Allied Commanders of World War Two/Eisenhower, Part Four/Final

"Dwight D. Eisenhower" Part 4/Final

It was at Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims, France that Colonel-General Alfred Jodl* signed the surrender on behalf of the German Armed Forces on May 7, 1945. With the end of the war, Eisenhower undertook providing assistance to the German population in the American Occupation Zone, which stretched from west central Germany (Hessen) into much of the southern part of the country (Bavaria and part of Baden-Württemberg), with headquarters in Frankfurt-am-Main. The beginning of what came to be called the "Cold War" brought the Western Allies into potential conflict with the Soviet Union, and Germany became the center of this potential conflict; thus, the western nations determined to make the Germans in the western occupation zones part and parcel of the defensive measures against the Soviets and their satellite allies (in this case, mainly Poland and Czechoslovakia). Later, Eisenhower was named Chief of Staff of the Army, became president of Columbia University, and was the commander of NATO.**

Both major American political parties courted Eisenhower to run for president in 1948, but he did not get involved. In 1952, however, "Ike" defeated Senator Robert Taft for the Republican nomination, and he went on to win a landslide victory against Democrat (then Illinois Governor) Adlai Stevenson. A rematch in 1956 produced the same Eisenhower landslide. In 1952, Eisenhower chose (then Senator) Richard Nixon as his vice presidential running mate, although shortly thereafter a controversy erupted about a special fund maintained on Nixon's behalf.*** Eisenhower had heart troubles (he was a heavy smoker), and Nixon served ably in his stead during periods of illness by the president, including a heart attack.

Eisenhower was confronted by a number of problems during his two terms as president: the Korean War, where Eisenhower was able to get an armistice,**** tensions of the Cold War,***** including the crushing of a revolt in Communist-governed Hungary, and the desegregation of American schools, where Eisenhower, a supporter of civil rights, sent in the U.S. military to back up the desegregation of a schools in Arkansas. Eisenhower also promoted the interstate highway system in America, a system still very much with us today. As with many former Republican presidents, in my opinion, it is likely the moderate Eisenhower would be an Independent today, and maybe even vote Democratic at times, especially in these more recent times of rightwing extremes in the Republican Party. Eisenhower died of congestive hear failure in 1969. While not a great speaker, Eisenhower's presidency has been reassessed to the upside by many historians. Ike loved golf, and just to show how images can stick in some minds, a late friend of mine (from my father's generation), and a Republican, once told me, "The only thing I remember about Eisenhower was he was always on the golf course on the news." The obvious implication is that Eisenhower didn't do anything as president, but that is unfair.


* For info on Jodl, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/10/german-military-leadersnazi-erajodl.html

** NATO stands for "North Atlantic Treaty Organization," and it really came into existence in 1949 as a military alliance by nations in western Europe and North America to counter any threat by the Soviet Union or its allies against member nations, as the treaty considered an attack on any one nation to be an attack on all members. The organization still exists, although the Soviet Union is now defunct, and the alliance's role has changed to protect an increasing number of member nations against attack or threats, and to act in common interest.

*** Nixon was a senator from California and a group of his supporters collected money to "promote" him during his time in the Senate. The money was to be used to pay for hotels, public appearances of a totally political nature, and political mailings during Nixon's first term in the Senate. Questions arose as to how the money was actually being used, and who was donating to the fund. Fairly or unfairly, Americans can be very suspicious of special funds and politicians, and after Eisenhower chose Nixon for his running mate, accusations came that Nixon was financially benefiting from the fund. The story became a hot topic, and there were rumors Eisenhower would "dump Nixon" from the ticket. Nixon made a televised speech where he defended himself, saying that he and his family were of modest means, and that he had not gotten money from the fund to enrich his lifestyle. In the best remembered part of the speech, Nixon said he had gotten a little dog as a gift, called "Checkers," and that no matter how much his opponents railed against him, he would not give the dog back. He asked viewers to contact Republican leaders about whether he should stay on the ticket with Eisenhower. The outcome from the public was overwhelmingly in Nixon's favor, giving Eisenhower little choice but to continue with Nixon.

**** Eisenhower personally went to Korea and toured the area. The death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (the backer of China and North Korea) presented an opening for serious negotiations which ended with a divided Korea, but the end to the open warfare and to the mounting casualties.

***** The "Cold War" was the term used for the tensions between the Communist dominated parts of the world, primarily in eastern Europe, and what were either basically free nations, or nations whose leaders were opposed to communism. The came about as the opposite of a "hot" war, where bombs and fire were regularly exchanged.

WORD HISTORY:
Steer-This is the noun meaning "young male ox, young bull." The origins of this word are uncertain, although many believe it is Indo European, and that it may be related to "stand," in the sense of "strength," but that is speculation. Old Germanic had "steuraz," meaning "bull, ox," and this gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "steor," with the same meaning. German has "Stier," some Low German has "stiar," Dutch has "stier," Swedish has "tjur," Danish has "tyr" (notice the absence of the beginning "s" in these two North Germanic languages). "Apparently," Frisian, Norwegian and Icelandic no longer use a form of the word.