I have seen a lot of talk comparing the project of rebuilding Iraq with Germany and Japan, but here, finally, is an authortative report of the state of Germany after 7 months of occupation. The comments are Allen W. Dulles', then the head of the OSS (predecessor to CIA) in Bern, to the Council of Foreign Relations, December 1945.
The value of these comments are quite apparent, now. We never do appreciate the answers until we know the questions. Standing 50 years this side of Germany's rebuilding, it is easy to overlook just how difficult it was. As the Editor of FOREIGN AFFAIRS notes,
"Knowing how the story ended, it is difficult for us to escape the tyranny of hindsight and see those earlier cases as they appeared to contemporary observers -- in their full uncertainty, as history in the making rather than data to be mined for present-day polemics."
UPDATE
Also, this reprint of an article from LIFE (January 1946) "Americans are Losing the Victory in Europe," provides further historical observations of Europe after the War. Here is a gem quote:
"Never has American prestige in Europe been lower. People never tire of telling you of the ignorance and rowdy-ism of American troops, of out misunderstanding of European conditions. They say that the theft and sale of Army supplies by our troops is the basis of their black market. They blame us for the corruption and disorganization of UNRRA. They blame us for the fumbling timidity of our negotiations with the Soviet Union. They tell us that our mechanical de-nazification policy in Germany is producing results opposite to those we planned."
UPDATE:
In today's (20 October) Christian Science Monitor, Karl Zinzmeister has some good things to report.
No comments:
Post a Comment