Strange Bedfellows: US Occupation Officials and German Catholic Organizations

Abstract Following the end of the Second World War, Cold War political tensions reinforced US officials’ desire to form strong transnational partnerships in occupied Germany to help stoke anti-communist resolve and foster an acceptance of US leadership within the emerging Western camp. The Special Projects Program, a US State Department initiative, was instrumental in bridging cultural gulfs between the American occupation administration and the German Catholic community, which had long been wary of American influence on Germany society. As a result of the program, the US occupation administration and Catholic institutions cooperatively carried out policy objectives in West Germany that helped mould the country into a Western-style democracy and promoted a shared transatlantic Western culture.