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America Seen Through European Eyes
Series Examines Roots of Trans-Atlantic Tensions
 Listen to Part 4, Poland
 Reporter's Notebook: Sylvia Poggioli on This Series
Photo Gallery: Poland: Torn Between Europe, U.S.
Karsten Voigt is in charge of U.S.-German relations at the German Foreign Ministry. He says the Bush administration's pressure on Germany to take part in the Iraq war undermined the non-aggressive principles the United States had fostered in post-Nazi Germany.
Credit: Jeff Rogers, NPR News
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In this bookstore in central Paris, a table is covered with books espousing conspiracy theories and diatribes against the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Credit: Adam Berry
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In Rome's San Lorenzo neighborhood, elderly card players have bitter memories of Americans from World War II. "What do I think about Americans?" says one. "They machine-gunned us down while we were running toward them as our liberators."
Credit: Jeff Rogers, NPR News
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Polish commentator Konstanty Gebert, seen in his Warsaw apartment, says his country's strong support for the United States has much to do with security.
Credit: Jeff Rogers, NPR News
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Oct. 14-17, 2003 -- The United States and many of its traditional European allies went their separate ways as America responded to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The sharpest rifts occurred over the U.S.-led push for military action in Iraq -- without approval from the United Nations. In a four-part series, "America Seen Through European Eyes," NPR's Sylvia Poggioli examines the root causes of Europe's shifting attitudes toward the world's only remaining superpower.
To gauge those views, Poggioli visited Germany, France, Italy and Poland. Opinions of America in those countries varied sharply, and for different reasons. Where once there was admiration for the American ideal, Washington's move to a seemingly unilateral foreign policy has fomented caution and mistrust among many Europeans.
Below is a summary of the series:
Tuesday, October 14
Germany
Listen to Part 1
Photo Gallery: A New Germany
Perhaps no other country has seen as much change in attitude toward the United States. The debate in Germany over the war in Iraq revealed a mistrust of America. Fourteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germans still flock to a museum exhibit highlighting President Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. But this year German demonstrators protesting the Iraq war carried banners declaring: "Bush, You are Not a Berliner."
In a break of post-Nazi custom, books now describe German suffering during the Second World War. And a recent poll showed one in five Germans believes the U.S. government was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. The negative views of America are not only political, but have an economic basis as well. U.S. trade policies are forcing Germany to be more competitive and tearing away at socialist protections for workers.
Wednesday, October 15
France
Listen to Part 2
Photo Gallery: The Roots of French Anti-Americanism
Envy and resentment are among the root causes cited by many analysts for French anti-Americanism. America is perceived as having displaced France as a major world power -- a position it formerly held with Great Britain and Germany. In a recent poll, 70 percent of the French said they oppose U.S. dominance in the world.
France and America have a love-hate relationship that goes back centuries. The French have decried the influence of American culture and the English language. But at the same time, their country is one of the most visibly Americanized in Europe. McDonald's and other U.S.-based fast-food eateries and retailers draw huge crowds in Paris.
Thursday, October 16
Italy
Listen to Part 3
Photo Gallery: Italy's Conflicting Views of America
Italy's relationship with America is full of complexity. Italy's government supported the U.S.-led war in Iraq, but the Italian people were overwhelmingly opposed. These contrasting positions reflect a longstanding duality: Italians are perhaps the Europeans who most enthusiastically embrace American culture but at the same time, they're perhaps the fiercest opponents of American politics.
After being liberated by the U.S. GIs in World War II, Italy fell in love with American popular music and movies. Massive aid under the Marshall Plan led to an economic boom. But during the Cold War and Vietnam, Italians began to have a negative view of America as an arrogant imperialist.
Friday, October 17
Poland
 Listen to Part 4
Photo Gallery: Poland: Torn Between Europe, U.S.
Next to Britain, Poland was Europe's most outspoken country in supporting the Iraq war. But the nation is torn between allegiance to America and its desire to be more European -- it's now in NATO and will soon become a full-fledged member of the European Union.
Poland's pro-American feelings are rooted in gratitude for U.S. support throughout the 20th century, and the large number of Polish immigrants in the United States. But some members of Poland's newer generation wish America would work more closely with its allies instead of taking a unilateral stance.
Related NPR Stories
Reporter's Notebook: Poggioli: Covering the Iraq War from Europe
How America is Viewed Globally
Poll: Iraq War Widens Rift with Europe
U.S.-European Rift over Iraq War
The United States and Europe, a Discussion
Europeans Snipe Back at Rumsfeld Before Iraq War
NPR Special Coverage: Beyond the War in Iraq
More Stories by Sylvia Poggioli
Web Resources
U.S. State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
The Council on Foreign Relations
'Foreign Affairs': 'Rebuilding the Atlantic Alliance'
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