ABSTRACT
The second chapter explores the formation of the German–American network that would come to define West Berlin's political culture. It reveals the network's origins in Nazi-imposed exile during World War II, introducing the reader to Social Democratic politics in exile and the refugees' gradual appreciation of liberal democracy. In addition, it traces the re-establishment of the network in Berlin from 1945 to 1949, during which time contacts made in wartime Manhattan prefigured the network's later composition. In essence, it examines the experiences in exile that made these Social Democratic remigrés particularly adept at succeeding politically in the escalating Cold War.
