Germany–United States relations

German–American relations

Germany	United States

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greeting United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama

German–American relations are the transatlantic relations between Germany and the United States. Today, the United States is regarded as one of the Federal Republic of Germany’s closest allies and partners outside of the European Union.

Country comparison

	Germany	United States
Population	82,060,000	336,369,000
Area	357,021 km² (137,847 sq mi)	9,826,630 km² (3,794,066 sq mi)
Population Density	246/km² (637/sq mi)	31/km² (80/sq mi)
Capital	Berlin	Washington, D.C.
Largest City	Berlin – 3,431,700 (5,000,000 Metro)	New York City – 8,175,133 (19,006,798 Metro)
Government	Federal parliamentary republic	Federal presidential constitutional republic
Official languages	German (de facto)	English (de facto)
Main Religions	64% Christianity, 29.6% Irreligion, 5% Islam, 0.25% Judaism, 0.25% Buddhism, 0.10% Hinduism, 0.09% Sikhism	75% Christianity, 20% non-religious, 2% Judaism, 1% Buddhism. 1% Islam
Ethnic groups	80% German, 4.3% Turkish, 17.7% other	74% White American, 13.4% African American, 6.5% Some other race, 4.4% Asian American, 2.0% Two or more races, 0.68% Native American or Native Alaskan, 0.14% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
GDP (nominal)	$3.66 trillion ($44,660 per capita)	$14.441 trillion ($47,440 per capita)
German Americans	99,891 American born people living in Germany	50,764,352 people of German ancestry living in the USA
Military expenditures	$45.93 billion (FY 2008)	$663.7 billion (FY 2010)

German immigration to the United States

Self-reported ancestry of the population of the United States (by countries, 2001)

Largest self-reported ancestries in the United states (2000)

Main article: German American

For over three centuries, immigration from Germany accounted for a large share of all American immigrants. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 20% of all Americans, and 25% of white Americans, claim German descent. German-Americans are an assimilated group which influences political life in the US as a whole. They are the most common self-reported ethnic group in the northern half of the United States, especially in the Midwest. In most of the South, German Americans are less common, with the exception of Florida and Texas.

1683–1848

The first records of German immigration date back to the 17th century and the foundation of Germantown near Philadelphia in 1683. Immigration from Germany to the US reached its first peak between 1749 and 1754 when approximately 37,000 Germans came to North America.

1848–1914

In 1848, six million Germans emigrated to the United States. Many of these Germans settled in the cities of Chicago, Detroit and New York. The failed German Revolutions of 1848 accelerated emigration from Germany. Those Germans who left as a result of the revolution were called the Forty-Eighters. Between the revolution and the start of World War I over one million Germans settled in the United States.

These Germans endured hardship as a result of overcrowded ships; Typhus fever spread rapidly throughout the ships due to the cramped conditions. On average, it took Germans six months to get to United States and many died on the journey to the New World.

By 1890 more than 40 percent of the population of the cities of Cleveland, Milwaukee, Hoboken and Cincinnati were of German origin. By the end of the nineteenth century, Germans formed the biggest self-described ethnic group in the United States and their customs became a strong element in American society and culture.

Political participation of German-Americans was focused on involvement in the labor movement. Germans in America had a strong influence on the labor movement in the United States. Newly founded labor unions enabled German immigrants to improve their working conditions and to integrate into American society.

Since 1914

A combination of patriotism and anti-German sentiment during the two world wars caused most German-Americans to cut their former ties and assimilate into mainstream American culture. During the time of the Third Reich, Germany had another major emigration wave of German Jews and other political refugees.

Today, German-Americans form the largest self-reported ancestry group in the United States with California and Pennsylvania having the highest number of German Americans.

Perceptions and values in the two countries

Germany and the United States are civil societies. Germany's philosophical heritage and American spirit for "freedom" interlock to a central aspect of Western culture and Western civilization. Even though developed under different geographical settings, the Age of Enlightenment is fundamental to the self-esteem and understanding of both nations.

It can also be observed that both countries have experienced the ideology of white supremacy. When the Congress of the Nazi Party met in 1935 to pass their Nuremberg Laws, they were in many ways modeled on the Jim Crow laws which were in place in the USA from 1877 to 1954.

Both countries value work ethic and respect a sense of right and order. The image of an Ugly American corresponds to the "Ugly German". A high level of cultural exchange has led to relatively strong views of each other, both positive and negative. Americans tend to view Germans as efficient and orderly, yet routinely mock them for their Nazi past. German views of Americans on the other hand often resemble those of Canadians toward Americans. Nevertheless, both Americans and Germans visit each other's countries routinely, for business or study.

The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has also changed the perception of the U.S. in Germany significantly. A recent BBC poll shows that 20% of Germans think the US has a mainly positive influence in the world, while 72% think it is mainly negative. Both countries differ in many key areas, such as energy and military intervention.

