British and German SMEs and the memory of war: a comparative approach

ABSTRACT At the end of the Second World War, small businesses in Britain and the western occupied zones of Germany faced the common problem of returning to peacetime production in very dissimilar circumstances. German companies had to overcome widespread destruction and loss, in an environment in which every recent political certainty had ceased to apply, and in which new ways of working had to be found. British firms, in contrast, rejoiced in the common achievement of victory, but also grappled with fatigue and complacency even as the economic context deteriorated. For companies in each country, the collective memory of war would influence the evolution of postwar business conduct and organizational culture.