Trends in the Western Historiography of the United States’ Occupation of Germany

Abstract

This article examines the historiography of the U.S. Army’s occupation of Germany after World War II and how historians have portrayed the event in North-American literature. It argues that the central question dividing American historians is whether the U.S. occupation was too lenient or too harsh. This split began at the end of the war with Allied leaders divided between a harsh occupation of the Reich and containing the Soviets. This historiographical essay traces this, and other trends, in how historians have viewed the occupation.