Milton Muelder, one of seven children, grew up in a Methodist minister's family and was taught the importance of social justice. He initially learned German from his father who had come to American from East Frisia, Germany and, studying French and German during his course of undergraduate study, eventually earned a PhD in European History. Through the auspices of the Institute of International Education he was able to study abroad at the University of Freiburg, in Germany.

It was during the Great Depression that Milton Muelder and his brother went to Germany to study in 1930 and 1931. At the time, Germany was under the "heavy weight of the inflation", a result of reparations from World War 1. It was also the time of the Weimar Republic, Germany's first experience in democracy, and there were political difficulties. Neither Muelder, nor any of his acquaintances had any indication that Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] would come to power. Muelder called it "crazy" and "vulgar" that their "Brown Shirts" protected the Nazis, and at the same time caused commotions for everyone else. Although the University of Freiburg, where Meulder was studying, was relatively far away from the worst of the demonstrations, he remembers one of the last "affairs" that he attended, a political meeting, at which the Brown Shirts showed up, started yelling, and commandeered the microphone on stage. He also recalled that during the Christmas period, the disorder and death from these clashes prompted the German government to declare an exceptional decree prohibiting political gatherings of any kind. Meulder admitted that as a student, he was completely naïve, but he was aware that the political and economic situation was in turmoil. He returned to the United States in 1931, and continued his studies at the University of Michigan.

Milton Muelder spent seven years working on his doctoral dissertation, and in this section he describes his research on Bosnia-Herzegovina. He begins to make a case for its bearing on what he did during the war, citing the long and tumultuous history of the country, and its religious, agricultural, political and cultural transitions.

Milton Meulder explained how George C. Marshall, as an aide to General John J. Pershing during The Great War [Annotator's Note: World War 1], gained an understanding of what happened during the French occupation of the Rhineland. The lesson, he said, was that a victor had to be prepared to administer the territories it gained through conquest, and if there was an opportunity to do it early, the initiative must be taken. After the United States was at war on two fronts, Meulder believes someone saw the title of his doctoral dissertation and decided he was a "good mark" for military government, and he was sent to Columbia University for a nine-month program, set up by the Navy, on Naval Administration and Military Government. He found the instructors lacking in practical application, but he kept his observations to himself. Some of the students were earmarked to go to Europe, and Muelder "got in that group." When he arrived, he found the principle activity was liaison work, which didn't interest him at all. He explored the various missions, and set his sights on the Baltic States. However, the colonel in charge of the German mission asked him what he knew about the social security system in Germany, and Muelder's answer got him an assignment with the German mission. He joined a Navy officer who had a degree in public administration, and took a position covering the southern part of Germany.

As a "lowly naval officer", Milton Muelder knew his opinion that the plans in place were "no damn good," and decided his best move would be to get his own ideas into draft form as soon as possible. He had the good luck to work with copies of Nazi administration data files that held basic information on every county in Germany. He typed out a plan for the occupation of the American Zone, and had it finished before the Allied landings at Normandy [Annotator's Note: the Normandy invasion took place on 6 June 1944]. He wrote a staff study and sent it to the Army, and his plan was accepted. From that time on he worked with the Army, eventually taking charge of what he termed, "the central development and direction of our military government operations." Muelder described the process that was used to coordinate the committees determining administrative undertakings. He was afforded a "quick release" from the Navy by agreeing to continue his work as a civilian.

Around the time of the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], Milton Muelder's services were requested for the review of documents in Strasburg. He was delighted to accept, but there were travel restrictions, and it became apparent that he could get no further than Paris. Muelder laughs about the fact that some flippancy on his part nearly got him court-martialed, but he felt justified in questioning official orders. Another incident he recalled happened in France as his group followed the military toward Rheims, the forward headquarters for military operations. He was asked to fly in and review the military government plans for entry into Austria. While he was there, a two-star British officer asked him to check a declaration for the entry into Czechoslovakia. He found it in violation of international law, and waited in place until the language of the document could be corrected.

Milton Muelder had been stationed in London, England until the Allied troops moved into France, after which he was working out of Versailles, France. Always traveling right behind the troops during the assault into Germany, he was in the second group to enter Berlin. Muelder based his career on his belief that in restructuring a defeated country the prevailing powers had to be "cognizant of the totality of the society." Experts were not always available, and it was important to "learn fast, in one way or another" how to handle emerging situations. Once the fighting was over and Clay [Annotator's Note: US Army General Lucius Clay] took charge, he held a conference in Frankfurt which Meulder attended to brief the top generals on the end of military action and the new mission of military government. Muelder said that in the end the Allies did "one hell of a wonderful job." He couldn't wait to get back to the United States, where he could commence a program he had laid out for himself for the rest of his life. Muelder wanted to illustrate the importance of "winning the peace," and the fantastic job the Americans did in this area. He returned to Michigan State University [Annotator's Note: in East Lansing, Michigan], and compared the Marshall Plan to other such programs, principally the Roman administration that proved their great sensitivity to the culture of others in the rule and control of foreign peoples. Muelder had the academic and, through his military service, the professional background to make the comparison.