‘New Year romance or … the one holding the mistletoe.’ On 28 December 1949, French cartoonist Louis Mitelberg paints an ironic picture of post-war Germany’s return to favour on the international stage. The cartoonist harshly criticises the new romance between the fledgling Federal Republic of Germany and the United States, as well the French Foreign Minister’s support for German recovery. As the end of the year approaches, Germania, wearing military boots and a steel helmet decorated with the SS symbol (Schutzstaffel, one of the main paramilitary organisations of the Nazi regime), kisses US President Truman during a romantic dance under the mistletoe — a symbol of long life and prosperity — held by Robert Schuman. With memories of the German occupation still painfully present, and less than five years after the end of the Second World War, some in French political circles and the general public are highly critical of the economic and military recovery of their German neighbour.