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Theoretical Soldiers: German Economists in the Cold War
- German Studies Review
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 43, Number 1, February 2020
- pp. 41-58
- 10.1353/gsr.2020.0002
- Article
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abstract:
This article analyzes interviews with East and West German Cold War economists in order to better understand how their science was influenced by their studies at American universities. Many of these economists returned to Germany endorsing American economic beliefs, yet held that economics was an apolitical science. This study uses the lens of science and technology studies to explore how this conviction increased their susceptibility to American political influences and argues that the exchange of economic ideas under the guise of scientific neutrality allowed American influence to slip into both East and West German economic thought with little resistance.