American Council on Germany

History of the American Council on Germany

The American Council on Germany (ACG) is a private, nonprofit, organization founded in 1952 in New York City to promote reconciliation, mutual understanding, and cooperation between the United States and Germany in the aftermath of World War II. Over its seven-decade history, the ACG has evolved from a post-war initiative focused on rebuilding German-American relations to a leading forum for transatlantic dialogue, addressing bilateral, European, and global issues. Below is a detailed history of the ACG, its key milestones, programs.

Founding and Early Years

(1952–1960s) Establishment in 1952: The ACG was incorporated on April 29, 1952, in New York City as a response to the need for reconciliation between the United States and a defeated Germany after World War II. The organization aimed to foster understanding and rebuild trust in the context of the Cold War, where West Germany was becoming a key U.S. ally against Soviet influence. The ACG was founded by a group of influential American and German-American leaders, including: John J. McCloy, U.S. High Commissioner for Germany (1949–1952) at the time, a pivotal figure in post-war reconstruction and the Marshall Plan, often called the “godfather of the new Germany” by former German President Richard von Weizsäcker. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR): The Atlantik-Brücke and ACG have ties to the CFR, with founders like John J. McCloy serving as CFR chairman.

Eric M. Warburg, a German-Jewish banker from the Warburg family, U.S. Army officer (1941–1945), and McCloy’s advisor, who bridged American and German interests.

General Lucius D. Clay, McCloy’s predecessor as Military Governor of Germany (1947–1949), instrumental in the Berlin Airlift.

Ellen Z. McCloy, John McCloy’s wife, who supported cultural and educational initiatives.

Christopher Emmet, a journalist and anti-communist activist who served as the ACG’s first director.

Joseph Kaskell and Dr. George N. Shuster, additional founding members who contributed to its intellectual framework.

Funding: The sources and amounts of available funds to the ACG and the Atlantik-Brücke differed considerably. Whereas the latter selected its members very carefully by way of cooptation especially among businessmen and CEOs to secure sound funding of its enterprise, the former opened membership or affiliation to basically anyone who had an interest in Germany. As a result, the ACG depended heavily, at least for its everyday business, on the fortune of the organization’s executive vice president Christopher Emmet.

Emmet personally provided the salaries of ACG secretaries and set up the organization’s offices in his private apartment in New York’s upper Westside. In addition, the ACG relied on funds granted by the Ford Foundation especially for the biannual German-American conferences as well as for the publication of a number of studies. The Atlantik-Brücke in turn benefitted immensely from public funds for its publications and the realization of the German-American conferences. The Federal Press and Information Agency (Bundespresse- und Informationsamt, BPA) supported mainly publication efforts of the organization and the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) regularly granted funds for the conferences.

Emmet was an officer and organizer of the anti-communist organizations. He served as chairman of the American Friends of the Captive Nations and executive vice president of the American Council on Germany. In 1942 he was a moderator for the Foreign Affairs Round Table (WEVD, New York), one of the programs on the recordings. The American Friends of the Captive Nations was instrumental in the World Anti-Communist League.

Mission and Early Activities: The ACG’s initial mission was to progpaandize Americans about West Germany’s democratic progress and integration into Western institutions like NATO and the European Coal and Steel Community which were used to set up Operation Gladio paramilitaries among the NATO countries, while the European Coal and Steel Community was the being salvo in forming the European Union. It organized conferences, published reports on Germany’s political and economic developments, and invited German leaders to the U.S. for high-level discussions. In 1953, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer spoke under ACG auspices, marking the start of a tradition that included chancellors Kurt-Georg Kiesinger, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schröder, Angela Merkel, and presidents like Walter Scheel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Adenauer, of course, is the German leader that hired the Gehlen Organization to operate in conjunction with the newly formed CIA and Allen Dulleswhich later became the German spy organization: BND.

American-German Biennial Conferences (1959): Launched in 1959, these conferences brought together high-level policymakers, academics, business leaders, media, and military officials from both nations to discuss bilateral and international issues. Participants included U.S. figures like Dean Acheson, Henry Kissinger, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, fostering professional and personal bonds that solidified the German-American relationship.

