WONDERLAND – The Founding Era of the Federal Republic 1955–1967

Diligent, capable, modest, and often mediocre – this is how many Germans describe themselves when reflecting on the post-war reconstruction years. In reality, however, Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s experienced an exciting decade of social change, gradual rebellion, and a search for a new identity in the post-war order.
The promises of consumption brought about by the economic miracle captivated the people, but soon, resistance against the emerging society of abundance began to grow. In smoky existentialist cafés, a thoughtful youth began asking deep questions, the education reform turned hundreds of thousands of working-class children into academics, and pop culture, with its Beat movement, launched a continual challenge to authoritarian lifestyles. The Auschwitz trials tore the veil of silence over the older generation, while the present of the Cold War encouraged repression. How does such a country find itself again?

Harald Jähner’s powerful and brilliantly told portrait of early post-war Germany reveals a time far more progressive, colorful, and diverse than we often believe today – a time that deserves to be rediscovered.

"Harald Jähner tells history in all its contradictions—fascinating." New York Times

"A talented, indeed a gifted storyteller." Deutschlandfunk