Adenauer's Foreign Office: West German Diplomacy in the Shadow of the Third Reich

by Thomas Maulucci

Overview

The creation of the Foreign Office under Adenauer tells us much about the possibilities and limits of professional diplomacy in the mid-twentieth century. It also demonstrates three themes central to the early history of the Federal Republic: the integration of the new state into the international community, the cooptation of German elites and traditions by the new political system, and the creation of government in a state under foreign occupation.

In this important study, Thomas Maulucci argues that, despite an improvised start and a considerable continuity of practice and personnel with pre-1945 Germany, the changed international anddomestic situation proved decisive in creating a ministry that could help to implement new directions in German foreign policy. In addition, Maulucci explores the interactions between international, political, and social history, contributing to a literature that bridges the gap between the pre- and post-World War Two eras that characterized previous writing on German history.

Based on extensive research in German, American, British, and French archives, Adenauer's Foreign Office is the only English-language book of its kind. The troubling question of personnel continuity in the German diplomatic service is of considerable importance today, especially because of the Foreign Office's previous attempts to portray its past in the best possible light. Of interest to scholars and students of German history and politics as well as non-specialists, this book provides new insights into post-war diplomacy, the sociology of German elites, and the problems involved in creating a new government after losing a major war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780875804637
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2012
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas W. Maulucci, Jr., is associate professor and chair of the History Department and the International Studies Program at American International College.

Table of Contents

List of Charts and Figures vii

Acknowledgments ix

List of Abbreviations and Foreign Words Used in the Text xiii

Introduction 3

1 The Auswärtiges Amt of the German Reich, 1871-1945 12

2 The Foreign Affairs Question in Occupied Germany, 1945-49 41

3 The Return of the German Diplomats 64

4 Foreign Policy without a Foreign Office, 1949-51 92

5 The Foreign Office's "Childhood Illnesses," 1949-55 119

6 Personnel Policy, 1949-55 145

7 The Leadership Structure in the Auswärtiges Amt, 1951-55 182

8 The Career Diplomats and Adenauer's Foreign Policy 214

Conclusion 244

Appendix: The Auswärtiges Amt, 1951-June 1955 251

Notes 271

Bibliography 351

Index 373

What People are Saying About This

Susanna Schrafstetter

This book traces institutional, personal, and intellectual continuities in the German Foreign Ministry from the Nazi era into the post-war period. It examines the postwar West German Auswärtiges Amt from several perspectives, including that of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, West Germany's allies, diplomats, and journalists. As such it is an important contribution to the social, political, and international history of the Federal Republic. Maulucci's knowledge of the sources and his overall command of his subject are truly impressive.

S. Jonathan Wiesen

Maulucci adds significantly to our understanding of the West German Foreign Office in the first decade after World War II. He has moved through a mass of diplomatic correspondences, private papers, and personnel documents to reveal the many challenges facing the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) as it reengaged in international relations after Nazism. The study touches on themes of potentially wide interest, such as the position of ex-Nazis in the higher echelons of the West German government.

Editorial Reviews

Thomas Maulucci's comprehensive analysis is both a study in continuities and discontinuities in post-World War II West German foreign policy and a deeply researched prosopography with mental maps of the Wilhelmstraße veterans in the Federal Republic's newly created Foreign Office in March 1951. This fine study belongs in every research library.

Central European History

Maulucci has produced a very readable account of Adenauer's foreign office, of its origins and traditions, and of its myths.

German History

With impressive knowledge of the archival material and a broad perspective on the research literature, [Maulucci] analyzes the 'return' of the German diplomats from 'automatic arrest,' Allied internment camps, and denazification procedures.

American Historical Review

Maulucci is forthright in discussing the role that diplomats played in Nazi Germany, and also their efforts to obscure their unsavory past. At the same time, however, he avoids sensationalism and apology. Any reader who hopes to understand Germany's transition will find this book to be a rich resource.

Yearbook of German American Studies

Maulucci's strengths include exhaustive use of the archives, timely interviews with many (now-deceased) figures, the persistence to finish what he started, and clear-eyed engagement with his cast of characters.

The Journal of Modern History

""Maulucci is forthright in discussing the role that diplomats played in Nazi Germany, and also their efforts to obscure their unsavory past. At the same time, however, he avoids sensationalism and apology....Any reader who hopes to understand Germany's transition will find this book to be a rich resource.

" -Yearbook of German American Studies

"With impressive knowledge of the archival material and a broad perspective on the research literature, [Maulucci] analyzes the 'return' of the German diplomats from 'automatic arrest,' Allied internment camps, and denazification procedures.

" ––American Historical Review

"Thomas Maulucci's comprehensive analysis is both a study in continuities and discontinuities in post-World War II West German foreign policy and a deeply researched prosopography with mental maps of the Wilhelmstraße veterans in the Federal Republic's newly created Foreign Office in March 1951. This fine study belongs in every research library.

" -Central European History  "

From the Publisher