The overlooked majority: German women in the four zones of occupied Germany, 1945--1949, a comparative stud

When the Allies entered Germany in late-1944, most of the male population of Germany was either incapacitated or absent. German women, the majority of the German population, were left behind to deal with rebuilding Germany under the supervision of military governments. This dissertation is the story of German women in the Soviet, British, American and French zones of occupation and a comparison of their experiences.;The Soviets immediately set up German socialist organizations to incorporate German women into the new communist government of the East. The British used a decentralized approach, which allowed some British women working for the military government to experiment with the education of German women. After this policy demonstrated itself to be useful, and the Soviets founded a large centralized German women's organization in March 1947, the British implemented an official policy of educating German women to participate in Germany's recovery. The British even brought German women to England to attend civic education courses.;The Americans were rather late in recognizing German women as an important group. Once they did in late-1947 the Americans formed a Women's Affairs Branch of their military government, which had a limited effect on assisting German women to become politically active.;The French never had a program to assist German women. Instead, the French watched German women as a potentially dangerous political faction.;The work of German women in the Soviet zone and the reaction of the western occupation powers helped stir German women to a new level of political consciousness. German women now hold more seats in the German representative assemblies than women in any other large western-style democracy.;Military commanders planning and executing occupations can learn from the successes and mistakes of all of the military governments of Germany 1945--1949. The fact that the western Allies won the Cold War is due not to their excellent occupation policies but due to the mistakes of the Soviets in foreign and military policy. This study also illuminates the political culture of each of the occupying powers.