The Control of Visual Representation: American Art Policy in Occupied Germany 1945-1949.

The article examines the trend of visual representation and the U.S. art policy in occupied Germany during the period from 1945 to 1949. The U.S. occupation of Germany in the immediate post-war period entails more than the control of the economy and the reconstruction of political institutions. The U.S. indifference towards the development of a new German fine arts movement stands in marked contrast with the attitude of the Soviet military government. The article concludes that the "anti-American" slant developed in due course, simultaneously with the U.S. decision to actively use the media in an information campaign to battle communism in Germany.