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Catherine McTavish, "Fraternisation and the Economic Progress of Post-World War Two Germany: The Impact of American-German Relations on Economic Recovery" During November 1944, while planning for the forthcoming invasion of Germany, the US Army chiefs put in place a policy of non-fraternisation, outlawing contact between the members of the occupying force and the German populace. Once the war was over and Germany occupied, it became evident that the non-fraternisation policy was impractical for the everyday administration of the American Zone, and the bans were relaxed. While contact between the occupiers and the population in general increased, the relaxation led inevitably to the formation of a great number of relationships between male soldiers and German women. While many of these relationships were grounded in genuine affection, others were of a more straightforward economic nature--food and other goods in exchange for sex. In a time of severe shortages, where women in particular received rations well below a healthy level, many needed this form of prostitution in order to survive. Often families had been left without a male breadwinner, leaving children reliant upon their mothers alone, and many mothers could only provide for their families through contact with American soldiers. The gender imbalance in the population led to the increased daily responsibility of women, as they were forced to look after their families in a time of great economic shortage, and the tasks that they needed to undertake to ensure their family's survival left little or no time for paid employment. The relative affluence of the American soldier was often able to compensate for the lack of income of German women. Also, the creation of illegal black markets, in which American soldiers played important roles, provided German civilians with easier access to food and other goods, meaning they were able to devote more time to legitimate employment, which had a positive impact on the recovering economy. Fraternisation helped to open the eyes of the occupiers to the real economic situation in Germany, and led to an improvement not only in the personal circumstances of thousands of women, but also in the general conditions in the American zone of occupation. Through frequent and close contact with members of the civilian population, American soldiers were able to see the problems that confronted the German people. This led to an increase in the desire of the ordinary American soldier to help, by supplying German women and their dependents with food and other sought-after goods. It also affected the manner in which economic reconstruction was approached, formulated and implemented by the American Military Government. It was also through fraternisation that American soldiers began to view defeated Germany in gendered terms, with the conception that whereas the men were responsible for the atrocities committed under the Third Reich, the women were in need of the "protection" that the American GI was able to provide. Fraternisation between soldiers and civilians, in any form, improved the spirits of the population and made them more receptive to the programs of the Allied forces, which in turn created more liberal occupiers. While it cannot be said that fraternisation caused no trouble for the Military Government, under a strict policy of non-fraternisation the American occupation of Germany would have encountered more problems in undertaking their economic and social policies. Biography: |
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