Germans and Americans

This chapter uses personal interviews conducted by the author and others and to evaluate how Americans viewed German POWs during the war. Leading up to 1950, American’s German heritage was 25% of the population. Many Americans felt an affinity for Germans, their skin color, eye color, physical build, and cultural traditions all felt familiar. But American attitudes became more complex as the war progressed. The stigma of being a German POW reflected broad range of American perspectives from close familial ties to hate and fear. Impacting American attitudes was a strict non-fraternization policy between Americans and the POWs. This policy had dramatic outcomes that continue to have influences today in Germany and the United States.