"“Based on impressive multi-archival work and a keen sense for a good narrative, the author introduces us to the complex, interlocking networks of the littleknown Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany. A fantastic addition to our understanding of the ‘Transnational Transatlantic’ in the 20th century” - Giles Scott-Smith, Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History, Leiden University, The Netherlands "An original and insightful book exploring how two transatlantic networks worked to improve and solidify West Germany’s relationship with the United States in the aftermath of World War II- transnational history at its best.” - Deborah Barton, Assistant Professor of History, University of Montreal, Canada Revisiting the relationship between the USA and Germany following the Second World War, this book offers a new perspective and focuses on the influence of two organisations in accelerating West Germany’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance. Tracing the Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany’s (ACG) origins to the late 1940s and tracking their development and activities throughout the 1950s-70s, this book covers new ground in German-American historiography by bridging public and private relations and introducing central actors that have previously been hidden from academic debate. The author unveils and examines dense transatlantic elite networks that allowed Germany to re-join the ‘community of nations,’ regain sovereignty, and become a trusted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Analysing transatlantic relations through the lens of the intertwined history of the Atlantik-Brücke and the ACG, this book explores public-private networks on a transnational level, providing valuable reading for those studying political history, European and American post-war relations and the Cold War.

"Based on impressive multi-archival work and a keen sense for a good narrative, the author introduces us to the complex, interlocking networks of the little-known Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany, and explores their significance for strengthening the crucial post-1945 United States - West German relationship that continues to resonate to this day. A fantastic addition to our understanding of the 'Transnational Transatlantic' in the 20th century" - Giles Scott-Smith, Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History, Leiden University, The Netherlands "This original and insightful book explores how, via soft-power diplomacy, two transatlantic networks worked to improve and solidify West Germany's relationship with the United States in the aftermath of World War II. This is transnational history at its best" - Deborah Barton, Assistant Professor of History, University of Montreal, Canada Revisiting the relationship between the USA and Germany following the Second World War, this book offers a new perspective and focuses on the influence of two organisations in accelerating West Germany's integration into the Atlantic Alliance. Tracing the Atlantik-Brücke and the American Council on Germany's (ACG) origins to the late 1940s and tracking their development and activities throughout the 1950s-70s, this book covers new ground in German-American historiography by bridging public and private relations and introducing central actors that have previously been hidden from academic debate. The author unveils and examines dense transatlantic elite networks that allowed Germany to re-join the 'community of nations,' regain sovereignty, and become a trusted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Analysing transatlantic relations through the lens of the intertwined history of the Atlantik-Brücke and the ACG, this book explores public-private networks on a transnational level, providing valuable reading for those studying political history, European and American post-war relations and the Cold War. Anne Zetsche studied History and North American Studies at Free University Berlin, Germany and University of Ulster, Northern Ireland. She received her doctoral degree in History from Northumbria University, UK.

The young Helmut Schmidt and British-German relations, 1945-74 -- Harold Wilson, 1974-76 -- James Callaghan, 1976-79 -- Margaret Thatcher, 1979-82.

Informal Alliance is the first archive-based history of the secretive Bilderberg Group, the high-level transatlantic elite network founded at the height of the Cold War. Making extensive use of the recently opened Bilderberg Group archives as well as a wide range of private and official collections, it shows the significance of informal diplomacy in a fast-changing world of Cold War, decolonization, and globalization. By analyzing the global mindset of the postwar transatlantic elite and by focusing on private, transnational modes of communication and coordination, this study provides important new insights into the history of transatlantic relations, anti-Americanism, Western anti-communism, and European integration during the 1950s and 1960s. Informal Alliance also debunks the persistent myth that the Bilderberg Group was created by the CIA and repudiates widespread conspiracy theories alleging that Bilderberg was some sort of secret world government.

Writing and Rewriting the Reich tells the complex story of women journalists as both outsiders and insiders in the German press of the National Socialist and post-war years. From 1933 onward, Nazi press authorities valued female journalists as a means to influence the public through charm and subtlety rather than intimidation or militant language. Deborah Barton reveals that despite the deep sexism inherent in the Nazi press, some women were able to capitalize on the gaps between gender rhetoric and reality to establish prominent careers in both soft and hard news. Based on data collected on over 1,500 women journalists, Writing and Rewriting the Reich describes the professional opportunities open to women during the Nazi era, their gendered contribution to Nazi press and propaganda goals, and the ways in which their Third Reich experiences proved useful in post-war divided Germany. It draws on a range of sources including editorial proceedings, press association membership records, personal correspondence, newspapers, diaries, and memoirs. It also sheds light on both unknown journalists and famous figures including Margret Boveri, Ruth Andreas-Friedrich, and Ursula von Kardorff. Addressing the long-term influence of women journalists, Writing and Rewriting the Reich illuminates some of the most salient issues in the nature of Nazi propaganda, the depiction of wartime violence, and historical memory.

According to its members, exiled political leaders from nine east European countries, the ACEN was an umbrella organization—a quasi-East European parliament in exile—composed of formerly prominent statesmen who strove to maintain the case of liberation of Eastern Europe from the Soviet yoke on the agenda of international relations. Founded by the Free Europe Committee, from 1954 to 1971 the ACEN tried to lobby for Eastern European interests on the U.S. political scene, in the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Furthermore, its activities can be traced to Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. However, since it was founded and sponsored by the Free Europe Committee (most commonly recognized as the sponsor of the Radio Free Europe), the ACEN operations were obviously influenced and monitored by the Americans (CIA, Department of State). This book argues that despite the émigré leadership's self-restraint in expressing criticism of the U.S. foreign policy, the ACEN was vulnerable to, and eventually fell victim of, the changes in the American Cold War policies. Notwithstanding the termination of Free Europe’s support, ACEN members reconstituted their operations in 1972 and continued their actions until 1989. Based on a through archival research (twenty different archives in the U.S. and Europe, interviews, published documents, memoirs, press) this book is a first complete story of an organization that is quite often mentioned in publications related to the operations of the Free Europe Committee but hardly ever thoroughly studied.