Know your enemy : the American debate on Nazism, 1933-1945 / Michaela Hoenicke Moore.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hönicke Moore, Michaela.

Series:

Publications of the German Historical Institute

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945.

Public opinion.

History.

United States--Relations--Germany.

United States.

Relations.

Germany.

Germany--Relations--United States.

Germany--Foreign public opinion, American--History--20th century.

United States--Foreign relations--1933-1945.

International relations.

Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945--Public opinion.

Hitler, Adolf.

National socialism--Public opinion.

National socialism.

United States--Intellectual life--20th century.

Intellectual life.

Public opinion--United States--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

xviii, 390 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Summary:

"This book analyzes the intellectual side of the American war effort against Nazi Germany. It shows how conflicting interpretations of "the German problem" shaped American warfare and postwar planning. The story of how Americans understood National Socialism in the 1930s and 1940s provides a counter-example to the usual tale of enemy images. The level of German popular support for the Nazi regime, the nature of Nazi war aims, and the postwar prospects of German democratization stood at the center of public and governmental debates. American public perceptions of the Third Reich - based in part on ethnic identification with the Germans - were often forgiving but also ill-informed. This conflicted with the Roosevelt administration's need to create a compelling enemy image. The tension between popular and expert views generated complex and fruitful discussions among America's political and cultural elites and produced insightful, yet contradictory interpretations of Nazism"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : defining the German problem

Part one: Prelude to war. Memories of World War I : Franklin D. Roosevelt and Germany ; News from the new Germany : conflicting interpretations, contested meanings, 1933-1940 ; The propsect of war, 1933-1941

Part two: Mobilizing the American home front, 1942-1943. "The principal battleground of this war is American public opinion" ; The Office of War information : "explaining Nazism to the American people is no easy assignment" ; Why we fight : the nature of the enemy seen differently

Part three: The public debate on Germany, 1942-1945. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde : Germans and Nazis ; The German disease and Nazism as gangsterism ; German peculiarities : Vansittartism in the American wartime debate

Part four: The governmental debate on postwar plans, 1943-1945. What do you do with people like that? ; How to prevent World War III? ; The enemy in defeat : German-American encounters at "zero hour."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521829694

0521829690

OCLC:

422765008

Online:

Cover image