From Warfare to Welfare. Postwar Homelessness, Dislocation, and the Birth of the Welfare State in Europe: The Case of Berlin 1945–1949

This article examines the origins of what for years has been characterized as a European welfare consensus. It asks whether, indeed, there was a convergence of ideas, and if so, what led to it. Based on public health records from governmental, municipal, and international agencies in immediate postwar Europe, but also on sources reflecting public opinion, Allied military government discourses and policies, urban planners, medical professionals, and others, it argues that indeed there was a period in European history which generated something of a postwar convergence of ideas regarding public health and welfare. The postwar period witnessed a remarkable consensus about the importance of public planning, spending, and state involvement in the health and welfare sector. By examining the case of Berlin as one immediate postwar city and situating it in the larger European context of the time, one can point to common motivations and even actors involved. The root of this consensus was not any optimistic humanitarian ideology, nor even only a concern about public health or the spread of epidemics, though the latter was prominent. Equally important, it grew out of a shared setting marked by physical destruction and political instability. As a result, concerns about governability, social order, and political legitimacy came to the forefront, even of health and housing debates. In the case of Berlin, the public health debate was driven furthermore by a fear of the return of National Socialism.