11 - Producing to Consume Becomes Consuming to Produce - Advertising and Consumerism in German-American Relations

Summary

When discussing the origins of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is necessary to shift focus from a famous hour - the Stunde Null, or Zero Hour, of May 8, 1945 - to a famous day: der Tag X, the day of the Deutsche Mark's arrival in the American, British, and French occupation zones. For many, the defining experience of rupture was not the cessation of hostilities but an end to the hardships of the peace. With regard to the black market and ration policies, the war's end began an escalation in illegal trade and ongoing shortages rather than a fundamental change of direction. However, in the minds of Germans living in the West, the currency reform of June 20, 1948, connected the transformation in shop windows they clearly observed with the de facto division between East and West caused by the Berlin Blockade, which began four days after the Deutsche Mark's arrival. The three Western zones of Germany were united by a currency before they had a constitution; subsequently, national identity, economic policy, and daily life remained intimately intertwined during the years of the economic miracle in the 1950s.