Sending this offlist because I'm over my limit for the day.
> Nope. But remember, originally they wanted to pastoralize Germany and
impose
> a punitive peace.
I've heard about such a plan, though I don't know how seriously it was entertained and what sort of pressure (if any) was necessary to get them to reverse course. (By saying "though I don't know," I'm pleading ignorance; not trying to suggest that you're historical interpretation is incorrect.)
> They only reversed course under pressure from communism and the left.
If true, good. It would show that the left is capable of exerting a large, positive force on US foreign policy--or, at least, it would show that the '40s left possessed such a capability. I'd imagine that the leftist and communists of the day, if they indeed played a pivotal role in guiding the reconstruction of Germany, must've been true advocates of German democracy, and advanced a more nuanced position than "US out of Germany now!"
Best, Luke