of the Cold War
- 6 Winning the Peace - The United States, Western Germany, and the Ambiguities of “Dual Containment” 1945-1950
- 7 The United States and the Founding of the Federal Republic, 1948-1949
- 8 From Occupation to Alliance - German-American Relations, 1949-1955
- 9 Rollback - An Offensive Strategy for the Cold War
- 10 From Supreme Authority to Reserved Rights and Responsibilities - The International Legal Basis of German-American Relations
- 11 Germany Between the Superpowers, 1948-1968
- 12 The United States and the German Question, 1949-1968
- 13 Divided Loyalties in Transatlantic Policy Toward Europe
- 14 The U.S. Congress and German-American Relations
- 15 Political Parties and German-American Relations - Politics Beyond the Water’s Edge
- 16 Personalities and Politics - The American Ambassadors to the Federal Republic
- 17 The Ambassadors of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, 1955-1968
- 18 Berlin - Catalyst and Fault Line of German-American Relations in the Cold War
- 19 “Little Room for Maneuver” - Relations Between the United States and the GDR
- SECURITY
- Security Through Deterrence? German-American Security Relations, 1945-1968 - The Primacy of Security Policy
- 1 Overcast, Paperclip, Osoaviakhim - Looting and the Transfer of German Military Technology
- 2 The Dilemmas of Dual Containment - Germany as a Security Problem, 1945-1950
- 3 Partners in Defense - America, West Germany, and the Security of Europe, 1950-1968
- 4 Variable Architectures for War and Peace - U.S. Force Structure and Basing in Germany, 1945-1990
- 5 The Shifting Military Balance in Central Europe
- 6 NATO Strategy and the German-American Relationship
- 7 German-American Disagreements over Arms-Control Policy
- 8 The Origins of Intelligence Cooperation Between the United States and West Germany
- ECONOMICS
- From Enlightened Hegemony to Partnership - The United States and West Germany in the World Economy, 1945-1968
- 1 From Weakening an Enemy to Strengthening an Ally: The United States and German Reparations
- 2 Restructuring and Support - Beginnings of American Economic Policy in Occupied Germany
- 3 From Decartelization to Reconcentration - The Mixed Legacy of American-Led Corporate Reconstruction in Germany
- 4 Opting for the Structural Break: The West German Currency Reform and Its Consequences
- 5 The Marshall Plan
- 6 Protégé and Partner - The United States and the Return of West Germany to the Liberal World Economic System
- 7 American and German Trade Relations
- 8 Technology and the Construction of the Alliance - Technology Transfer, the Cold War, and German-American Relations
- 9 Occupation Costs, Stationing Costs, Offset Payments - The Conflict over the Burdens of the Cold War
- 10 From Reconstruction Aid to Capital Interlocking: Direct and Portfolio Investments
- 11 German and American Economic and Monetary Policy
- 12 The Influence of the United States on German Economic Thought
- CULTURE
- A New Start and Old Prejudices: The Cold War and German-American Cultural Relations, 1945-1968
- 1 U.S. Cultural Policy and German Culture During the American Occupation
- 2 American Influences on the German Educational System
- 3 American Cultural Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-1968
- 4 Between Elitism and Educational Reform - German-American Exchange Programs, 1945-1970
- 5 Science and Scientific Exchange in the German-American Relationship
- 6 American Literature in Germany and Its Reception in the Political Context of the Postwar Years
- 7 The American Reception of Contemporary German Literature
- 8 Cold War Politics and American Popular Culture in Germany
- 9 Popular Music in Germany - The Genesis of a New Field of Discourse
- 10 German Musical Influences in the United States
- 11 Side by Side - Hollywood and German Film Culture
- 12 From Reeducation to Alternative Theater - German-American Theater Relations
- 13 Fascination, Ignorance, and Rejection - Changing Transatlantic Perspectives in the Visual Arts, 1945-1968
- 14 Architecture as Political Medium
- 15 The Legacy of the Holocaust in Germany and the United States
- SOCIETY
- America and Social Change in Germany
- 1 Gentle Conquest in the West: Americans and Germans, 1944-1945
- 2 Gender, Race, and Power - American Soldiers and the German Population
- 3 CARE Packages - Gifts from Overseas to a Defeated and Debilitated Nation
- 4 Remigrants and Reconstruction
- 5 Immigration and Emigration Before 1968
- 6 The German Churches and the Specter of Americanization
- 7 From Negation to First Dialogues - American Jewry and Germany in the First Postwar Decades
- 8 German and American Women Between Domesticity and the Workplace
- 9 Support and Dissent - German and American Labor’s Transnational Ties
- 10 Study Tours, Trade Fairs, Publicity Campaigns - German-American Business Encounters and Cold War Anxieties
- 11 Producing to Consume Becomes Consuming to Produce - Advertising and Consumerism in German-American Relations
- 12 American Influences on Urban Developments in West Germany
- 13 Blurred Sovereignty - The German-American Media Relationship in the Postwar Era
- 14 In Hitler’s Shadow
- 15 Old Stereotypes and New Realities - The West German Image of the United States
- 16 The Good and the Bad America - Perceptions of the United States in the GDR
- 17 Neither East Nor West - Anti-Americanism in West Germany, 1945-1968
- 18 Americanization
- 19 Westernization - The Transition in Political Culture
- Index
Summary
The term “Americanization” has circulated in Germany since the turn of the last century and with increasing frequency since the 1920s. In everyday language and the pages of the popular press, it refers to a process of cultural and social cultural adaptation to the standards set by the society of the United States. According to the simple monolinear model of cultural transmission behind this notion, commodities from the United States and the ideas associated with them have flooded German society and remolded it on the pattern of “the American way of life.” Although this cliché remains suggestive and widely used, it should be carefully differentiated from the debate in contemporary history over the degree of American influence on German society and on West German society since World War II in particular, the subject of the second half of this article.
The popular image of American society, which has offered Germans a misleading vision of their own future, encompasses a collection of enduring clichés: Although the United States leads in technology and entices with many of the comforts of civilization, it is a money-driven society lacking culture or a soul. The principal negative, psychosocial consequences attributed to the ongoing rationalization and homogenization associated with Americanization have been “softness” and “feminization” (the loss of male authority) as well as loss of individuality and a unique identity.
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- Information
- The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War, 1945–1990A Handbook, pp. 635 - 642Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004