Skip to Main Content

American Big Business in Britain and Germany: A Comparative History of Two "Special Relationships" in the 20th Century

Online ISBN:
9781400850297
Print ISBN:
9780691161099
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
Book

American Big Business in Britain and Germany: A Comparative History of Two "Special Relationships" in the 20th Century

Volker R. Berghahn
Volker R. Berghahn
Columbia University
Find on
Published online:
19 October 2017
Published in print:
4 May 2014
Online ISBN:
9781400850297
Print ISBN:
9780691161099
Publisher:
Princeton University Press

Abstract

While America's relationship with Britain has often been deemed unique, especially during the two world wars when Germany was a common enemy, the American business sector actually had a greater affinity with Germany for most of the twentieth century. This book examines the triangular relationship between the American, British, and German business communities and how the special relationship that Britain believed it had with the United States was supplanted by one between America and Germany. The book begins with the pre-1914 period and moves through the 1920s, when American investments supported German reconstruction rather than British industry. The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 led to a reversal in German–American relations, forcing American corporations to consider cutting their losses or collaborating with a regime that was inexorably moving toward war. Although Britain hoped that the wartime economic alliance with the United States would continue after World War II, the American business community reconnected with West Germany to rebuild Europe's economy. And while Britain thought they had established their special relationship with America once again in the 1980s and 1990s, in actuality it was the Germans who, with American help, had acquired an informal economic empire on the European continent. This book uncovers the surprising and differing relationships of the American business community with two major European trading partners from 1900 through the twentieth century.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close