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from Part I - Enemies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2023
What should be done with Germany after the war? The problem of how to handle a defeated Germany spawned intense and bitter debate within the highest levels of American government. The divisions only intensified as victory came into view. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau’s plan was to remove all heavy manufacturing capabilities from the defeated nation. The Germans had launched two world wars, and it was time to ensure that they could never trouble their neighbors again. But given the widespread food shortages expected to come after the war, stripping the country of its factories and machinery would almost certainly lead to mass starvation, and everyone knew it. Morgenthau’s plan could only seem cruel. It was a modern-day version of a Carthaginian peace, and at the Treasury Secretary’s urging, President Roosevelt signed on. The problem was that most other members of the administration opposed Morgenthau’s plan, and they launched a rear-guard action to defeat it.
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