The 1930s and the everyday lives of people in Germany were in the black shadow of Nazism.
Under the Nazi regime, over 3300 kilometers of the autobahn were completed by the end of 1939, which was a central measure to create jobs and to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression, thus, disburdening the lives of Germans. The myth of the "employment miracle" of the autobahn is long refuted, nonetheless it has opened new sustainable possibilities for the mobility of all citizens and the foundation for today's autobahn network was laid.
Meanwhile, the German cinema gave birth to its first international star, Marlene Dietrich, who had her breakthrough with "The Blue Angel". In Hollywood, soon-to-be classics like "Modern Times" and "Gone with the Wind", dark figures like Dracula, King Kong and Frankenstein conquered the screens.
Dark times were also coming for the people in the United States. During the Great Depression, gigantic dust storms swept across the country and the era of Prohibition left behind a thriving organized criminal underworld led by notorious gangsters such as Al Capone.
The decade, battered by the global economic crisis, was not yet over, when the Second World War engulfed hundreds of millions of people in another epochal disaster.
History
Shaped by the Concert of Europe in the Age of Imperialism and the resulting "Great War", shattered by the Second World War as a result of the dark chapter of National Socialism, characterized by the Cold War and the division of Germany – historical world constellations as well as people's living conditions have often and seriously changed in the turbulent 20th century.
Here you will find photo dossiers on the various historical phases and events of the past century in Germany and around the world. In addition to major politics, the focus is on changes in the "zeitgeist": people's everyday experiences in the individual decades, changes in culture and fashion, and progress in technology and science.