German Relations with the U.S.

Since the dawn of the Cold war, the United Sates has worked closely with Germany in order to improve its economy, make advances in international diplomacy, and enforce UN and NATO security policy. German relations with the U.S. have been some of the strongest international ties in recent history. As two of the major players in the world economy”the United States ranking first in the world in terms of GDP and Germany ranking third”both nations have consistently acted with similar economic interests as well, and have sought to protect free trade around the globe. German relations with the U.S. have also been bolstered because, although the United States has significantly more area and a higher population, the demographics of both societies have similar breakdowns. Also, a significant number of Germans have immigrated to the North American continent over the centuries, and now, German Americans have deep roots in the United States.

German relations with the U.S. have a strong basis because the two societies have much in common. Both the American and German societies are distinctly Western, and as such, hold similar values in high regard. Both nations have been fiercely nationalistic in the past, and have sought to influence the course of world events. A corollary of this is that both nations have experienced a strong and destructive belief in racial superiority, which can be seen in Germany through the rise of Hitler and the Nazis and in the U.S. through the Ku Klux Klan and the backlash against the civil rights movement. Both countries have a mutual respect for the other’s approaches to work, technical expertise, and moral sense of duty.

After German Reunification, the relationship between Germany and the United States grew much stronger. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. emerged as the main player on the world stage, and the U.S. government supported Germany’s efforts to integrate Europe. Following the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Germany joined with the NATO force that sent troops to Afghanistan, and joined with many other nations that sought to combat terrorism around the world.

However, German relations with the U.S. have weakened considerably since the Iraq War began in 2003. The views of the German people have shifted against the US, as many now view the United States as a destructive or harmful international influence. Many in the United States, on the other hand, were irritated by Germany’s refusal to send troops to Iraq. Still, the two nations have continued to work together as allies on economic issues, closing any rift in German relations with the U.S. that might have formed over the past decade. Although the Iraq War cooled German attitudes to the United States, and vice versa, the issue has steadily decreased in importance since then.