14 - In Hitler’s Shadow

Summary

The “American image of Germany” can be understood as the “cognitive representation of qualities” that the American public attributes to Germany and Germans. “The” image of Germany is, of course, as much an ideal type and construct as “the” American public. In reality, a whole range of different images of Germany has always existed and continues to coexist; political scientists correctly argue that the existence of diverse, not entirely autonomous, politically defined publics must be assumed. Retaining a sense of the ambiguity of these terms is thus important. Nevertheless, when I use both concepts in singular form here, I do so with the conviction that such simplification can provide useful insights. As recent research into images of nation has found, “the” image that Americans have of Germany is a product of the “cultural system” of the society that receives and absorbs the image; stereotypes of itself and of outsiders, self-images and images of foreigners, all flow into each another.

A modern synthesis of the American image of postwar Germany has not as yet been done using all available source material, be it opinion polls or current literature or artistic debates on Germany. One must inevitably rely on some older representations that describe the American image of Germany through the lens of history.