3 - American Cultural Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-1968

Summary

[Translated by Robert Kimber and Rita Kimber] The United States never pursued a cultural policy in Germany simply for its own sake. Rather, its efforts in this area were, from the outset, a reaction against the propaganda of the Third Reich and, later, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Soviet Union. Already during the final phase of World War II, Anglo-American military forces began informing their enemies about American culture as part of their psychological-warfare offensive to correct misconceptions that prevailed in the Third Reich. This idea of “setting the record straight” formed the underlying basis for the reeducation program pursued by American occupation forces after 1945 in Germany and remained central to U.S. cultural policy. This chapter focuses on cultural policy planning in Washington and how it was implemented, taking the Amerika-Hauser and media policy as examples.

>planning in washington

The reeducation program of the postwar period was initially planned as only a temporary measure during the War Department-run military occupation. However, it was not only because of the anti-American propaganda that the Socialist Unity Party (SED) began disseminating in 1946 and the Berlin Blockade but also American uncertainty about the viability of democracy in West Germany that resulted in the creation of a permanent cultural program controlled by the U.S. State Department. Aimed at providing Germany and the world with a “full and fair picture” of the United States, the Smith-Mund Act of 1948 enabled the administration to implement a worldwide, peacetime cultural and information program. This law authorized creation of an overseas information service and an exchange service.