Visions of Modernity: American Business and the Modernization of Germany

In much the same way that Japan has become the focus of contemporary American discussion about industrial restructuring, Germans in the 1920s debated economic reform in terms of Americanism and Fordism, seeing in the United States an intriguing vision for a revitalized economy and a new social order. During this period, Germans were fascinated by American economic success and its quintessential symbols, Henry Ford and his automobile factories.

Mary Nolan's Visions of Modernity explores the co…