PROTESTS AND BOMBINGS:
THE EFFECT OF AMERICAN COLD WAR INFLUENCE ON FRENCH AND WEST
GERMAN COUNTERCULTURE
A Thesis
Presented to the faculty of the Department of History
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
History
(Humanities)
by
Stephen Kent Estabrook
SPRING
2014
© 2014
Stephen Kent Estabrook
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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PROTESTS AND BOMBINGS:
THE EFFECT OF AMERICAN COLD WAR INFLUENCE ON FRENCH AND WEST
GERMAN COUNTERCULTURE
A Thesis
by
Stephen Kent Estabrook
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Dr. Mona Siegel
__________________________________, Second Reader
Dr. Jeffrey Wilson
____________________________
Date
iii
Student: Stephen Kent Estabrook
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
__________________________, Department Chair ___________________
Dr. Aaron Cohen
Date
Department of History
iv
Abstract
of
PROTESTS AND BOMBINGS:
THE EFFECT OF AMERICAN COLD WAR INFLUENCE ON FRENCH AND WEST
GERMAN COUNTERCULTURE
by
Stephen Kent Estabrook
In the aftermath of World War II the United States attempted to enforce its
economic and cultural hegemony throughout the rest of the world. Western Europe was a
particularly important arena for this struggle for domination due to its geographic and
cultural proximity to the Soviet Bloc. One result of the United States’ actions was a
growing countercultural response that in France led to protests and riots and in the
Federal Republic of Germany, to kidnappings and bombings. Two of the primary
organizations responsible for these protests were the Situationist International of France
and the Red Army Faction of West Germany.
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Differing levels of American intervention in France and West Germany helped
determine the varied levels of radicalization in these otherwise similar cultural
movements.
_______________________, Committee Chair
Dr. Mona Siegel
_______________________
Date
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapters
Page
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
2. POSTWAR EUROPE………………………………………………………….. ...10
3. THE SITUATIONISTS .......................................................................................... 24
4. WEST GERMAN COUNTERCULTURE ............................................................. 41
5. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 58
Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 66
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