Germany and the United States on the Eve of the Cold War
Almost anyone who has lived in Germany over the past sixty years will find the following video very strange indeed. It appeared in the early days of the occupation, when the Cold War was still only on the horizon and a strict anti-fraternization policy made sense to the U.S. military leadership.
By the way, if you are a Dr. Suess fan, listen to the language. I’ve read many of his stories to my son, and I can hear the hand he had in this film.
If that film appears ridiculous, here is a piece of wartime propaganda from Walt Disney to put it into context.
By the way, Dr. Suess also addressed the question of war and peace in a famous children’s book from the Cold War, The Butter Battle Book
Stoneman’s Corner
- Book Review: GDR and Consumption January 13, 2013
- Teaching Notes: Synthesis and Process September 29, 2012
- Hist 499-005: Gender and Class in Modern Europe August 18, 2012
- Reflections after Class July 3, 2012
- Requiring Students to Use Chicago Style (or Turabian or Whatever) June 14, 2012
- Military History Conference May 13, 2012
- Syllabus for Hist 606: Themes in European History II May 3, 2012
- Command Culture by Jörg Muth April 28, 2012
- Who Should Groener’s Schlieffen Plan Matter To? March 18, 2012
- Hist 499-003: Gender and Class in Modern Europe (Required Books) March 7, 2012
With regards to the first propaganda film– the one aimed at American occupation troops, how much of what may look like hyper-vigilance today was actually justified given the context? When we consider the extent that every significant institution of German society had been Nazified, shouldn’t occupation forces have been wary of with whom they were dealing?
I worked with a theatre director who grew up under Hitler, and despite his espousal of utopian pacificism– it became clear to me that there was still an element of Nazi programing still intact years later.
Anyway– interesting how the government film seemed to incorporate footage from “Triumph of the WIll.” The Disney film was sort of odd in that Hans would have been 12 years old by the time the war ended– but as satire, the bit with Hitler and Germany making sweet talk in faux-German to Wagner was just a brilliant piece of comedy.
that’s horrible!
War is ridiculous which makes people do the unthinkable. Ultimately, there are no winners or losers because the enemy of war is war itself.
But I have always wondered why Germany, a technologically advanced country and peopled with such intelligent and artistic inhabitants was swayed by one man’s idiotic belief of a superior race? And allowed to happen such monstrosity as the holocaust right in front of their noses! Unbelievable!
Benhurjun-
Why do you say that it is unbelievable? The facts are laid out for all to see. The deeds were committed. The Germans (and, to be fair, collaborators from other nations) committed the deeds.
Ideologies of racial supremacy, in general, were (and still are, in some instances) widely held even amongst the educated populace of many societies, and in the European experience, Jews had been singled out as a minority par excellence to be vilified and dehumanized for many centuries. Fascism, in addition, was taken very seriously as a political philosophy in opposition to both liberalism and communism.
Hitler did not invent these ideas, he only took ideas that were already widespread and presented them in a manner that was very attractive to a significant number of Germans– indeed he borrowed a great deal from some of the giants of German culture: Richard Wagner’s racial ideas and Martin Luther’s anti-Judaic rhetoric. There’s even a bastardized version of the philosophies of Nietzsche and Hegel that was incorporated into Fascist philosophy.
Historians like Professor Stoneman have shown us, time and time again, that we are foolish to call these horrors “unbelievable.” We know they happened, and we even have some rather strong hypotheses as to why they did happen.
Hmm, I’m not clear why you think that anyone living in Germany in the last 60 years would think these videos very strange. Because they didn’t think Germany was capable of more crimes against humanity? That war was impossible again because Germany was divided? Because children are innocent? I’ve never been to Germany but I’d guess any German who wasn’t in denial would look back at these videos and see them in the context of their times; with 2 world wars of grotesque magnitude this anti German propoganda was perfectly understandable. Yep it’s antiquated, possibly silly, perhaps even reactionary but understandable-yes. Justifable? – All depends on how you view German History.
Hey, my brain’s thinking again…not sure it’s working that well but that was a lot more interesting than dishclothes…