A survey conducted on behalf of the German embassy in 2007 showed that Americans continued to regard Germany's failure to support the war in Iraq as the main irritant in relations between the two nations. The issue was of declining importance, however, and Americans still considered Germany to be their fourth most important international partner behind the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. Americans considered economic cooperation to be the most positive aspect of U.S.-German relations with a much smaller role played by Germany in U.S. politics.

Political relations

Pre-1871

The United States did not immediately establish formal diplomatic relations with any of the German states. Several economic agreements were made; however, including a 1785 trade agreement with the Kingdom of Prussia. The first representative of the United States in a German state came with the appointment of John Quincy Adams as Minister to Prussia in 1797. This was short-lived; however, and the United States had no permanent representation in Germany until 1835 when Henry Wheaton was appointed by Andrew Jackson. Meanwhile, the first German representation in the United States was established in 1817, when King Frederick William III's appointed Friedrich von Greuhm as Minister to the United States. This legation would be transformed to the North German Confederation in 1868.

German Empire and two world wars

World War I

During World War I, the United States initially sought isolation, but eventually joined the Allied powers. The German Navy waged unrestricted warfare across the Atlantic Ocean often resulting in American casualties. Berlin refused to stop the unrestricted naval bombardments. Ultimately, the Zimmerman Telegraph, a top secret message sent from the German Empire to Mexico was the catalyst which brought America into the war. The details of the plan infuriated Americans; Germany suggested an invasion of the U.S. by Mexico if America entered the war. This would keep The U.S. from deploying troops to Europe and Germany would still be able to wage unrestricted naval warfare to cut British supplies. In return, when the war was won by the Central Powers, Mexico would be rewarded with the territory lost during the Mexican-American War.

President Wilson before Congress, announcing the break in the official relations with Germany

President Woodrow Wilson convinced Congress to declare war on the German Empire and the Central Powers. The United States entered World War I in 1917, providing a crucial injection of troops and resources to the Allies. After the exit of Russia from the war that same year, Germany could reallocate approximately 600,000 experienced troops to their Western Front; but with the entry of the United States into the war, the Allies outnumbered the Germans. The Allies succeeded in defeating the German Empire and their Central Power allies.

Back home in the United States, German-Americans were frequently discriminated against. Any significant German cultural impact on the U.S. was seen with intense hostility and suspicion. The German Empire was portrayed as a threat to American freedom and way of life. In Germany, the United States was another enemy and considered a false liberator, wanting to dominate Europe itself.

World War II

The Second World War made German-American relations worse. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japanese forces brought the U.S. into the conflict, where it once again fought Germany. The United States played a central role in the defeat of the Axis Powers, meaning relations between Berlin and Washington, D.C. were inevitably terrible. Nazi Germany used American participation as one of the leaders of the Allies for extensive propaganda value- the infamous "Liberators" poster may be the most powerful example.

In the poster, America is depicted as a monstrous, vicious war machine seeking to destroy European culture. The post alludes to many negative aspects of American history, including the Ku Klux Klan and lynching of blacks. The poster represented capitalism, ties to Judaism and of a depiction of a bomb destroying a European village.

Post war

Following the defeat of the Third Reich, American forces were one of the occupation powers in postwar Germany. In parallel to denazification and "industrial disarmament" American citizens fraternized with Germans which was – despite an initial partly based on ancestor relations, among other reasons. The Berlin Airlift from 1948–1949 and the Marshall Plan (1948–1952) further improved the Germans' perception of Americans.

Cold War

John F. Kennedy meeting with Willy Brandt, in the White House, March 13, 1961.

The emergence of the Cold War made the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) the frontier of a democratic Western Europe and American military presence became an integral part in West German society. During the Cold War, West Germany developed into the largest economy in Europe and West German-U.S. relations developed into a new transatlantic partnership. Germany and the U.S. shared a large portion of their culture, established intensive global trade environment and continued to co-operate on new high technologies. However, German-American cooperation wasn't always free of tensions between differing approaches on both sides of the Atlantic. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent reunification of Germany marked a new era in German-American relations.

Post 1990

German chancellor Angela Merkel with U.S. President George W. Bush in January 2006

During the early 1990s the reunified Germany was called a "partnership in leadership" as the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower.

Germany's effort to incorporate any major military actions into the slowly progressing European Security and Defence Policy did not meet the expectations of the U.S. during the Gulf War. After the September 11 attacks, German-American political relations were strengthened in an effort to combat terrorism, and Germany sent troops to Afghanistan as part of the NATO force. Yet, discord continued over the Iraq War, when then German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and foreign minister Joschka Fischer made efforts to prevent war and consequently did not join the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq.

Military relations

Statue of Steuben at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania

German-American military relations date back to the American War of Independence when German troops fought on both sides. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a former Lieutenant General in the Prussian Army, was appointed Inspector General of the Continental Army and helped form the rough militia into a proper military force during the winter of 1777–1778 at Valley Forge. Von Steuben is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the United States Army.

