Mission on the Rhine: Reeducation and Denazification in American-Occupied Germany

An excessively selective account of American policies, carried out by the Military Government, to reeducate-in Archibald MacLeish's phrase, to "detoxify"-the German people. After General Patton's unfortunate remark in September 1945 that "the Nazi thing is just like a Democrat-Republican election fight," denazification was given more emphasis, but purges of German education were only partially successful. A major topic that could have been handled less episodically and in greater depth. The author, an American historian, has made use of recently released government papers.