H-NET BOOK REVIEW
Published by H-German@h-net.msu.edu  (April, 1997)

Karl-Ulrich Gelberg, editor.  _Kriegsende und Neuanfang in Augsburg 1945:
Erinnerungen und Berichte_.  Munich: Oldenbourg Verlag, 1996. 179 pp.
Bibliography and index.  DM 48 (paper), ISBN 3-486-56157-X.

Reviewed for H-German by David A. Meier, Dickinson State University

Issued by the _Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte_ under the direction of Werner
Roeder and Udo Wengst, _Kriegsende und Neuanfang in Augsburg 1945_ is the
seventeenth volume in a series devoted to presenting bibliographical and
primary resources on select subjects.  Nine documents and a commentary
form the central focus of this work.  Collectively, Augsburg's emergence
from the Second World War takes on a distinct clarity rarely afforded in
works of this brevity.  Specifically, these documents depict Augsburg's
transfer to Allied authority and its subsequent de-nazification.  As a
second objective, this work seeks a recognition of _German_ efforts to
liberate Augsburg before the arrival of Allied troops.

Nearly half the work is devoted to its most unique primary source--the
memoir of Augsburg's first postwar mayor, Wilhelm Ott.  Dated 28 April
1960, the memoir begins with Augsburg's transfer from German to Allied
authorities in April 1945.  Before 1945, Ott held various offices in
Augsburg's city administration, and after 1939 he served as comptroller.
A member of the Bavarian People's Party until 1933 and the Christian
Socialist Union after 1946, Ott never joined the Nazi Party.  With
Augsburg's surrender in April 1945, Ott appeared natural choice to replace
Josef Mayr, the former Nazi mayor.  In reconstructing these events, Ott
relied on his memory, supplemented by various archival documents.

Confronted with the threat of American bombers, Augsburg's local
administrators quickly negotiated the surrender of the city to advancing
American troops.  Within Ott's memoirs, the American occupation personnel
are described as polite and orderly.  Within an atmosphere of controlled
chaos, German civilians and American authorities worked to restore basic
utilities, banking, public transportation, medical facilities, schools,
and the availability of basic foodstuffs.  Problems were exacerbated by
the closure of local armaments industries, military demobilization, the
release of German POWs, and limited funding for the city bureaucracy.
Augsburg's denazification proceeded as replacements for municipal
positions were found.

Ott's detailed account of Augsburg's postwar re-emergence (specific-ally,
April-July 1945) retains the sentiments of the times.  For example, while
personal property losses were regretted, the loss of friends, family
members, and even acquaintances assumed a more personal dimension the
closer the event came to the war's end.  Similarly, Ott described
denazification as a painful and poorly-understood experience for those
involved with Hitler's NSDAP or any of its affiliated organizations. Ott's
memoirs conflict in certain details with the testimonies offered by his
contemporaries.  Josef Mayr's June 1955 statement offers a more heroic
version of Augsburg's surrender.  Mayr asserted that SS, regional party
leaders, and Augsburg's own city Commandant were determined to resist
Allied advances to the bitter end.  Confronted with a swift and massive
American advance, however, such a defense of Augsburg would only have led
to its complete devastation.  Consequently, Augsburg's preservation became
contingent upon its surrender to the Americans before the fighting began.

_Kriegsende und Neuanfang_'s remaining seven documents emerged between
April and September 1945.  Rudolf Lang, described as linked with an
underground German resistance, offered a German civilian's version of the
city's transfer to Allied authority, with particular emphasis on measures
taken to prevent additional damage to Augsburg's bridges and city
utilities.  John O'Connell, a major with the 15th U.S. Infantry Regiment,
confirmed the role of various German civilians, particularly Franz Hesse,
in leading Allied troops into the city even as residual SS units sought to
hold the bridge over the Lech river.  Everett S. Cofran and Richard A.
Norton's reports to G1H2, dated July and September 1945, outlined
Augsburg's denazification and postwar political activities.  American
authorities paid close attention to the move of former Nazis (especially
those affected by denazification) into the ranks of the Communist Party.
Within the concluding documents, namely Robert Domm's circular from the
Bishop of Augsburg and Matthias Simon's report of the Evangelical Lutheran
Pastoral Office, church authorities publicly denounced National Socialism
as anti-Christian.  Denied any political activities by Allied authorities,
church leaders pushed for the opening of parochial schools to begin the
difficult process of undoing twelve years of National Socialist
indoctrination of German youth.  In both documents, American authorities
appeared skeptical of Germany's commitment to Christian principles and its
respective contribution to denazification.

As for the book's second objective, _German_ efforts to liberate Augsburg
before the arrival of Allied troops appear weaker than maintained by
Germans identifying with the resistance.  Although a general war-weariness
gripped the entire population, Augsburg's few active citizens were clearly
divided between those supporting the war effort and those nominally
resisting it.

_Kriegsende und Neuanfang in Augsburg 1945_ concludes by listing basic
primary and secondary sources.  As a model, it is an excellent reminder
for researchers at all levels of the variety of resources currently
available.  References range from the local newspapers of the immediate
postwar era and established authors such as John Gimbel and Edward
Peterson through more recent works by such authors as Wolfgang Benz,
Klaus-Dietmar Henke, and Rebecca Boehling.  While quite useful, the list
must be viewed as introductory and by no means definitive.  Nevertheless,
the primary sources and bibliographical materials presented in this work
make it an ideal resource for any study of Augsburg's history from
April-September 1945.  It would be particularly useful for outlining the
basic methodological parameters of a research project for beginning
graduate students.

     Copyright (c) 1997 by H-net.  All rights reserved.  This work
     may be copied for non-profit educational use proper credit is
     given to the author and the list.  For other permission
     contact H-Net@h-net.msu.edu.
                                        *

Humanities & Social
Sciences Online

Copyright © 1995-2006 - Contact Us
RSS | Validate: XHTML | CSS