ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book attempts to establish a historical thesis which, though hardly revolutionary, is somewhat different from many which have appeared in print to date. It discusses events in terms of the major substantive areas of policy articulated by the United States as the sovereign power in its zone of occupation. The book looks at the period of semi-sovereignty from 1949 to 1955. This was a period in which the German-American relationship was rather profoundly transformed from one of occupation to one of partnership. The book deals with a discussion of the web of relationships which were developing between Germans and American military personnel by the mid-1950s which would profoundly affect the course of the future relationship between the two countries. It explores the darkest period of the American military presence which extends from 1967 until approximately 1973.
