The Art of Occupation : Crime and Governance in American-Controlled Germany, 1944–1949

Authors

Thomas J. Kehoe

Files

Series

War and Society in North America

Description

The literature describing social conditions during the post–World War II Allied occupation of Germany has been divided between seemingly irreconcilable assertions of prolonged criminal chaos and narratives of strict martial rule that precluded crime. In The Art of Occupation, Thomas J. Kehoe takes a different view on this history, addressing this divergence through an extensive, interdisciplinary analysis of the interaction between military government and social order.

Focusing on the American Zone and using previously unexamined American and German military reports, court records, and case files, Kehoe assesses crime rates and the psychology surrounding criminality. He thereby offers the first comprehensive exploration of criminality, policing, and both German and American fears around the realities of conquest and potential resistance, social and societal integrity, national futures, and a looming threat from communism in an emergent Cold War. The Art of Occupation is the fullest study of crime and governance during the five years from the first Allied incursions into Germany from the West in September 1944 through the end of the military occupation in 1949. It is an important contribution to American and German social, military, and police histories, as well as historical criminology.

Copyright Statement

The Art of Occupation © 2019 by Ohio University Press is licensed under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language

eng

ISBN

9780821446812

Publication Date

10-15-2019

Publisher

Ohio University Press

City

Athens

Keywords

Cold War, Iron Curtain, foreign policy, German history, military government, military occupation, social order, criminology, 20th century

Disciplines

Criminology and Criminal Justice | European History | Law and Politics | Military History | Social History

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Kehoe, Thomas J., "The Art of Occupation : Crime and Governance in American-Controlled Germany, 1944–1949" (2019). Ohio University Press Open Access Books. 60.
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/60