West Germans Against The West

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Christoph Hendrik Müller

   Pages 1-21

3. Vergangenheitsbewältigung at the Expense of the United States

   • Christoph Hendrik Müller

   Pages 22-61

4. Rejection of the Republic — Democracy and Capitalism

   • Christoph Hendrik Müller

   Pages 62-119

5. Hedonism and Equality

   • Christoph Hendrik Müller

   Pages 120-171

6. ‘Americanisation’ Revisited

   • Christoph Hendrik Müller

   Pages 172-178

7. Epilogue: ‘1968’ and ‘America’

   • Christoph Hendrik Müller

   Pages 179-182

8. Back Matter

   Pages 183-258

   PDF

An exploration of how the theme of Anti-Americanism was employed by influential sections of the West German media to oppose the modernisation of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 'long 1950s'. In the public battle over the future direction of Germany, America stood as a symbol of social, political and economic corruption.

• democracy
• equality
• Germany
• media

'In this excellent historical-cultural study, Muller takes a closer look at the 'long 1950s' and shows convincingly that anti-American attitudes were not just at the fringes but pretty much at the heart of West Germany's emerging political culture. Coming to terms with the past, West German politicians and intellectuals struggled with the supposed 'deeper' meanings of the relationship between democracy, capitalism and culture.' - Times Higher Education

'...fascinating study...' - Journal of Contemporary European Studies Issue 4/2012

CHRISTOPH HENDRIK MÜLLER has been a lecturer at University College Dublin, Ireland, and has taught at Queen's University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. He has worked for Reuters, the Financial Times Deutschland and SPIEGEL online. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Oxford and a BA from Trinity College Dublin. He currently lives in Amman, Jordan.

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