Know your Enemy The American Debate on Nazism, 19331945 [Paperback]

Analyses the intellectual side of the American war effort against Nazi Germany, showing how conflicting interpretations of 'the German problem' shaped American warfare and postwar planning.This book examines how conflicting interpretations of the German problem shaped American warfare against the Nazis. American public perceptions of the Third Reich were often forgiving and conflicted with the Roosevelt administrations need to create a negative image of the enemy. The tension between popular and expert views generated complex discussions among Americas political and cultural elites and produced insightful, yet contradictory interpretations of Nazism.This book examines how conflicting interpretations of the German problem shaped American warfare against the Nazis. American public perceptions of the Third Reich were often forgiving and conflicted with the Roosevelt administrations need to create a negative image of the enemy. The tension between popular and expert views generated complex discussions among Americas political and cultural elites and produced insightful, yet contradictory interpretations of Nazism.This book analyzes the intellectual side of the American war effort against Nazi Germany. It shows how conflicting interpretations of the German problem shaped American warfare and postwar planning. The story of how Americans understood National Socialism in the 1930s and 1940s provides a counter-example to the usual tale of enemy images. The level of German popular support for the Nazi regime, the nature of Nazi war aims, and the postwar prospects of German democratization stood at the center of public and governmental debates. American public perceptions of the Third Reich  based in part on ethnic identification with the Germans  were often forgiving but also ill-informed. This conflicted with the Roosevelt administrations need to create a compelling enemy image. The tension between popular and expert views generated complex and fruitful discussiló=