Another German that served during the American Revolution was Major General Johann de Kalb, who served under Horatio Gates at the Battle of Camden and died as a result of several wounds he sustained during the fighting.

About 30,000 German mercenaries fought for the British, with 17,000 coming from Hesse, amounting to about one in four of the adult male population of the principality. Generally referred to as Hessians, these German auxiliaries swore allegiance to the British Crown, but without renouncing their allegiance to their own rulers. Leopold Philipp von Heister, Wilhelm von Knyphausen, and Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg were the principal generals who commanded these troops with Frederick Christian Arnold, Freiherr von Jungkenn as the senior German officer.

German Americans have been very influential in the United States military. Some notable figures include Brigadier General August Kautz, Major General Franz Sigel, General of the Armies John J. Pershing, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, and General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.

Germany and the United States are joint NATO members. The U.S. currently has approximately 50,000 American troops stationed in southern Germany. During the Cold War the number of U.S. troops based in West Germany was much higher. Both nations have cooperated closely in the War on Terror, with Germany providing more troops than any other nation. The two nations; however, have opposing public policy positions in the War in Iraq. While Germany may have blocked U.S. efforts to secure UN Resolutions in the buildup to war, they continued to support U.S. interests in southwest Asia quietly. German soldiers operated military biological and chemical cleanup equipment at Camp Doha in Kuwait; German Navy ships secured sea lanes to deter attacks by Al Qaeda on U.S. Forces and equipment in the Persian Gulf; and soldiers from Germany's Bundeswehr deployed all across southern Germany to U.S. Military Bases to conduct Force Protection duties in place of German-based U.S. Soldiers who were deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The latter mission lasted from 2002 until 2006. As of 2006 nearly all these Bundeswehr have been demobilized.

Economic relations

The two nations' economies are mutually important to each other both in the areas of investment and trade: 50% of German foreign direct investment goes to the United States. German investment in the United States amounts to over 100 billion euros. The United States is the largest investor in the European Union with almost 50% of all investment and in Germany with total investment amounting to 100 billion dollars, of which about 10% are in the new Federal Länder (former East Germany), making the U.S. the largest foreign investor there.

German companies employ over 800,000 people in subsidiaries in the United States and U.S. companies have the same number of employees in Germany. This makes Germans the third largest group of foreign employers (after Canada and the United Kingdom) and the U.S. the largest inter-continental foreign employer in Germany.

Cultural relations

Karl May was a prolific German writer who specialized in writing Westerns. Although he only visited America once towards the end of his life, May provided Germany with a series of frontier novels, which provided Germans with an imaginary view of America.

Famous German-American architects, artist, musicians and writers:

• Josef Albers
• Albert Bierstadt, known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West
• Walter Gropius, architect
• Albert Kahn, architect
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, architect
• Paul Hindemith, composer
• Philip Johnson
• Otto Klemperer, conductor
• Les Paul, guitarist
• Carl Schurz
• Dr. Seuss
• Alfred Stieglitz, photographer
• Kurt Vonnegut

German takes third place after Spanish and French among the foreign languages taught at American secondary schools, colleges and universities. Conversely, nearly half of the German population can speak English well.

Research and academic exchange

Albert Einstein

The contributions of German and American scientists to various fields of science are numerous. The cooperation between academics from both countries is extensive. Since the middle of the 20th century, German scientists have provided invaluable contributions to American technological advancement. For example, Werner von Braun was important in helping to start the American space exploration program.

Researchers at German and American universities run various exchange programs and projects, and focus on space exploration, the International Space Station, environmental technology, and medical science. Import cooperations are also in the fields of biochemistry, engineering, information and communication technologies and life sciences (networks through: Bacatec, DAAD).

American cultural institutions in Germany

In the post-war era, a number of institutions, devoted to highlighting American culture and society in Germany, were established and are in existence today, especially in the south of Germany, the area of the former U.S. Occupied Zone. Today, they offer English courses as well as cultural programs.

Diplomatic missions

• Embassy of the United States in Berlin
• Embassy of Germany in Washington

See also

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• List of famous German Americans
• German in the United States

External links

• History of Germany - U.S. relations
• American Academy in Berlin
• American Chamber of Commerce in Germany
• AICGS American Institute for Contemporary German Studies in Washington, D.C.
• American Council on Germany
• Amerikahaus in Munich
• Aspen Institute Berlin
• Atlantik Brücke Berlin
• Atlantic Review
• The Atlantic Times
• DAAD New York
• German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, D.C.
• Germany-USA Career Center for German American Trade
• Munich Conference on Security Policy
• German-American Institute Tübingen
• German-American Center (James F. Byrnes Institute) Stuttgart (German)
• German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA in Washington, D.C.
• German-American Friendship Club - US Army Garrison Hohenfels

Embassies

• German Embassy in Washington, D.C.
• United States Embassy in Berlin