The future of a devastated Germany was ambiguous at best; the French wished to partition off the Ruhr Valley and another plan envisioned a smaller, pastoral Germany of farmers and bed-and-breakfasts. But a year after Stunde Null, US Secretary of State James Byrnes took the train from Berlin to Stuttgart to deliver what became the defining speech of postwar transatlantic relations: the "Speech of Hope." Byrnes brought a simple, if unexpected, message: the US would provide massive support for Germany’s path to recovery. (…)
Some critics argue that there is a dearth of gratitude in Germany for America's monumental support for the country’s reconstruction. I think that gratitude is not only ubiquitous but a vital component of postwar German identity. Yet in recent years some Germans have forgotten what America is -- a land of diversity and debate, of writers and innovators, of checks and balances – and that it deserves a measure of confidence in turn.
Today there are more potential catastrophes facing the Western world than ever before; and no nation or organization is capable of effectively dealing with these alone. (…) Both Germans and Americans must question the current national preoccupations with inwardness and the day-to-day.