15 - GIs under Siege

Summary

The West German peace movement was initially internationalist in outlook, but nationalist ideologies and anti-American sentiments grew stronger within it as time went on and it had to supplement protest with suggestions for alternative security policies for the Federal Republic. Nationalism was the root cause of mainstream participation in the peace movement. Nationalist and anti-American argued that NATO was dominated by the United States and advocated a more independent West German foreign policy. The peace movement did not tolerate attacks upon GIs or American officers during the 1980s. The awareness that U.S. installations in West Germany were being used for non-NATO operations did not affect the peace movement's commitment to nonviolence. The GIs serving in Germany during the 1980s were much more likely than their predecessors of the Vietnam era to support their government's foreign policy.