From Craftsmen to Capitalists: German Artisans from the Third Reich to the Federal Republic, 1939-1953 / Edition 1

by Frederick L. McKitrick

Overview

Politically adrift, alienated from Weimar society, and fearful of competition from industrial elites and the working class alike, the independent artisans of interwar Germany were a particularly receptive audience for National Socialist ideology. As Hitler consolidated power, they emerged as an important Nazi constituency, drawn by the party’s rejection of both capitalism and Bolshevism. Yet, in the years after 1945, the artisan class became one of the pillars of postwar stability, thoroughly integrated into German society. From Craftsmen to Capitalists gives the first account of this astonishing transformation, exploring how skilled tradesmen recast their historical traditions and forged alliances with former antagonists to help realize German democratization and recovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785332487
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Series:	Monographs in German History , #37
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Frederick L. McKitrick received his doctorate from Columbia University. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures vii

Acknowledgments viii

Preface-Note on the Handwerk Trades xiii

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xviii

Part I Handwerk in Crisis, 1918-1933

1 From Zünfte to Nazism: German Handwerk to 1939 3

Part II Handwerk at War, 1939-1945

2 Handwerk in the War Economy, 1939-1941 31

3 The Speer Ministry, 1942-1945: The Coordination of Industry and Handwerk 63

Part III The Occupation Period, 1945-1949: The Confrontation with the American Free Market

4 The First Stages of the Occupation and the Revival of Handwerk Institutions in the West 83

5 The Legal Consolidation of Handwerk Corporatism in the British Zone 107

6 Developments in the US Zone Leading up to the Introduction of Gewerbefreiheit 123

7 The Role of Organization and Leadership in the Modernization of Handwerk 141

Part IV The Early Federal Republic, 1949-1953: Revolution in the German Mittelstand

8 The Effects of Gewerbefreiheit on Handwerk 159

9 The Integration of Handwerk Organizations into the Political Fabric of the Federal Republic 179

10 Changes in the Structure and Outlook of Handwerk 207

11 The Handwerk Act of 1953 226

Conclusion. Revolution in Handwerk? 248

Bibliography 253

Index 276

Editorial Reviews

“…a well-researched, carefully argued, and convincing study of the modernization of German Handwerk during the Nazi and early postwar periods. It will be of interest to scholars examining the emergence of the German variety of capitalism, the modernizing or conservative intentions and effects of Nazism, or the bases of West German stability after 1945…It is a strength of this excellent study that while McKitrick focuses on the modernization of Handwerk, he also regularly acknowledges the variety of craft occupations and the persistent, sometimes not insubstantial resistance to Handwerk’s modernization.” • Journal of Modern History

“…thought-provoking and important… this is an exceptionally engaging, well-researched and important book that links the pre-1945 to the post-war period effectively and convincingly.” • German History

“Among historians, German Handwerker have typically been treated only in terms of their presumed Nazi sentiments or persistent economic backwardness. This extensively researched, well-written volume shows that these artisans were neither exclusively reactionary in their politics nor cynically sacrificed by the Nazis at the altar of the war economy.” • Jay Lockenour, Temple University

“This is an impressive study that bears directly upon important scholarly debates. McKitrick’s sympathy for the plight of tradespeople in a rapidly changing society is palpable, and he rightly handles their history with a due consideration of its complexity, rather than treating them as reactionary caricatures.” • Perry Biddiscombe, University of Victoria

From the Publisher