Political Influence: The ACG wielded significant influence within U.S. foreign policy circles, as evidenced by a 1958 dispute within the Democratic Party over Germany policy, documented by Der Spiegel. The ACG’s advocacy for West Germany’s integration into NATO and European structures aligned with U.S. goals of containing the Soviet Union, per The American Council on Germany by Encyclopedia.com.

Expansion and Institutional Growth

(1970s–1980s)American-German Young Leaders Conference (1973): Conceived by venture capitalist John Diebold, a vice chairman of the ACG, this flagship program began in 1973 in Hamburg, in collaboration with the German sister organization Atlantik-Brücke. Held biennially until 1988 and annually thereafter, it gathers 25 Americans and 25 Germans (aged 28–38) from government, business, academia, media, and the military to discuss transatlantic issues and build networks. Since 2005, the ACG has sponsored its own conferences, with over 1,000 alumni, including figures like Joshua Bolten (Bush’s Chief of Staff) and Thomas de Maizière (German Chancellor’s Office head), per acgusa.org. This program is what the World Economic Forum Young Leader's program is modeled on.

John J. McCloy Fund (1975): In recognition of McCloy’s contributions, the West German government granted the ACG $1 million in 1975 to establish the John J. McCloy Fund, aimed at fostering youth exchanges. Supplemented by contributions from organizations like the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Stiftung, the fund supported the McCloy Fellowships (launched 1976), enabling over 700 young German and American professionals to visit each other’s countries in fields like journalism, law, and urban affairs.

Arthur F. Burns Lecture Series (1987): Named after the former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and ACG advisory member, this series featured prominent economists like Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, and Karl-Otto Pöhl, discussing transatlantic economic issues, per acgusa.org.

Cold War Context: The ACG’s activities during this period supported U.S.-German alignment against the Soviet Union, promoting NATO’s strength and West Germany’s economic recovery. Its conferences and fellowships countered Soviet influence in Europe, aligning with U.S. foreign policy goals articulated by ACG board member John C. Kornblum in 2010.

Post-Cold War and Modern Era

(1990s–Present) Eric M. Warburg Chapters (1991): Funded by a five-year grant from Lionel Pincus, a business associate of Eric Warburg, the ACG launched the Eric M. Warburg Chapters in 1992 to expand its outreach across the U.S. Starting with cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco, the network grew to 21 chapters by 2025, hosting 4–5 speakers annually on topics like trade, defense, and sustainability. Chapters collaborate with local partners like German Consulates, Goethe-Instituts, and World Affairs Councils, per acgusa.org.

Post-Reunification Focus: After German reunification in 1990, the ACG shifted to address Germany’s role in a unified Europe and global challenges. It hosted discussions on the Treuhandanstalt’s privatization of East German industries (1990s) and Germany’s leadership in the EU, per acgusa.org. The 2018 survey with Atlantik-Brücke and YouGov highlighted public support for transatlantic ties, with 70% of Americans and 75% of Germans favoring closer relations, per acgusa.org.

Modern Programs

The ACG’s current initiatives include:

Policy Discussions: Annual events (30 in New York, others in Washington, D.C., and Berlin) with experts like Robert Habeck (German Vice Chancellor) and Francis Fukuyama, covering geopolitics, climate change, and democracy, per acgusa.org.

Study Tours: Thematic tours (e.g., social cohesion, sustainable farming) to cities like Atlanta and Denver, fostering transatlantic exchanges, per acgusa.org.

Fellowships: The Dr. Guido Goldman and Dr. Richard M. Hunt Fellowships support research on German and European issues, with over 1,000 participants, per encyclopedia.com.

German-American Conferences: Annual joint events with Atlantik-Brücke, like the 2022 Berlin conference addressing Russia’s Ukraine invasion, per acgusa.org.

Leadership and Impact: Since 2015, Steven E. Sokol has served as ACG President and CEO, expanding its focus on next-generation leaders and global issues. The ACG’s board includes figures like Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft (past), and current members like Emily M. Haber (former German Ambassador), per sourcewatch.org. Its 800 members span business, politics, and academia, with chapters fostering local engagement, per de.wikipedia.org.