Art of Occupation

Thomas J. Kehoe is postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of New England, Australia. He completed graduate degrees in history and genocide studies at the universities of Sydney and Melbourne, and has published articles on crime and policing in occupied Germany, Nazi propaganda, Arab servicemen in the Wehrmacht, and the Wehrmacht judicial system.

“In clear and readable prose, Kehoe sets out to prove that perceptions of widespread social disorder and crime, especially at the beginning of the U.S. occupation of post–World War II Germany, had no grounding in reality. His outstanding exploitation of archival military government court records supports his juxtaposition of perceptions and rumors about the nature, frequency, and severity of crimes and their reality.” - Bianka J. Adams, author of From Crusade to Hazard: The Denazification of Bremen, Germany “Kehoe convincingly describes the nature of postwar crime and disorder in the U.S. zone and adds nuance to our understanding of the crucial early period of American occupation. His argument in favor of the continuity in authoritarian policing between the Third Reich and the occupation was equally persuasive and original.” - Jay Lockenour, author of Soldiers as Citizens: Former Wehrmacht Officers in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1945–1955 “The Art of Occupation is an admirably clear yet sophisticated examination of the tumultuous German-American encounter after 1945. This book helps us to look beyond the mythology and better understand the lived experiences of occupiers and occupied.” - Adam R. Seipp, Texas A&M University An insightful account of important aspects of the occupation. (War in History)