Consumer Culture in the WestFebruary 6, 2012

German labor union poster, 1956

“On Saturday, Daddy belongs to

me!”

Home economics: the early years of West Germany’s

“economic miracle”

Café Kranzler, Kurfürstendamm,

West Berlin(ca. 1959-60)

Link to related photo array

The “Ku-Damm” at night

A modern West German kitchen, 1957

A modern West German bathroom, 1957

A modern West German living room, 1957

The Heath is Green (FRG, 1951)

The quintessential “Homeland film” of

the 1950s

Halbstarke (“half-strongs”) in Berlin-Kreuzberg, 1956

Elvis Presley serves with the U.S. army in Germany, 1958-60

The millionth VW Beetle (August 1955)

Italy’s “Vespa” – affordable mobility

Gérard BlitzFounder of Club Med, 1950

A German vacation, 1952

Germans vacationing in Italy, 1955

Italian “guest workers” arrive in West Germany, 1962

“Guest worker” quarters, Frankfurt, 1959

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

(1964)

Film clip: evening plans