HIST 6394

Dr. Buzzanco

February 3, 1999

A Review of Coca-Colonization and the Cold War: = The Cultural Mission of the United States in Austria after the
Second = World War

By Reinhold Wagnleitner

Reinhold Wagnleitner=92s Coca-Colonization and the Cold War begins = with a nostalgic look at his early years in
Mauerkirchen, a small town = in the American occupation zone of Austria. He was born in 1949, and = the horrors of World
War II were in the past even though = "mutilated" veterans were a common sight on the streets. = Families with a Nazi past
usually hid this fact but there was still a = feeling that, "even though =91we=92 had indeed lost the war, but = look at those
uncultured American guys who chewed gum and put their feet = on the table." (ix) But, Wagnleitner was born into a home
where his = parents and grandparents had not been Nazis, his mother loved American = music, and his father enjoyed
American action movies. He grew up with = townspeople criticizing the cultural wasteland of the United States = while wishing
for a new pair of Levi=92s or tickets to see Gone with = the Wind at the theater.

The first chapter of the book deals with the origins of American = culture. Wagnleitner claims that true American culture is
gone, that it = was wiped out with the Native Americans by European explorers. The = manifest destiny of United States
history really goes back to = Columbus and other European explorers. He goes on to say that American = culture was even
more influenced by African immigrants, whose number far = exceeded European immigrants in the early 1800s. Therefore
American = culture is a mixture of Native American, European, and African cultures. = The first chapter is difficult to follow in
that it is such a switch = from his nostalgic look at music and movies in the introduction. It = turns into and indictment of all that
is bad in our culture.

There is a distinction made between the treatment of Germany and = Austria by the occupational forces. Germans must go
through a period of = reeducation while Austrians have a lighter sentence of = reorientation. This reorientation that lasted
from-1945 =96 1955 = would unfold throughout the 1950s. It was carried out through the = United States Information
Services Branch (ISB). The primary duties of = the ISB included support of the military governments and overseeing the =
following sections: Press Scrutiny and Austrian Publications Control, = Theater and Music, Films, Pictorial, Communications,
News Operations, = Graphic Display, American Publications, Radio Section, Education = Division, Exchange of Person,
Youth Clubs, and Administration and = Financial.

The true mission of the ISB was simple, the most positive = presentation of all that was American. Newspapers such as Wiener
= Kurier related articles and pictures with American images. The = United States radio station Rot =96 Weiss =96 Rot,
broadcast popular = music, news and information programs, as well as quiz shows. A plus for = the radio station was that
through powerful transmitters, they were able = to beam programs into the Soviet sectors of Germany and Austria.

Through twelve America Houses throughout Austria, visitors became = familiar with America through books, magazines,
newspapers, films, = posters, slides, paintings, music, and sports. Through the work us = school experts, Austrian schoolbooks
were dedicated to United States = topics. Along with education, there was a great emphasis placed on the = youth. Programs
for children and teens ranged from festivals, Christmas = parties, summer camps, playgrounds, swimming pools, and sporting
events. = Coca-Cola became an incentive to bring youth to events. In the first = years of occupation, Coca-Cola was not
available for purchase; it was = shipped in strictly for G.I. consumption. But, it was given out to the = children who participated
in the Austrian Youth Activities events.

United States influence in Austria included movies such as The = Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Zorro Rides Again, and East
of Eden. = An invasion of dandruff came but fortunately there were U.S. = cosmetics, Max Factor, Cutex and Aqua Velva.
Chevrolets were the cars = of choice for Austrians who could afford one. The number of electrical = gadgets, washing
machines, refrigerators, stoves, and telephones all = increased during these years. All things American, including the =
hula-hoop, made it to Austria.

Wagnleitner concludes with the notion that Austrians were fed a plan = by the ISB that everything in America was better,
faster, fresher, = cleaner, sexier, more modern easier, faster, and freer. Most = importantly, everything was possible, and these
advantages had to be = copied. He does mention the irony that while Hollywood played a major = role in Austria=92s
reorientation; major studios are now in foreign = hands.

After reading Coca-Colonization and the Cold War, I think it = is a wonderful companion book to Michael Hogan=92s The
Marshall Plan. = Hogan laid out the framework of the Marshall Plan, how it worked = and its goals. Reinhold Wagnleitner
shows the plan at work in = Austria. The notion to present how great everything is in America, and = to copy it in Austria.
There is even a hint of the domino principle, if = it works in Austria, surely it will work all over Europe.

Wagnleitner speaks much more of anti-Communist ideas and how to = combat them. Radio, and later television programs, are
beamed to Soviet = sectors. American publications are distributed in those sectors. = Ironically, McCarthy condemns some of
the same singers, actors, and = movies that are distributed in Austria.

There are some difficult parts in the book, it is a translation and = many terms are left in German, with some references in
French. There = are plenty of primary references, although they are listed in the = notes section at the end. After agencies are
first introduced, = Wagnleitner only uses their initials, but there is a handy list of all = agencies and their abbreviations at the
beginning of the book. It is an = excellent portrayal of the idea of turning the European states in = versions of the United States.