German Women and British Occupiers, 1945–1949
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Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2009 The Rules of Engagement: German Women and British Occupiers, 1945–1949 Barbara Smith Wilfrid Laurier University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Smith, Barbara, "The Rules of Engagement: German Women and British Occupiers, 1945–1949" (2009). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1072. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1072 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: GERMAN WOMEN AND BRITISH OCCUPIERS, 1945-1949 By Barbara Smith Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto, 1981 Master of Arts, University of Waterloo, 1985 DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Arts In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Doctor of Philosophy Wilfrid Laurier University 2009 © Barbara Smith Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-49972-6 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-49972-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada ABSTRACT This dissertation is a document based administrative study of the British occupation of Germany, 1945-49, and its impact on specific areas of the lives of German women who were living in the British zone. The study examines the effect of British occupation policy on the regulation of marriage, prostitution and venereal disease, and German women's organizations. British occupation strategies were unique; although the British worked with the Americans on many levels they maintained separate policy approaches. The British brought their own social perspectives and systems to Germany and attempted to impose them on German social and civil procedures. German women were often the targets of the re-ordering of German society and were viewed and treated as the embodiment of the failure of Germany. They were widely persecuted as prostitutes and the carriers of disease for example. Thus gender roles, victory/defeat and nationality can be seen to intersect in specific and traditional ways. British women involved in the occupation also endeavoured to impose systems of traditional British gender roles through distinctive approaches to women's voluntary organizations. The traditional model of social activism of middle-class British women, such as Townswomen's Guilds, were singularly offered to German women as the proper way to exercise power within society. Despite the British effort to re-model German women in a British image, German women contested these definitions and categories in many ways. The British were forced to adapt their methods and policies in the face of this opposition. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost I need to thank my dissertation supervisor, Erich Haberer, for his wisdom, guidance and patience. His support and vision has been invaluable in the completion of this project. I also wish to thank Cindy Comacchio for her support, encouragement and guidance throughout my doctoral program and thank Gary Bruce for his efforts to improve this study. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Maria Hohn for her guidance and comments on my dissertation. My archival research in Germany was greatly assisted by Frau Kirsten Hoffman in Hannover whose own efforts, and those of her staff, made it possible to gain some insight into the experience of Germans living in the British zone of occupation. The staff at the British Archives in Kew, London, was also extremely helpful in locating a great many files on the occupation period. In addition, I wish to express much gratitude to my friends and colleagues at Nipissing University and most particularly, Mark Crane, Stephen Connor and Katrina Srigley. My thanks also go to Sheri Connor for the invaluable pajama party. For ongoing support and encouragement I thank Gord Morrell, Bill Hjelholt, Patti Tuck, Wayne Donison and the numerous SGI members who sent daimoku from wherever they were, especially Karen Aline, Lela, Glenn, the Corbeil group and Cynthia. Thanks to Neil and Chris for being there. This thesis is dedicated to Daisaku Ikeda, President of the Soka Gakkai. iii ABBREVIATIONS BE British Element BIB British Interests Branch BNA British Nationality Act CAO Chief Administrative Officer CC Control Commission C-in-C Commander in Chief ACC Allied Control Council A&LG Administration and Local Government APM Assistant Provost Marshall BAOR British Army of the Rhine CCG Control Commission Germany CCL Control Council Law CCS Combined Chiefs of Staff CDS Civic Development Section CDU Christlich-Demokratische Union COGA Control Group for Germany and Austria CLO Chief Legal Officer CO Commanding Officer COS Chief of Staff COSSAC Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Command DAPM Deputy Assistant Provost Marshall DMS Director of Medical Services DP Displaced person DPM Deputy Provost Marshall DRC Deputy Regional Commissioner EAC European Advisory Committee FDP Freie Demokratische Partei FMA Foreign Marriages Act FO Foreign Office GED German Education Department GGD German General Department G-5 General Staff for Civil Affairs HMCG His (Her) Majesty's Consul General HO Home Office HQ Headquarters IA&C Internal Affairs and Communications ISD Internal Service Department JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff K Kreis/District KIO Kreis Inspecting Officer KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands iv LAD Legal Advice and Drafting L/R Land/Region LAU Local Administration Unit MG Military Government MGD Military Government Detachment MO Medical Officer NAAFI Navy Army Air Force Institute n.d no date Nds Niedersachsen OR Ordinary Recruit PAC Prevention Ablution Center PH Public Health PHB Public Health Branch PHO Principal Health Officer PHW Public Health& Welfare PS Public Safety PSO Public Safety Officer RB Regional Branch RAC Regional Administrative Commandant RAO Regional Administrative Officer RIO Regional Intelligence Officer RM Reich Marks RMP Royal Military Police RO Routine Order SHAEF Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expedition Force SED Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands SO Standing Order SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands SPSO Senior Public Safety Officer SRO Standing Routine Order UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration WA Women's Affairs WO War Office ZECO Zonal Executive Control Office V Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgment jii Abbreviations iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Planning, Structure and Operations, British Style 17 Chapter 3: Engaging with a Strange Enemy People 55 Chapter 4: Regulating Marriage in the British Zone 81 Chapter 5: Marriage to Ex-enemy Occupiers 119 Chapter 6: Venereal disease and the "promiscuous patronage 151 of street prostitutes" Chapter 7: The Official Organization of Women 196 Chapter 8: Conclusion 220 Bibliography 230 vi Chapter 1: Introduction In July 1945 Winston Churchill surveyed Berlin, a city referred to by one resident as "that rubble heap near Potsdam." Churchill observed that "the passengers in his motorcade grew sick, utterly stunned by the stark display of carnage in the humbled German city."1 The canals were choked with bodies and refuse....From urban center to rural village, Germany looked charred and ravaged. Bomb-gutted Cologne and Nuremberg were hardly recognizable. Ninety-three percent of the houses in Dusseldorf [sic] were totally destroyed. ...In Dresden mounds of bodies had to be bulldozed into mass graves or burned on huge makeshift grills, so great was the toll and the fear of epidemic disease....An American army air corpsman flying low over the country at the end