Lemza ’76 New Book: American Military in West Germany

Lemza '76 New Book: American Military Communities in West Germany: Life in the Cold War Badlands, 1945-1990. On April 28, 1946, a small group of American wives and children arrived at the port of Bremerhaven, West Germany, the first of thousands of military family members to make the transatlantic journey. They were the basis of a network of military communities - "Little Americas" - that would spread across the postwar German landscape. During the 45 years of dynamic global change and tense moments during the Cold War, their presence confirmed America's resolve to maintain Western democracy int he face of the Soviet threat. Drawing on archival sources and personal narratives, this book explores these enclaves of Americanism, from the U.S. government's perspective to the homemakers' view. It describes interaction n American communities that were sometimes separated, sometimes connected with their German neighbors.