Thomas J. Kehoe - The Art of Occupation: Crime and Governance in American-Controlled Germany, 1944–1949

The Art of Occupation

WAR AND SOCIETY IN NORTH AMERICA

Series Editors: Ingo Trauschweizer and David J. Ulbrich

Editorial Board

Janet Bednarek

Michael W. Doyle

Nicole Etcheson

Joseph Fitzharris

John Grenier

John Hall

Paul Herbert

James Westheider

Lee Windsor

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The Art of Occupation: Crime and Governance in American-Controlled Germany, 19441949, by Thomas J. Kehoe

THE ART OF OCCUPATION

Crime and Governance in American-Controlled Germany, 19441949

Thomas J. Kehoe

OHIO UNIVERSITY PRESS

ATHENS

Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 45701

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kehoe, Thomas J., 1980- author.

Title: The art of occupation : crime and governance in American-controlled Germany, 1944-1949 / Thomas J. Kehoe.

Other titles: Crime and governance in American-controlled Germany, 1944-1949

Description: Athens, OH : Ohio University Press, [2019] | Series: War and society in North America | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019014946| ISBN 9780821423820 (hbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780821446812 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Military government--Germany (West) | Police--Germany (West)--History. | Crime--Germany (West)--History. | Criminal justice, Administration of--Germany (West)--History. | Germany--Social conditions--1945-1955. | Germany--History--1945-1955.

Classification: LCC DD257.2 .K37 2019 | DDC 940.087/4--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019014946

For my beautiful daughter Maeve Eleanor, 20172019

Contents

Proclamations, Ordinances and Laws Issued
by Allied Military Government in Germany

Acknowledgments

As with many first books, the nascent idea for this project was formed years ago, which means that many people added constructively to my thinking or helped me bring this to completion in some other fashion. From the very beginning of my graduate studies at the University of Sydney in 2010 I was interested in occupation, though my curiosity extended beyond analyzing such events purely as military exercises. No matter the duration, a period of occupation is profound in the histories of the occupied and the occupiers alike. Allied control of Germany after World War II is an excellent case in point. It affected nearly every facet of daily life for people in Germany, including the social and political order as well as the economy.

There has been a great deal written on this history, and it took me significant time to find an avenue for this book. It is therefore a credit to my various instructors that I could ultimately contribute to our knowledge of this history. I have my supervisors from the University of Sydney, Professors A. Dirk Moses and Robert Aldrich, to thank for first pushing me to think creatively about craft, narrative, argument, and the current relevance of the past. My doctoral supervisors at the University of Melbourne, Dr. Steven Welch and Professor Barbara Keys, in equal measure gave me the freedom and constraint that allowed me chart an interdisciplinary approach to writing histories of crime and governance, which ultimately became the basis of this book. They pointed me toward new sources of data and a new way of thinking about the interactions between social and intellectual history. I credit both of them with forcing me to adopt the sort of focus necessary for completing a doctoral dissertation and pursuing a career in research. The subsequent advice of the doctoral examiners they selected to review my thesis, Professors Adam Seipp (Texas A&M) and Petra Goedde (Temple University), was instrumental to shaping this quite-different book that grew from my doctoral thesis. For that, I also have to thank the editorial team at Ohio University Press and the reviewers for offering constructive ideas that pushed me to refine my thinking.

This book would not have been possible without a number of benefactors. The aid of a research fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD) was crucial. In 2013, the DAAD funded my primary research in Germany. I thank Dr. Margit Szllsi-Janze at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich for sponsoring me to travel to Germany and the Geyer family who hosted me in Munich. (Herr Geyer often very patiently listened to me as I rambled about my days research, gently correcting my German, asking intriguing questions, and sharing his favorite drinks.) Nor would this project have come to fruition if my first post-PhD employer, Professor Michael Wilmore at Swinburne University of Technology, had not supported my continued pursuit of historical research, despite its not explicitly being part of my role. I wrote the first book proposal while in that position.

The award of a postdoctoral research fellowship by the University of New England was critical. It allowed me the time and financial security to spend hours rethinking, redrafting, and ultimately honing the work that follows. For that position, I have to thank Professor Richard Scully for shepherding the application through its various stages. He has also proved an excellent sounding board during my tenure in the department. Thank you to Professors Klaus Neumann, Adam Seipp, and A. Dirk Moses for reading drafts of the book proposal and offering valuable constructive criticism.

There are many personal relationships that influenced my work. My father helped me photograph documents, and he ultimately constructed some of the statistical characterizations of crime that are referenced in this book. My mother was always encouraging of higher-degree study and first suggested an academic career long before I ever considered the option seriously. But most importantly, I have to thank my wife, Dr. Elizabeth Greenhalgh, who shared with me the challenges and excitements of pursuing graduate studies. She has been an invaluable source of support, a sounding board, and an excellent writing partner on a number of occasions. She also tolerated my working long hours as I endeavored to finish this book. For that sacrifice and all the many other ways that she has shown her support, I will be eternally grateful.

Introduction

Friedrich Wilhelm had just broken a US Army telephone wire when American soldiers happened on him outside of Nuremberg in early May 1945. Classified as an act of sabotage under the US martial law governing occupied Germany, it was a serious offense. If convicted by an American military court, Wilhelm faced the potential sentences of any fine, term of imprisonment, or even death. Making things worse for him, heavier punishments were more likely because the Allies feared resistance. Though nearing an end, the war was still ongoing, and the Americans were on alert for Nazi partisans, especially around Nuremberg, which had been significant to Hitlers movement and was only captured two weeks earlier following an unexpectedly difficult battle.