ENDURING ENTANGLEMENTS

A history book explores the ties between Germany and the United States before, during, and after World War II.

In this work, Brown (The Legacies, 2018, etc.) delivers a minutely documented overview of the many connections between Americans and Germans during and after the Nazi regime’s time in power. The volume covers technological innovations with impacts on the two countries, prominent Americans like Charles Lindbergh and Joseph Kennedy who forged personal links with Germany, and the many multinational corporations that operated and had financial interests in both nations, from I.G. Farben and Allianz to Alcoa and Eastman-Kodak. The business and financial associations make up much of the narrative, with the author skillfully explaining not only how they operated across national borders, but also why (“The second reason American businesses began to invest more in the Third Reich occurred on July 5, 1935 when President Roosevelt signed the Wagner Act into law”). The book provides a high-level overview of the many individuals and companies involved and details noteworthy or unusual cases, like IBM’s lengthy appeals to a U.S. commission for compensation for its Third Reich facilities. Brown also includes many of the war crimes trials, the Cold War-driven relocation of German officials to America, and the decadeslong effort to restore property confiscated from Jews in Germany and the occupied countries, presenting readers with a clear picture of how entangled the two nations were despite being on opposite sides of a global conflict. The book is thoroughly researched (back matter, including substantial endnotes that both supply citations and allow Brown to digress on topics that do not fit into the main narrative, takes up about a quarter of the pages) and evenhanded. The volume sticks to documented facts, telling an often troubling story without histrionics (“One cannot justify the American thefts for any reason, but one can also understand, maybe even identify with, how otherwise upstanding and honorable American servicemen could have a little sense of entitlement and, in turn, steal from the people who supported, or chose to be unaware of, the monstrous crimes committed against so many innocent people”). The writing is solid, and the author does a good job of analysis, highlighting the conclusions of previous works on the subject (“Michael Bazyler points out that the American jurisprudence system served as the conduit in helping Holocaust survivors to receive compensation”; Erik Larsen’s In the Garden of Beasts “provides an intimate, but chilling examination of just how troublesome life was for” William Dodd  (the American ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937) and drawing connections for his readers.  The book is particularly effective in explaining the combined efforts necessary to obtain some level of compensation for Holocaust survivors, with threats of divestment and pleas of moral suasion balancing lawsuits. Thanks to the work’s voluminous range, both World War II aficionados and those who have only a passing familiarity with the topic should find the text easy to follow and filled with noteworthy information.

A comprehensive look at the U.S.-Germany relationship that enhances readers’ understanding of World War II.