University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2015 'The Tourist Soldier': Veterans Remember the American Occupation of Germany, 1950-1955 Meghan Vance University of Central Florida Part of the Public History Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. STARS Citation Vance, Meghan, "'The Tourist Soldier': Veterans Remember the American Occupation of Germany, 1950-1955" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 1190. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/1190 ‘THE TOURIST SOLDIER’: VETERANS REMEMBER THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF GERMANY, 1950-1955 by MEGHAN ASHLEY VANCE B.A. University of Central Florida, 2011 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Spring Term 2015 © 2015 Meghan Ashley Vance ii ABSTRACT Studies of postwar Germany, from 1945-1955, have concentrated on the American influence as a military occupier, the development of German reconstruction and national identity, and memory of this period from the German perspective. Within the memory analyses, firsthand accounts have been analyzed to understand the perspectives of Germans living through the postwar period. Absent from this historiography is an account of American memories and firsthand perspectives of the occupation, particularly during the 1950-1955 period.