The Fifties have a particular place in our collective imagination: the decade of elegance and sophistication, of the economic boom, of “the Golden Age” of radio, of the birth of rock and roll, of the beginnings of television, and the dawn of commercial air travel.
However, these iconic characteristics of the Fifties represent only one side of the decade, inspired by the bright and optimistic eagerness for change that spread all over Europe after the Second World War ended. The Cold War, the fear of a nuclear conflict, the authoritarian regimes in Spain and Portugal, a divided Germany, and a controlling conservative society were also part of European citizens’ everyday life.
Here is a small set of Kodachrome slides from Dave’s old slides that shows what Europe looked like from the 1950s.
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| Balestrand, Vestland, Norway, circa 1950s |
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| Balestrand, Vestland, Norway, circa 1950s |
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| Bergen, Norway, circa 1950s |
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| Bergen, Norway, circa 1950s |
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| Dôme des Invalides, Paris, France. Napoleon’s tomb is here, circa 1950s |
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| La Bonne Franquette, Montmartre, Paris, France, circa 1950s |
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| Men on fishing boat, Norway, circa 1950s |
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| Rue Frédéric Sauton, Paris, France, circa 1950s |
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| Danviksklippan, Stockholm, Sweden, 1957 |
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| Near the Hotel Luzern, Lake Geneva, Switzerland, 1957 |
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| Hofburg palace with statue of Francis II and VW beetles, Vienna, Austria, 1958 |
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| In front of the Panthéon, Paris, France, 1958 |
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| Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France, 1958 |
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| Lunch at the Hotel Metropol, Moscow, Russia, 1958 |
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| Palais Garnier, Paris, France, 1958 |
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| Place de l’Opéra, Paris, France, 1958 |
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| Promenade Anglais, Nice, France, 1958 |
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| Tour group, Austria, 1958 |
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| Tour group, Austria, 1958 |
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| Tourists, France, 1958 |
