Overview
- Examines post-war relations between Germany and the USA from a new perspective, analysing the activities of the Atlantik-Brücke and the ACG
- Sheds light on transatlantic elite networks and private organisations that influenced Germany's integration into the Atlantic Alliance during the Cold War
- Brings key players, such Eric M. Warburg and Countess Marion Dönhoff, to the forefront of post-war relations between the USA and Germany
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Political History (PSPH)
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About this book
"“Based on impressive multi-archival work and a keen sense for a good narrative, the author introduces us to the complex, interlocking networks of the littleknown Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany. A fantastic addition to our understanding of the ‘Transnational Transatlantic’ in the 20th century”
- Giles Scott-Smith, Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History, Leiden University, The Netherlands
"An original and insightful book exploring how two transatlantic networks worked to improve and solidify West Germany’s relationship with the United States in the aftermath of World War II- transnational history at its best.”- Deborah Barton, Assistant Professor of History, University of Montreal, Canada
Revisiting the relationship between the USA and Germany following the Second World War, this book offers a new perspective and focuses on the influence of two organisations in accelerating West Germany’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance. Tracing the Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany’s (ACG) origins to the late 1940s and tracking their development and activities throughout the 1950s-70s, this book covers new ground in German-American historiography by bridging public and private relations and introducing central actors that have previously been hidden from academic debate. The author unveils and examines dense transatlantic elite networks that allowed Germany to re-join the ‘community of nations,’ regain sovereignty, and become a trusted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Analysing transatlantic relations through the lens of the intertwined history of the Atlantik-Brücke and the ACG, this book explores public-private networks on a transnational level, providing valuable reading for those studying political history, European and American post-war relations and the Cold War.
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Keywords
- German
- German history
- Transatlantic elite network
- American Council of Germany
- ACG
- Atlantik-Brücke
- West Germany
- German-American relations
- Public diplomacy
- Cold War
- Transatlantic studies
- Post-war era
- Foreign policy
- Public-private relationship
- International politics
- Nazi regime
- Internationalism
- Communism
- NATO
- Atlantic Alliance
Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Reviews
“Zetsche’s work is the first academic monograph on these transatlantic organizations … and will therefore be of great interest to scholars focusing on the Atlantic alliance in general and postwar relations between the U.S. and the Federal Republic in particular. Zetsche’s pioneering study is all the more impressive, since neither organization has an archive holding its records … .” (Jasper Trautsch, H-Soz-Kult, hsozkult.de, September 21, 2022)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Anne Zetsche studied History and North American Studies at the Free University Berlin, Germany and University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. During that time she also worked as research assistant at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) and as teaching assistant at the John F. Kennedy Institute at the Free University Berlin. She received her doctoral degree in History from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Anne has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at John F. Kennedy Institute at the Free University Berlin. Currently, she works as a freelance author, researcher, consultant and civic education trainer.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany, 1952–1974
Book Subtitle: The Quest for Atlanticism
Authors: Anne Zetsche
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Political History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63933-4
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-63932-7Published: 24 March 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-63935-8Published: 24 March 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-63933-4Published: 23 March 2021
Series ISSN: 2946-5176
Series E-ISSN: 2946-5184
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVII, 300
Number of Illustrations: 2 illustrations in colour
Topics: History of Germany and Central Europe, Political History, History of the Americas, Modern History, European History