The decade of the economic miracle

The Swinging Fifties

"Wealth for everybody" - this electoral campaign slogan illustrates what moved Germany in the fifties. New ways of life materialized after the war years. From the TV set to the washing machine - luxury goods became commonplace.

The Fifties: Livingroom in the fifties
© photocase.de; Halbstark
© photocase.de

In the Hollywood classics, stars like Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean or Grace Kelly demonstrated a lifestyle which was to become reality for the children of the economic miracle. In the Adenauer Era, the currency reform and the introduction of the deutsche mark laid the foundation for a new beginning as never seen before.

The Swinging Fifties brought about a multitude of innovations that also included product design. Nierentisch and petticoat, i.e. the free, biomorphic forms of furniture design epitomized in kidney-shaped tables, for example, and the pastel colours and swinging flow of new materials as used for those popular girls' underskirts, embody the take-off sprit of this decade.
Emanating femininity and self-confidence alike, the classic elegance of the Borgward Isabella merges into this visual concept seamlessly.

The "Miracle of Bern" became the quintessence of this glorious period of reconstruction. Mobility became more and more important. Between 1954 and 1957, the number of registered vehicles on German roads doubled.