Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book contributes towards closing this gap by investigating how West Germany acted and reacted to the challenges – real or imagined – of the Cold War by looking at a key institution in the reconstruction process up to 1961, the Kreditanstalt fÜr Wiederaufbau (KfW). It intends to be more than just another Firmengeschichte. The book shows that the influence of foreign political interests on the work of the KfW began even before its establishment with the Anglo-Americans deliberations on banking policy in Germany. This book plays an important role of economics, it is not intended as research into the economic situation of West Germany. It disregards most of the political influences on the work of the Kreditanstalt and – though well-informed – the author turns the story on the KfW into one of praise for its most important figure, Hermann Josef Abs.