Anti-American sentiment in Germany

Demonstrators set an American flag in flames during a protest against the Pershing II deployment in Germany, 1982.

Anti-American sentiment in Germany is the dislike of the American government or people[1] present in Germany. Anti-Americanism has been present in Germany throughout history with several notable incidents. Anti-Americanism was advanced by local leaders under the influence of the former Soviet Union, during the Cold War in East Germany, with dissenters being punished. In West Germany, this sentiment was generally limited to left wing politicians.[2]

Scholars such as Noam Chomsky and Nancy Snow have argued that the application of the term "anti-American" to the population of other countries does not make any sense, as it implies that not liking the American government or its policies is socially undesirable or even comparable to a crime.[3][4] In this regard, the term has been likened to the propagandistic usage of the term "anti-Sovietism" in the USSR.[3]

  1. ^ Chiozza, Giacomo (2009). Anti-Americanism and the World Order. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  2. ^ Dan Diner, America in the eyes of the Germans: an essay on anti-Americanism (1996).
  3. ^ a b Chomsky, Noam (1993). "Totalitarian Culture in a Free Society". Internet Archive. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ Snow, Nancy (2006). The Arrogance of American Power: What U.S. Leaders Are Doing Wrong and Why It's Our Duty to Dissent. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 27ff. ISBN 0-7425-5373-6. OCLC 69992247.