Study Tours, Trade Fairs, Publicity Campaigns - German-American Business Encounters and Cold War Anxieties

Abstract

For historians of postwar Germany and America, writing about “business relations” poses a formidable challenge. Although such a study might begin with a focus on finance and trade, one quickly discovers that “business” always transcends the realm of the economy proper. After 1945, transatlantic business relations were not only about trade or corporate partnerships, they were also about the transmission of mentalities and ideas. Postwar business relations entailed a collection of “sociopolitical,” “socioeconomic,” and “sociocultural interlacings.” Whether over a glass of wine or at a seminar on management strategies, whether in New York or in Frankfurt, American and West German businessmen met regularly to forge a vibrant transatlantic relationship. Corporate executives, company managers, economic publicists, and entrepreneurs came together to discuss not only business ventures and export statistics but also the political developments in both countries, the spiritual condition of “the West,” and the nature of democracy and totalitarianism. If we could eavesdrop on these private dialogues from 1945 to 1968, we would discover that West German and American businessmen were not immune to the broader preoccupations of the postwar period.